State legislatures passed 20 percent fewer immigration laws in the first half of this year than at the same time last year, according to a new report by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Lawmakers in 41 states enacted 114 bills and 92 resolutions that dealt with immigration between Jan. 1 and June 30 this year, compared with 257 such laws enacted during the same time period last year, according to the report released on Monday.

States delayed immigration legislation in part as they waited for the Supreme Court to rule on the states' authority to enforce immigration laws, said John Watkins, a Republican state senator in Virginia who co-chairs the conference's Task Force on Immigration and the States.

Last June, the Supreme Court upheld a provision from Arizona's immigration law that allows police to check the immigration status of those they stop for other reasons. Yet, the justices struck down provisions that created state crimes allowing local police to arrest people for federal immigration violations.