Web posted
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Kelley votes against bill on immigration
By CARL MANNING
Associated Press Writer
TOPEKA -- With the House and Senate passing different immigration bills, the focus moves to what their negotiators will draft as a final version, and some say they'll be combining measures weakened to satisfy the business community.
But others say both bills get tough on dealing with the estimated 90,000 illegal immigrants in the state. Many legislators say Kansans are demanding something be done because the federal government hasn't addressed the issue.
State Rep. Kasha Kelley (R-Arkansas City) voted against the bill even though she originally supported it.
"Our district - and indeed Kansas - has been quite vocal about where they stand on immigration, and I have worked to represent those issues as related to me. However, in the end, I could not vote for the bill put forth by the House," she said in an e-mail Friday.
State Rep. Ed Trimmer, (D-Winfield) voted for the bill.
Kelley, and several others voted against the bill because they believe it "fails to provide meaningful immigration reform, and may make the situation worse."
The House voted 96-27 Friday for its bill, one day after the Senate passed its version 40-0. Negotiators are expected to start working next week.
''The failure of the federal government to enact meaningful reform has forced us to act,'' said House Speaker Melvin Neufeld, an Ingalls Republican. ''Kansas welcomes those immigrants who have followed our country and state's laws to come here.
He added: ''However, illegal immigration has put a tremendous financial burden on our state, especially our schools, social services, hospitals and justice systems.''
Among other things, the House measure increases penalties for using false documents to gain illegal employment and for helping an illegal immigrant to vote.
It also creates criminal penalties for businesses that illegally treat any workers -- not just illegal immigrants -- as independent contractors instead of employees. The Kansas Chamber and other business groups oppose that provision. Classifying a worker as a contractor means employers don't have to pay benefits for them.
Otherwise, the chamber and other members of a coalition that includes the Kansas Farm Bureau and the Kansas Livestock Association were satisfied with the bill.
''It's a step in the right direction, but the misclassification should be removed,'' said chamber lobbyist Jeff Glendening. ''Supporters saw a chance to slip in a union measure.''
Critics said lawmakers watered down the House bill by delaying from 2010 to 2011 the date when the state Department of Labor must use the federal E-Verify database to check on whether workers hired by businesses are in the country legally. It mandated E-Verify for employers convicted a second time of hiring illegal immigrants. Businesses using E-Verify would have an absolute defense.
The version passed by the House also removed any threat to revoke business licenses if convicted of having illegal immigrants on the payroll.
''This bill is a farce,'' said Rep. Lance Kinzer, an Olathe Republican and the bill's chief sponsor during Thursday's debate. ''There is no way to characterize this as a strong piece of legislation. It's simply not.''
Kelley called the bill a facade. She said the bill ensures its employer sanction provisions, already weak on their face, will never be enforced; they are both practically unworkable and almost certainly preempted by federal law. Furthermore the public benefits restrictions in the amended bill are actually weaker than existing law. For the first time Kansas will be creating a statutory right for unauthorized aliens to receive any and all state financed medical care, no questions asked. This bill is a facade."
Another opponent, Rep. Delia Garcia, a Wichita Democrat, said, ''It's like putting a bandage on a huge problem that requires major surgery.''
Still, Rep. Raj Goyle called it ''tough and effective'' and said it ''will go a long ways towards addressing the problem of illegal immigration.''
Goyle, also a Wichita Democrat, said the bill requires those convicted of a second violation of hiring illegal immigrants to be reported to the Department of Homeland Security, which could use the information to close down a business under federal law.
Goyle said the reworked bill also removed language requiring its renewal in 2010. He said had that remained, the bill would have expired before the requirement for all businesses to use E-Verify.
The House also removed language requiring police officers to ask about a person's citizenship when arrested. That language wasn't in the Senate version.
The Senate bill makes hiring illegal immigrants a civil offense for businesses. Courts could order employers to stop hiring illegal workers, and the employer could be fined or jailed for contempt of court if it doesn't comply with the order.
As in the House, the Senate bill originally called for mandatory E-Verify and revoking business licenses. Both topics were scrapped in committee after the business community complained.
The Senate measure also makes it a crime to use false identification to get a job, engage in human trafficking or coerce workers, and it creates an illegal immigration enforcement unit within the attorney general's office.
Both bills prohibit public benefits for illegal immigrants except those mandated by the federal government. State officials say that already is the case, but it's not required by law.
''They are very similar work products. That shows a consensus is developing about how to fix the problem,'' said Senate Majority Leader Derek Schmidt, an Independence Republican.
Sen. John Vratil said negotiators will focus on the bills' differences and likely won't go back to what was rejected by both chambers.
Kinzer said he's not expecting much improvement.
''We got two weak bills, so I doubt one weak bill plus another weak bill will produce a strong bill,'' he said.
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Senate immigration bill is Senate sub for SB 458; House immigration bill is Senate sub for HB 329.
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