The changes made in the Senate to a bill designed to punish businesses that knowingly hire illegal immigrants are “unacceptable,” the bill’s sponsor says, and he will seek to remove them because he says they amount to employer amnesty.
“Either it’ll be fixed or it’ll die,” Rep. Russell Pearce, R-18, said.
After punting the bill around for more than two months, Senate leaders found a compromise on the legislation that they said would punish both businesses and illegal workers without creating the bureaucratic nightmare critics of the bill said the original version would have done.
As amended, the bill would not penalize employers on the first violation. Instead, they would be required to fire the illegal immigrant and file an affidavit with the Secretary of State’s Office saying they have terminated the employee and they will not knowingly hire illegal workers in the future.
A second violation would trigger a permanent revocation of the company’s business license.
The original bill would have required all businesses to file affidavits saying they will not knowingly hire illegal immigrants. On a first offense, employers would face fines up to $50,000. A second offense would result in a fine of up to $100,000 and the suspension of the business license, while a third offense would prompt a fine of up to $150,000 and a revocation of the business license.
All violations under the original bill would also carry criminal charges for the employer.
Pearce says he told Senate leaders beforehand that he would not approve of the amendment.
“If you’re not going to go after the license on the first strike, it’s amnesty,” he said. “If all you have to do is fine them, then you’re home free, that’s not acceptable.”
Pearce also objected to the delayed enactment in the Senate version. As amended, the law would not be enforced until March 2008 and the Department of Economic Security would be required to provide a notice to every employer telling him or her about the new law and the penalties for knowingly hiring an illegal immigrant. Pearce says there is no reason the law can’t go into effect 90 days after the session ends like most other laws.
“They’ve had since 1986 to get their act together,” Pearce said of business owners, referring to the federal Immigration Reform and Control Act.
“I don’t think you need to be warned that we’re going to start enforcing the law and you have a year to get ready.”
The Senate amendment also requires all businesses to vet prospective employees through the Basic Pilot Program, the federal government’s Internet-based program that verifies a person’s Social Security number and immigration status.
The bill passed the Senate on a 23-4 vote, including six Democrats. One of them, Sen. Ken Cheuvront, said he reluctantly was supporting the bill, even though it could cost him his businesses.
“I think that this bill, as an employer, is pretty significant,” he said. “I have two licenses — both my liquor license and my contractor’s license. I know that by not fulfilling these requirements, my livelihood would be in jeopardy.”
Pearce still intent on ballot measure
Pearce says that, if a deal can’t be struck with the Senate, he will continue his efforts to get a more strict employer sanctions measure on the 2008 ballot. To that end, he says his group has already collected about 20,000 signatures. To qualify for the ballot, Pearce and his supporters must gather 153,365 by July 2008.
“I’m willing to work with them, but it just can’t be employer amnesty,” he said. “I’m willing to be reasonable.”
Sen. Ron Gould, R-3, who sits on the steering committee for the ballot initiative, said he was satisfied with the current version of the bill. He said it would be better for the Legislature and governor to agree on legislation because voter-approved laws are virtually impossible to amend.
“If we could get it passed like it is and signed by the governor, then I think that would take the wind out of the sails of the initiative,” he said.
A conference committee has not yet been assigned to consider a compromise version of the bill.