Immigration Bill: Passes Senate; House skeptical
Immigration Bill: Passes Senate; House skeptical
Posted: Feb 02, 2011 12:29 PM PST
Updated: Feb 02, 2011 1:35 PM PST
FRANKFORT, KY. (WDRB Fox 41) -- Kentucky's anti-illegal immigration bill easily passed through the Senate Wednesday, but it had its first real litmus test in the House in front of a skeptical audience.
The focus of this meeting was to try and put a price tag on the bill and figure out its fiscal impact. No votes were taken, but it was immediately clear where House members fell on the issue.
Speaking before a packed committee room, State Senator John Schickel was supposed to lead a discussion on the financial impact of his proposed anti-illegal immigration bill. But most of the time, he played defense against a very skeptical house committee.
As Rep. Jim Wayne, a Jefferson Democrat put it, "We're talking a hole in our budget of $40 million if this legislation were enacted and actually up and running."
Senate Bill 6 would allow police to ask a person's immigration status during a "lawful contact." Senator Schickel tried to dispel concerns the legislation would create racial profiling: "I read in the paper if you're a group of Japanese businessman having lunch at McDonald's, you'll be subject to some kind of frisk through this bill. Mr. Chairman, only if they were robbing McDonald's would they be subject to any kind of police action."
The bill would also make smuggling for profit and "aiding and abetting" a crime. Since it was drafted, Senate Bill 6 has drawn comparisons to Arizona's anti-illegal immigration law. It's being challenged in court by President Obama's administration. Supporters say Senate Bill 6 is a wake-up call to the federal government.
Rep.Stan Lee, a Fayette County Republican, said Wednesday, "In all fairness, I think we've given Congress a fair time to do something and they haven't done it, and it's the states that are suffering and it's the jails that are suffering, it's the citizens that are suffering."
But Committee Chair and Jeffersontown Representative Steve Riggs argued jails and police would suffer more if the bill passed. He says overcrowded jails are ill-equipped to handle an estimated 50,000 illegal immigrants in the Commonwealth. Rep. Richard Henderson, a Democrat from Montgomery County, echoed those concerns: "We're concerned about the unfunded mandate. We're concerned about the local jails. My jailers want less inmates not more, because of the fiscal impact -- incarceration versus conviction." 51:17
The Kentucky Jailers' Association says the multimillion dollar price tag on the bill could be financially devastating. Bobby Waits of the association says, "I don't know if counties locally can afford another $26 million hit."
Rep. Lee says, "We all know there is a cost to doing nothing. We may disagree as to the amount of that cost, but we all know it's a huge cost."
The committee plans to meet again on the anti-illegal immigration bill. But a group from Louisville, called Stop SB6, plans to hold a rally in Frankfort next week.
Tuesday night in his State of the Commonwealth speech, Governor Steve Beshear didn't indicate whether he would sign the bill if it landed on his desk.
http://www.fox41.com/story/13957063/imm ... -skeptical
