S.C. Immigration bill | Employee screening mandate in works
Panel Ok's measure to require businesses to check new hires against federal database
By NOELLE PHILLIPS - nophillips@thestate.com
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Immigration bill
Hundreds of S.C. businesses would have to check all new workers against a federal database to screen out illegal immigrants under a tentative agreement reached Wednesday by a House and Senate committee.

Beginning Jan. 1, the law would apply to everyone from the construction companies building on USC’s campus to landscapers mowing the grass at small-town city halls to any company providing office supplies to a government agency.

The law would affect businesses that have state contracts valued at $25,000 or more. On the local government level, it would apply to businesses with contracts valued at $15,000 or more.

The immigration bill that lawmakers discussed in a conference committee Wednesday has more than 15 provisions, including a measure that would prevent illegal immigrants from attending state colleges and a requirement for SLED to sign an agreement so its officers could enforce federal immigration laws.

The committee chairman, Sen. Jim Ritchie, R-Spartanburg, said he intends to send the bill to Gov. Mark Sanford within the next 10 days.

Immigration has been a hot issue during this election year. Fed up with the federal government’s failure to get tough on illegal immigration, voters have demanded the Legislature act. And politicians have said South Carolina needs an immigration law because neighboring states — including Georgia — have passed similar laws.

Still, the bill is not a done deal. An unexpected disagreement could flare up before the committee meets again, or the governor could veto it.

The Legislature has been working on immigration for three years, and the federal database has been a sticky subject.

“It’s a very complicated legal matter,â€