March 9, 2011
www.gfb.org
Vol. 29 No. 10
GEORGIA HOUSE PASSES IMMIGRATION BILL The Georgia House of Representatives passed House Bill 87 by a 113-56 vote on March 3. The bill, introduced by Rep. Matt Ramsey (R-Peachtree City), would place the burden of immigration reform on the state’s employers. Farm Bureau maintains that immigration should be addressed at the federal level and that leaving the issue for states to handle could create additional problems. “We believe it is ill-advised for the state of Georgia to attempt to solve a national problem with state legislation. If this legislation becomes law, Georgia employers will have a whole new set of additional government hoops to jump through when they hire employees,” said Georgia Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall. A similar bill in the Senate, SB 40, passed out of the Judiciary Committee on March 2. SB 40, introduced by Sen. Jack Murphy (R-Cumming), is currently in the Rules Committee and could be considered by the Senate later this week. SB40 provides exemptions to agricultural employers who are able to participate in the H-2A program. Few farmers in Georgia participate in H-2A. Both bills were introduced early in the 2011 legislative session and have drawn criticism from a variety of economic sectors. HB 87 includes a provision requiring all Georgia employers with five or more employees to use E-Verify, an Internet-based program operated by the federal government that allows employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their newly hired employees. Farm Bureau contends E-Verify will prove difficult to use in a farm environment. The requirement will also put an additional layer of government bureaucracy on all employers in Georgia. If passed, the bill could make legal immigrants reluctant to come to Georgia to find work, diminishing farmers’ access to a legal workforce. Under HB 87, E-Verify will be mandatory for Georgia employers with 100 employees or more on July 1, 2012. For employers with 5 to 99 employees, E-Verify will become mandatory on December 31, 2012. The legislation requires that employers provide a signed affidavit guaranteeing their use of E-Verify before receiving a “business license, occupational tax certificate, or any other document required to operate a business.” In addition to the employment verification requirements, HB 87 includes provisions allowing local and state law enforcement officials to verify the immigration status of individuals in some situations and establishes penalties for individuals who use false identification to gain employment in Georgia. HB 87 now moves to the Senate for consideration.