Thread: AZ: Lawmakers OK Sanctions On Illegal Hirings

Lawmakers OK Sanctions On Illegal Hirings

POSTED: 6:19 am PDT June 21, 2007

PHOENIX -- Arizona legislators approved, some reluctantly, a bill to punish employers who hire illegal immigrants by suspending or revoking their government licenses, a step that would put violators out of business at least temporarily.

Passage of the bill sent it to Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano and capped a three-year push on the issue, a top priority issue for Republican majority lawmakers during the 2007 session that ended Wednesday night.

The session's 164th and last day also saw lawmakers approve a bill to combat air pollution in the Phoenix area, raise a cap on workers' compensation benefits and reject an attempt to roll back a recently enacted requirement that first-time DUI offenders install breath-test interlock devices in their vehicles.

On the employer sanctions issue, the House and Senate approved a compromise drafted earlier Wednesday by a conference committee appointed to iron out differences in versions of the bill approved previously by the two chambers. The House vote was 47-11. The Senate's was 20-4.

Members of the conference committee said they hoped to head off a proposed ballot measure with stricter sanctions also targeting businesses' licenses issued by state and local governments.

Under the bill (HB2779), first-time offenders who knowingly hire illegal immigrants would be put on probation for three years, have to file quarterly reports on hirings and could have their licenses suspended for up to 10 days. However, those employers whose actions involved active steps to circumvent the ban on illegal hirings would face license suspensions for at least 10 days.

While second-time offenders would have their licenses permanently revoked, just suspensions would be enough to kill some businesses, lawmakers said.

Advocates for tougher border enforcement contend that the state needs to impose employer sanctions were needed because the federal government has failed to adequately enforce a federal law that already prohibits employers from intentionally hiring illegal immigrants.

"The public is tired of waiting," said Republican Rep. Russell Pearce of Mesa, the measure's chief legislative champion. "The problem is every day we don't act on this, we're hurting Arizona. We're hurting the honest businesses."

Critics said they feared enactment of the bill would damage the state's business climate.

Hundreds or even thousands of U.S. citizens could lose their jobs if businesses are shut down because of sanctions imposed as a result of a "rogue" human resources director who hires illegal immigrants, said Sen. Barbara Leff, R-Paradise Valley.

"Arizona citizens will be out of work," she said.

Yet Leff, one of the conference committee members, supported the compromise as an alternative to the initiative. It would require permanent license revocations on first offenses.

"We are held hostage," Leff said.

Jessica Pacheco, a lobbyist for the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, urged legislators to reject the bill.

"We think addressing employer sanctions at the state level is a mistake. We believe it will be very harmful to the Arizona business climate and we'd like to see this issue addressed at the federal level," Pacheco said.

Pearce, one of the backers of the proposed ballot measure, said he'd recommend to other supporters that the initiative campaign be dropped if the bill is enacted and is shown to be effective. He also said he'd be willing to work with fellow lawmakers to improve the bill if problems surface after it becomes law.

Earlier Wednesday, Napolitano did not stake out a position on the bill when she asked about it during her weekly availability with reporters.

However, Napolitano said she would look at it "with great interest" because addressing border and illegal immigration concerns includes dealing with "underlying labor issue."

The governor noted that she vetoed a 2006 sanctions bill on grounds that it amounted to amnesty for employers. "I think employers who intentionally avoid the law need to be paying sanctions and fines and the rest, so let's see what they send me," said Napolitano, referring to legislators.

http://www.kpho.com/news/13543116/de...s=pho&psp=news

"We think addressing employer sanctions at the state level is a mistake. We believe it will be very harmful to the Arizona business climate and we'd like to see this issue addressed at the federal level," Pacheco said.

Obviously the AZ business climate is too used to getting their own way and by hiring illegals and getting away with it.
If businesses aren't breaking the law, then they have no reason to fear anything or any type of new laws such as this.

Originally Posted by sippy

"We think addressing employer sanctions at the state level is a mistake. We believe it will be very harmful to the Arizona business climate and we'd like to see this issue addressed at the federal level," Pacheco said.

Obviously the AZ business climate is too used to getting their own way and by hiring illegals and getting away with it.
If businesses aren't breaking the law, then they have no reason to fear anything or any type of new laws such as this.

Check out Miss Pacheco's bio. It explains a lot regarding her view/motivation. In other words, consider the source!:

http://www.bizjournals.com/bizwomen/...html?id=969027

Monday, July 19, 2004
Pinnacle West executive's ancestry shapes view of the world
Ruben Hernandez
The Business Journal



Jessica Pacheco describes herself as a "Brazilian Viking," a good clue to her diverse cultural ancestry, adventuresome spirit and sense of humor.

Pacheco was born Jessica Loquvan in Brazil to Norwegian parents. Her parents were farmers who had emigrated to that South American country from the United States. The family also resided in Honduras.

As a young student, Pacheco took bus trips through Latin America and Europe, where she enjoyed some very basic lodging accommodations.

"There were some hotels without showers and with cockroaches for company," she recalls.

If you are a globetrotter it's good to be polyglot. Pacheco speaks Portuguese, Spanish and English fluently.

