Thread: S.C.: Officials skip out on immigration bill

Posted on Fri, Apr. 25, 2008
Officials skip out on immigration bill
House, Senate still in conflict on immigration
By Zane Wilson

A resolution to the House-Senate standoff on the immigration reform bill will have to wait until next week. Lawmakers adjourned Thursday after more accusations against each other but no movement toward agreement.

The delay will stir up voters who are demanding immigration reform and force the Senate to act, said Rep. Thad Viers, R-Myrtle Beach, one of the three House members assigned to the conference committee that is trying to resolve differences in the two chambers' versions of the bill.

"This is only going to aggravate and frustrate an electorate that is already frustrated as it is," Viers said.

In the House, Rep. Jim Harrison, leader of the House conference committee on the bill, said he was asked to a private meeting Thursday morning on the bill but declined.

Harrison said he asked for a conference committee meeting but heard nothing back.

The Senate will not sign a conference report on what they have agreed to and the House can't vote until the report is signed, Harrison said.

The Senate says it can't sign the report because it needs a two-thirds vote in the House first.

During debate on the Senate floor, some members acknowledged they are hearing from constituents who do not understand why the Senate won't sign an agreement with the House.

"This is probably the most misunderstood part of this process," said Sen. Larry Martin, R-Pickens, who said it was hard to explain to his constituents.

The disagreement is over how to approve a Senate provision making all employers verify immigration status. The House bill applied only to employers who have state or local government contracts.

The House decided it would accept the Senate version, but only if the use of the I-9 form were removed.

Attempts to remove it during Senate debate failed, with many saying that because the form is approved by the federal government, the state should not disapprove it.

The forms are filled out and kept on file. The House members say they want everyone to use either the federal online verification system or require a state driver's license.

The problems come with the rules of each side, which differ on how or whether such changes can be made to the bill.

Conference committees can't change bills at will, members say. The rules are intended to prevent a committee from changing a bill to something that neither side voted on.

The conference committees are supposed to choose among portions of a bill that have been adopted by one side or the other. The House did not vote on private employer requirements, so it can't pick out that one section and change it, the Senate says.

But both sides could negotiate over the issue if a two-thirds majority voted to let them, and that is another sticking point. The House conferees say they don't need a two-thirds vote and the Senate says it cannot sign an agreement based on what the House wants, or negotiate with the House on it without a two-thirds vote.

Sen. Jim Ritchie, R-Spartanburg, chairman of the conference committee and author of the bill, proposed Thursday that the Senate agree to the broader negotiations with a two-thirds vote.

"We're fools if we do it," said Sen. Vincent Sheheen, D-Camden, a member of the conference panel.

If the two-thirds vote failed, the Senate would be pilloried by the House as the party to blame for failure of the bill, said Sen. Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston and leader of the Senate.

If the House wants to change the Senate provision, the House must first get a two-thirds approval to discuss it, he said.

"This is about the rule of law and they've got to play by the rules," McConnell said.

Viers said it is all political posturing that will not play well with voters.

"I think over the weekend you'll see a lot of people get involved," Viers said.

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/news/l ... 28447.html

Arrrrrrrrggggggghhhhhh...my head is spinning after reading this political manuevering. But, here's the key:

The delay will stir up voters who are demanding immigration reform and force the Senate to act, said Rep. Thad Viers, R-Myrtle Beach, one of the three House members assigned to the conference committee that is trying to resolve differences in the two chambers' versions of the bill.

"This is only going to aggravate and frustrate an electorate that is already frustrated as it is," Viers said.

Hear that ALIPAC'ers?...let's put on some pressure and tell them to GET IT DONE by making employment checks apply to ALL employers!!!

For those of you who haven't stopped in to help out with our South Carolina ACTION ALERT...please visit here:
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-112874.html

Posted on Sun, Apr. 27, 2008
Immigration proposal grinds in Statehouse

By Zane Wilson

The House-Senate bickering over who should act first, and how, on a compromise immigration reform bill continued Friday when House Speaker Bobby Harrell fired a volley over to the Senate.

Harrell, R-Charleston, wrote to Sen. Jim Ritchie, R-Spartanburg, chairman of the conference committee that is working on a compromise between the two versions of the bill.

Later in the day, Sen. Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston and leader of the Senate, fired back, repeating his chamber's position on the issue.

The Senate demanded on Thursday that the House vote on the compromise, which eliminates the federal I-9 form as an acceptable use.

The forms are usually simply filled out and filed, and many lawmakers say they are a loophole for employers who deliberately hire illegal immigrants.

The Senate insisted the House vote "free conference," meaning it allows the members of the conference committee to negotiate over an item. Free conference takes a two-thirds vote, however, and the House insists it does not need free conference to remove the I-9 from the list of acceptable verifications.

Harrell's letter, a copy of which was provided to the media, said the Senate apparently does not understand the House rules and that there is precedent for what the members want to do.

Harrell demanded that the Senate members of the conference committee sign the agreement so the House can hold its majority-only vote on it.

"All they have to do is sign our report, and we'll take a vote," said Rep. Thad Viers, R-Myrtle Beach, a member of the conference committee. "They're trying to muddy the waters."

The Senate says it cannot sign the report unless the House gets a free conference vote because that is what Senate rules require.

McConnell's letter said the public cannot have confidence in laws legislators pass if lawmakers won't abide by their own rules.

Viers said there was talk that the conference committee may meet again Tuesday, but as of Friday afternoon it had not been scheduled.

Despite the verbal swordplay, members on both sides say they believe they will reach an agreement.



http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/news/l ... 30748.html