Notes from the Georgia State Senate
By State Sen. Chip Pearson
Published May 15, 2007



During the 2007 legislative session, the General Assembly debated and passed several pieces of legislation affecting public safety. As always, the safety and security of Georgia citizens was a top priority for Senate leaders, and we feel that several of the new policies that have now gone to Governor Perdue’s desk will protect our citizens and their livelihoods. In addition, the 2008 budget will include enhancements to assist law enforcement officers and help counties with the burden of housing state prisoners.

Dealing with the Illegal Immigration issue

Many of my constituents have expressed the issue of illegal immigration in Georgia and throughout the entire U.S. as their number one concern. Since the early 1990s, Georgia has seen an influx of illegal immigrants moving into our state. Many of these individuals are laborers who are paid in cash and don’t pay any taxes, thus overburdening our systems of public education and Medicare. In 2007, we took additional steps to protect legal Georgia citizens, especially when it comes to protection from those who operate motor vehicles illegally. The following Senate bills passed that attempt to deal with aspects of the illegal immigration problem:

SB 15 increases the penalties for the offense of driving without a license.

SB 23 allows the Courts to make a determination of the legality of a person’s presence in the U.S. when sentencing for probation, suspension of sentences and parole hearings.

SB 38 requires a valid license or state ID to purchase a car tag.

Also, a bill I sponsored, SB 100, makes it a felony to manufacture and sell or distribute false identification cards and other documents. The measure incorporates a certain amount of leniency for underage citizens who may be too young to realize producing fake IDs for the purpose of purchasing alcohol is not a good idea. The bill’s intent is to punish people who manufacture and sell fake IDs to those who use them to stay in the U.S. illegally.

In related news, my readers will be pleased to know that the initial provisions of SB 529, the Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act, are set to begin on July 1, 2007. This sweeping piece of immigration reform was championed by my Senate colleague, Sen. Chip Rogers of Woodstock, in an effort to protect the well-being of Georgia citizens. Beginning July 1, Georgia law will require every state agency and local government to verify the lawful presence in the U.S. of any person 18 years of age or older who has applied for state or local public benefits. In addition, the law requires all public employers, government contractors and subcontractors with 500 or more employees to verify information on all new employees prior to entering into any contract in connection with the performance of services within this state. The new policy will also set forth random audits of Georgia businesses to determine the immigration status of its workers.

As a co-sponsor of SB 529, I know that Georgia lawmakers worked very hard on this groundbreaking piece of legislation. Now we are beginning to see other states working on the same type of bill in the effort to rein in illegal immigration in our country.

Protecting Georgia from Identity Theft

As many of you know, identity theft, credit card fraud and mortgage fraud are on the rise in our state. With the advent of technology such as Internet shopping, check or debit cards and card swipe machines at almost every retail establishment, citizens are now at a greater risk of having their personal finances raided by unscrupulous individuals. Over the last several years, the General Assembly has worked to implement several consumer protections, especially when it comes to protecting your personal information, such as social security numbers and dates of birth. Here are some bills we passed this year to protect personal info:

SB 5 authorizes our Governor to delay compliance with provisions of the REAL ID Act until Homeland Security expressly guarantees that implementation of the Act will not compromise the economic and biological privacy of Georgia’s citizens. In May 2005, Congress passed the REAL ID Act, creating national standards for the issuance of state driver’s licenses and ID cards. REAL IDs must include the person’s name, date of birth, sex, ID number, a digital photograph, address and a “common machine-readable technologyâ€