Despite what she calls "immense cultural flexibility," when she moved to Tucson, she found the differences between Latin America and the Old Pueblo "astounding."

The United States, she found, was a much more rigid society than she was used to.

"Although I feel comfortable here now, it was quite an adjustment for me," she says.

Those cultural experiences molded her professional life, which found her working extensively in economic and community development throughout the Southwest and in northern Mexico.

In her day job, Pacheco manages business operations for the economic development division of Pinnacle West Capital Corp., the parent company of Arizona Public Service Co.

She also is the volunteer chairman of the tri-national Border Trade Alliance in Phoenix, a grassroots, nonprofit that works to enhance the quality of life for border communities through trade and commerce.

Pacheco changed her name and her life when she interned with Manuel Pacheco, then-president of the University of Arizona.

She met his son Andrew, a young lawyer. They clicked, married in 1999 and now have a 3-year-old son, Andres Manuel Trinidad.

Her husband now is a Republican candidate for the office of the Maricopa County Attorney.

Pacheco says she is passionate about working to improve trade and social conditions among the three commerce partners of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

"I feel passion for this work because NAFTA has the power to change people's lives for the better," she says.

She also loves leading the Border Trade Alliance, which she calls a forum in which the three NAFTA countries discuss and regulate commerce and other issues.

One day she may be in Mexico City discussing issues with high government ministers, the next day inspecting ports of entry in Nogales with border business executives and local city officials.

She says working with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is a "tremendous opportunity because of attention and resources" the government is bringing to bear on the border.

However, one kind of border "traffic," that of illegal immigration, saddens her.

"It's a tragedy because it's the new slave trade," Pacheco says. "It breaks my heart because of the deplorable conditions they work and live under."

Art Macias is director of the Arizona Department of Weights and Measures. He also is a member of the Border Trade Alliance and a native of Douglas, a border city.

Macias says Pacheco has a knack for translating her vision into concrete results. "She's the kind of leader that defines Arizona today and for the future," Macias says. "She thinks regionally and globally, and recognizes the opportunities that diversity brings.

"I think that Jessica has an infectious passion for Arizona that will fuel the economic vision for this state," he says.

Pacheco says when she isn't traveling she most enjoys reading "Spiderman" comics to her son.

Inviting friends over for four-hour meals prepared by her and her husband, Andrew, is another favorite entertainment.

Then she gets that faraway look in her eyes that signals yet another trip to change the world soon will be scheduled.

Jessica Pacheco
Title: Business manager.

Company: Pinnacle West Capital Corp.

E-mail: jessica.pacheco@aps.com.

Age: 30.

Spouse: Andrew.

Children: Andres Manuel Trinidad, 3.

Residence: Phoenix.

Education: University of Arizona, bachelor's degree in Portuguese and Spanish.

Associations: Arizona Association for Economic Development; Arizona Mexico Commission; Arizona Partnership for the New Economy; Greater Phoenix Economic Council; Hispanic Leadership Institute; Arizona Town Hall; Economic Development Institute, Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship; National Association of Manufacturing and Technical Assistance Centers; Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce.

Up close
What historical figures would you most like to meet? "Genghis Khan because he was absolutely brutal. He was ruthless, but really brilliant at strategy. If he hadn't died, he would have taken over Europe. What he was able to accomplish was just tremendous. In fact, since then we have not heard squat from Mongolia.

"Thomas Edison because of his tremendous contributions to the modern world."

Hobbies: "Hanging out with my son, and everything that entails -- from being soccer mom to just snuggling up on a couch with him and reading a book."

Favorite books: "I'm a romantic. One of my all-time favorite books is 'The Bridges of Madison County,' just because of the huge tragedy of the love affair. It gets me every time."

Favorite music: "Salsa, merengue. There's nothing better than dancing a little cumbia with my husband."

Favorite foods: "Very diverse. From Vietnamese to Chinese to Brazilian to southern Mexican to northern Mexican to a good old-fashioned hamburger. I'm a really big eater."

Pet peeve: "I don't like it when I'm not ready for a meeting. It bothers me so much I make sure it doesn't happen. It's important when you are representing somebody to be the best representative that you can be."

Three words that describe you: "Passion -- for what I believe in. Commitment -- I'm committed to my family and to my job and to those things I am passionate about. Fun -- I'm a lot of fun."

If you could change one thing, what would it be? "Apathy. I hear a lot of people complaining. I don't hear a lot of people doing anything about it. Nothing is more powerful than an engaged human being. And if you get a group of them together, wow, they can change the world."

Good info JB, Thanks!

Now, let's just see if Janet signs it.....since she's vetoed just about everything else not favoring illegals to some degree. I'm "cautiously optimistic"

I had to laugh over the "concerns" by some that if this thing becomes law, it might harm the business climate to a point where U.S. Citizens are harmed in terms of being able to find jobs.

Our ability to find jobs in the business climate of this state was harmed, and stayed that way, when we were displaced by hoardes of illegals taking our jobs and nobody was "concerned" enough to even blink, let alone do anything about it.