Thread: VA: Summary of immigration bills

VA: Summary of immigration bills

Sunday, Jan 13, 2008 - 12:00 AM Updated: 12:47 PM

Here, grouped by topic, are some of the dozens of bills filed in the Virginia General Assembly that target illegal immigration, explicitly or implicitly.

To read the bills in full, go to http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?081+men+BIL and type in the bill number:

Worker verification by businesses

HB 90, patron Nichols; Requires contractors to verify workers' legal presence for employment eligibility.

HB 227, patron Cosgrove; Makes a contractor applying for a license certify that he will not knowingly employ an undocumented worker and will verify employees' lawful status.

HB 926, five patrons; Makes conviction for violating the law by employing ineligible workers grounds for disciplinary action by a regulatory board.

HB 1047, 16 patrons; Would fine a business $100 for each day of unlawful employment of an alien worker.

HB 1249, patron Hugo; States that an employee who is replaced by an unauthorized illegal immigrant has a cause of action against the employer.

HB 1298, patron Frederick; Sets fines and establishes grounds to suspend the license of a business that employs illegal immigrants.

HJ 51, patron Morgan; Directs a panel to study the need for limitations on the eligibility of seasonal employees for unemployment compensation.

HJ 164, patron Cosgrove; Asks the Virginia Commission on Immigration to study the pervasiveness of licensed contractors hiring undocumented workers.

SB 90, patron Colgan; Requires employers to verify workers' legal eligibility, sets penalties for violations.

SB 385, patron Martin; Requires a business license applicant to certify he is not employing persons without documentation to prove their legal eligibility.

SB 426, patrons Barker, Nichols; Requires public contractors to verify workers' legal eligibility.

Driver's licenses

HB 63, patron R.G. Marshall; Provides for forfeiture of a motor vehicle for two or more offenses of driving without a valid license.

HB 91, patrons Albo and Rust; Anyone charged with driving without a license would be placed under arrest, photographed and fingerprinted.

HB 104, patrons Rust and Albo; The vehicle of a person charged with driving without a license would be impounded for 30 days.

HB 178, patron R.G. Marshall; A vehicle owner's second offense of driving without insurance would result in forfeiture of the vehicle.

HB 180, patron R.G. Marshall; A second offense of driving without a valid license would result in forfeiture of the vehicle.

HB 376, patron D.W. Marshall; Requires that driver's license examinations be in English only and bars interpreters.

HB 433, patron J.H. Miller; Provides for impoundment of a motor vehicle for three or more offenses of driving without a valid license.

HB 446, patron Rust; Calls for impoundment of a motor vehicle for two offenses of driving without a license.

HB 447, patron Rust; Sets 10 days as mandatory minimum confinement for a third instance of driving without a license within 10 years.

Education Access and Funding

HB 14, five patrons; Bars any illegal immigrant from attending a public college or university in Virginia.

HB 37, patron Albo; Anyone failing to register for Selective Service would not be eligible for admittance to a state college.

HB 123, patron Hargrove; Any illegal immigrant must present legal documentation or residence or educational status to attend a state college

HB 417, patron R.G. Marshall; Requires public school principals to record in the pupil's permanent school record the child's place and country of birth and record how many pupils lack identifiable information.

HB 419, patron R.G. Marshall; Requires the General Assembly to reduce a locality's school funding for every 500 students with limited English proficiency.

HB 425, patron R.G. Marshall; Requires a birth certificate for admission to a state college.

HB 437, patron J.H. Miller; Requires division superintendents to include the number of students enrolled in the public schools for whom English is a second language when estimating state funding needs.

HB 1010, patron Hugo; Bars in-state tuition for illegal immigrants.

SB 434, patron Vogel; Bars in-state tuition for illegal immigrants.

English-only laws

HB 55, patron Lingamfelter; Designates English as the official language of the commonwealth.

HJ 124, patron Joannou; Proposes constitutional amendment to make English the official language of the commonwealth.

HB 376, patron D.W. Marshall; Requires that examinations for driver's license applicants occur in English only.

HB 624, patron J.H. Miller; A non-English-speaking defendant convicted at trial would pay the cost for his interpreter.

Housing

HB 82, patron R.G. Marshall; Provides for enhanced fines for overcrowding in single-family dwellings.

HB 156, patron Nichols; Bars mortgage loans to recipients who lack evidence of legal presence in the U.S. Lenders could be fined $10,000.

HB 183, patron R.G. Marshall; Requires that applicants seeking property-tax exemptions for elderly and handicapped persons demonstrate they are in the U.S. legally.

HB 184, patron R.G. Marshall; Requires that a person seeking tax exemptions or credits on property demonstrate legal presence.

HB 200, patron R.G. Marshall; Provides increased penalties for overcrowded residential dwellings.

HB 205, patron R.G. Marshall; A zoning ordinance could permit a magistrate to issue inspection warrants for dwellings.

HB 304, patron Nichols; Requires localities to limit occupancy to no more than four unrelated persons.

HB 350, patron Cole; Would increase the enforcement capabilities of the Spotsylvania County zoning administrator in overcrowding cases.

HB 430, patron J.H. Miller; A zoning ordinance could permit a magistrate to issue inspection warrants for dwellings.

HB 445, patron Rust; Bars enforcement action against the owner or manager of a single-family dwelling if he has taken legal action to stop overcrowding.

