Thread: SD House rejects bill to punish businesses that hire illegal

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First Posted: March 08, 2011 - 10:27 pm
PIERRE, S.D. — The South Dakota House has rejected a bill that sought to make it a state crime to hire an illegal immigrant.

The measure failed on a 33-35 vote after opponents said it is an unnecessary duplication of federal law.

Supporters argue that federal officials do not do enough to enforce immigration laws, so the state should step up its efforts to prevent the employment of illegal immigrants.

The measure passed the Senate earlier, but was rejected by a House committee. The full House then decided to revive the measure and debate it, but representatives decided Tuesday to kill the bill.

The measure would have imposed a civil fine for a first offense of knowingly employing an illegal immigrant. Subsequent offenses would result in harsher penalties.

http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/1 ... mmigrants/

"Sure seems like these liberals are killing more of these bills then they're passing! 33-35 add 35 more people to the unemployment line! SOB!

The South Dakota House has rejected a bill that sought to make it a state crime to hire an illegal immigrant.

Above statement is an added reason this Country will continue to fall a part and citizens will continue to suffer, due to a lack of employment.

ICE will solve that problem quickly.

Unemployment surcharge will continue to 2011

Barbara Soderlin

Journal staff Rapid City

Posted: Tuesday, January 19, 2010 4:00 pm

South Dakota businesses will continue to pay an unemployment surcharge into 2011 because unemployment claims have increased to record levels, state Labor Secretary Pam Roberts said Tuesday.

The surcharge on employee wages, which began Oct. 1, 2009, was supposed to expire June 30, 2010.

It was automatically triggered last year as the state’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund dropped below $11 million, with more unemployed people seeking the benefit. Members of the Unemployment Insurance Advisory Council had thought payouts would decrease in 2010 from record $65 million paid in 2009, Roberts said, but based on the first two weeks of this year, the Department of Labor now believes 2010 payouts could equal last year’s.

Roberts said last week’s payments totaled $2.7 million, an all-time weekly high, paid to 8,831 people. In the same week in 2007, just $700,000 was paid to fewer than 3,000 people, according to the department.

The surcharge for 2010 is 1.5 percent of the first $10,000 in wages for employees, a maximum of $150 per worker. It is not paid by government employers or non-profits that self-insure their unemployment insurance costs.

The surcharge affects businesses differently depending on staffing patterns and wages.

Businesses that pay lower wages to more employees, such as retailers that hire part-timers, will see a bigger cost relative to their total payroll.

“It’s a lot of money,â€