HB 452, patron Rust; Removes the prohibition against a jail term for violating zoning provisions related to overcrowded dwellings.

HB 1101, patron Sickles; Locations may shorten the appeal period for notices of violations of zoning ordinances that limit occupancy.

SB 455, patron Petersen; Authorizes localities to require all non-owner-occupied dwellings be registered annually.

Law enforcement

HB 47, patron Cole; Adds a presumption, subject to rebuttal, that someone charged with a crime who is federally verified as an illegal immigrant would not be admitted to bail.

HB 155, patron Nichols; HB 440, patron Rust; HB 757, patron Poindexter; SB 152, patron Stuart; would do the same.

HB 51, patron Lingamfelter; Provides immunity to agencies and employees of the commonwealth and its political subdivisions for the authorized enforcement of immigration laws.

HB 103, patrons Albo and Rust; Clarifies that anyone in charge of a correctional facility shall ask about the citizenship status of inmates to report to the Central Criminal Records Exchange.

HB 157, patron Nichols; Provides immunity to agencies and employees of the commonwealth and its political subdivisions for the authorized enforcement of immigration laws.

HB 301, patron Nichols; Requires the sheriff of a locality with more than 300,000 residents to arrange with federal officials to permit designated local law-enforcement officials to carry out federal immigration-law functions.

HB 305, patron Nichols; Creates a division of legal presence investigation and enforcement within the Division of State Police, with at least 100 full-time law-enforcement officers.

HB 368, patron Carrico; Requires a jail officer to inquire and report whether an inmate in his custody is a U.S. citizen.

HB 435, patron, J.H. Miller; Makes it a misdemeanor to refuse to identify yourself to a law-enforcement officer.

HB 441, patron Rust; Requires the officer in charge of a correctional facility to ensure that at least one officer is authorized to enforce federal civil immigration laws.

HB 444, patron Rust; Requires a jail officer to inquire and report whether an inmate in his custody is a U.S. citizen.

HB 470, eight patrons; Prohibits loitering in the right-of-way of a highway where such activity is prohibited.

HB 623, patron J.H. Miller; States that it is the governor's responsibility to enter into an agreement with U.S. officials allowing designated state and local officials to enforce federal immigration laws.

SB 433, patron Vogel; does the same; HJ 183, patron Frederick; requests the governor to do the same.

HB 762, patron Rust; Requires judicial officers to verify before any bail hearing, whether the defendant is in the U.S. lawfully.

HB 763, patron Rust; Requires Virginia correctional facilities to notify federal officials if someone in custody appears to be an illegal immigrant.

HB 764, patron Rust; Requires the officer in charge of a correctional facility to inquire whether someone in custody is an illegal immigrant and, if so, to notify federal authorities.

HB 779, patron Kilgore; Creates a presumption of no bail for an illegal immigrant charged with a violent crime.

HB 820, patron Albo; Requires a jail officer to inquire whether a person in his custody is a citizen and report the result.

HB 929, patrons Gilbert, Byron and Cline; Adds a presumption of no bail for an illegal immigrant charged with DUI.

HB 1178, patron Lingamfelter; Provides that anyone who fakes a signature is guilty of forgery

HB 1248, patron Hugo; Makes it a felony for a commercial enterprise to knowingly transport an illegal immigrant to or within the commonwealth.

SB 183, patron Herring; Adds a presumption, subject to rebuttal, against admitting to bail anyone not lawfully in the U.S. who is charged with a violent felony or DUI.

Restrictions on services

HB 45, patron Tata; Makes it a misdemeanor to knowingly help an illegal immigrant violate U.S. immigration laws.

HB 367, patron Carrico; Bars a local government from adopting a policy that serves to protect its undocumented immigrants from deportation.

HB 439, patron J.H. Miller; No organization receiving state or local funds shall use them to provide benefits to people who are ineligible for them.

HB 1026, Frederick; Bars localities from granting public benefits to people who are not citizens, legal permanent residents or conditional resident aliens of the U.S.

Voting rights

HB 64, patron R.G. Marshall; Requires the governing body of each locality to post notices in polling places of the constitutional qualifications to vote.

HB 65, patron R.G. Marshall; Specifies that a voter must present a photo ID document issued by Virginia or the U.S. and eliminates other alternatives.

HB 68, patron R.G. Marshall; Requires voter-registration applicants to provide one of the enumerated proofs of citizenship.

Others

HB 151, patron Lewis; Requires that every application for a change of name contain proof that the application is a citizen of the commonwealth.

HB 729, patron E.T. Scott; Requires that the record prepared by a clerk issuing a marriage license include the Social Security number of each party.

HJ 125, patron Bell; Calls on Congress to give federal agencies the resources to enforce immigration laws.

SJ 26, patron Colgan; Requests Virginia's attorney general to pursue litigation to recover funds the U.S. owes Virginia to reimburse its costs in dealing with illegal immigration.
http://www.newstimes.com/ci_7960063?source=most_emailed

I lived in Virginia for about 10 years. The taxes are backbreaking and if a large portion of the population is not paying theirs, it is left to the rest to make up.
I have a feeling that the tax paying portion of the population has been coming down hard on the legislators, as they should.

Boy or boy does that sound so good. I wish they would do the same thing over her in Los Angeles, California. Wouldn't life be sweet!

looks like they are going to get down to business.....Lets hope