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2008 SESSION

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Senate Committee on Courts of Justice
Subcommittee Special on Immigration

Saslaw (Chairman), Lucas, Quayle, Edwards

Staff: J. French, M. Felch, D. Cotter
Date of Meeting: January 29, 2008
Time and Place: 3:30 PM, 3rd West Conference Room, General Assembly Building

S.B. 90 Employment; verification of eligibility. 

Patron: Colgan

Employment; verification of eligibility.  Requires employers to participate in an electronic employment verification system or any equivalent federal work authorization program. The measure prohibits an employer from allowing an individual to start work unless the employer has conducted the identity verification process through the electronic employment verification system and has obtained a response that affirmatively verifies that the individual is legally eligible for employment in the United States. Violations are a Class 1 misdemeanor.

S.B. 152 Illegal aliens; adds presumption, subject to rebuttal, against admitting to bail any alien charged.

Patron: Stuart

Criminal procedure; admission to bail. Adds a presumption, subject to rebuttal, against admitting to bail any alien charged with a criminal offense who is in the United States illegally as verified by the Law Enforcement Support Center of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the United States Department of Homeland Security.

S.B. 183 Illegal aliens; presumption against admission to bail for those charged with criminal offense.

Patron: Herring

Criminal procedure, admission to bail; persons not lawfully present in the United States; presumption. Adds a presumption, subject to rebuttal, against admitting to bail any alien, who commits (i) a violent felony, (ii) DUI manslaughter whether in a motor vehicle or watercraft, (iii) DUI, (iv) refusal of a test after DUI arrest or after forfeiture of license, or (v) driving after forfeiture of license and committing certain crimes, while an alien present in the United States without authority, and requires judicial officers prior to a bail hearing, to determine whether the person is an alien who is present in the United States without authority, as verified by the Law Enforcement Support Center of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the United States Department of Homeland Security.

S.B. 382 Firearms; sale to persons not lawfully present in United States.

Patron: Martin

Sale of firearms to persons not lawfully present in the United States; penalty. Prohibits the sale or transfer of firearms to any person who is not a citizen of the United States and who is not lawfully present in the United States.  A violation of this section is a Class 6 felony.

S.B. 385 Business, Professional and Occupational License (BPOL) tax; applicants not to employ illegal worker.

Patron: Martin

Business, professional and occupational license tax requirements; illegal workers.  Requires applicants seeking a local business license to certify that they do not employ persons who cannot provide legal documents proving they are legally eligible to work in the United States.

S.B. 424 Real property tax; relief for certain new or rehabilitated, renovated, or replacement real property.

Patron: Barker

Real property tax relief for certain new or rehabilitated, renovated, or replacement real property.  Authorizes local governing bodies to require that a person seeking partial tax exemptions or credits on real property taxes for certain new or rehabilitated, renovated, or replacement property demonstrate that he has the right to be legally present in the United States.

S.B. 425 Real property tax; exemptions and deferrals for persons having legal right to be present in U.S.

Patron: Barker

Real property tax exemptions and deferrals; individuals.  Authorizes counties, cities, and towns to require that persons seeking real estate tax exemptions and deferrals under current law demonstrate that they have the legal right to be present in the United States in order to be eligible.

S.B. 426 Public Procurement Act; verification of legal presence for eligibility of employment.

Patron: Barker

Public Procurement Act; verification of legal presence.  Requires all public contractors and their subcontractors to register and participate in a federal Electronic Work Verification Program or similar electronic verification of work authorization program to determine that their employees and individual independent contractors are legally eligible for employment in the United States. Contractors and subcontractors are required to verify the employment status of their employees and independent contractors, and are prohibited from employing or contracting with an individual who is not determined to be legally eligible for employment in the United States as determined through the verification of the individual's status. Contractors who do not register and participate in the registration program are ineligible for prequalification.

S.B. 433 Immigration laws; Governor to enter into memorandum of agreement w/Immigration and Customs.

Patron: Vogel

Enforcement of immigration laws; agreement with United States Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. States that it is the responsibility of the Governor to enter into a memorandum of agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement that would allow designated state and local law-enforcement officers to perform certain federal immigration law functions in the Commonwealth. Such an agreement is often referred to as an agreement under the federal 287(g) program.

S.B. 441 Crime victims and witnesses; immigration status.

Patron: Howell

Crime victims; immigration status. Provides that no law-enforcement officer or other agent of state or local government shall inquire into the immigration status of a person who reports that he is the victim of a crime or is the parent or guardian of a minor victim or is a cooperating witness in a criminal investigation.

S.B. 516 State & public employment; required eligibility verification documentation.

Patron: Cuccinelli

Public employment; required eligibility verification documentation.  Prohibits state and local government agencies from knowingly employing any person who is not a citizen of the United States or who does not provide employment eligibility verification documentation as specified in the Department of Homeland Security Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 indicating that he is legally eligible for employment in the United States. An intentional violation of this prohibition by any state employee or official, after notice from the Governor, or his designees, to desist, shall subject him to suspension or permanent dismissal from employment or office. The bill also requires the Department of Human Resource Management to compile an annual report detailing (i) the number of persons suspended and the length of the suspensions, and (ii) the number of persons permanently dismissed.

S.B. 517 Public Procurement Act; contractors to certify immigration status verification on all employees.

Patron: Cuccinelli

Virginia Public Procurement Act; required contract provisions; immigration status verification. Requires contractors to certify that they have undertaken immigration status verification on all of their employees, and that all employees are legally authorized to work in the United States

S.B. 609 Inmates; officer of correctional facility to inquire of alien status.

Patron: Stolle

Alien status of jail and correctional facility inmates.  Requires a jail officer to inquire of a person in his custody as to whether the person is a citizen of the United States and to communicate the results of the inquiry, including a result specifying that this information is unknown, to the Local Inmate Data System of the State Compensation Board. The State Compensation Board shall submit the data on any such person to the Central Criminal Records Exchange. The State Police shall forward this information to the Law Enforcement Support Center of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement along with a request that the Law Enforcement Support Center respond as to the person’s immigration status. Any response received by the State Police from the Law Enforcement Support Center concerning an individual’s immigration status shall be transmitted to the State Compensation Board for inclusion in the Local Inmate Data System. The bill requires officer in charge of a correctional facility to verify that such information is in the Central Criminal Records Exchange and to request that the Law Enforcement Support Center respond as to the person’s immigration status.

S.B. 623 Illegal aliens; presumption of no bail for those charged with certain crimes.

Patron: Stolle

Presumption of no bail for illegal aliens charged with certain crimes. Provides that a judicial officer shall presume, subject to rebuttal, that no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the appearance of the person or the safety of the public if (i) the person is currently charged with an offense listed in subsection A of § 19.2-297.1 (acts of violence), subsection C of § 17.1-805 (acts of violence), or any felony offense under Chapter 4 (§ 18.2-30 et seq.) of Title 18.2 (crimes against the person), any felony offense under Article 1 (§ 18.2-247 et seq.) of Chapter 7 of Title 18.2 (drug offenses), or any offense under Articles 2 (§ 18.2-266 et seq.), 4 (§ 18.2-279 et seq.), 5 (§ 18.2-288 et seq.), 6 (§ 18.2-299 et seq.), or 7 (§ 18.2-308 et seq.) of Chapter 7 of Title 18.2 (crimes involving health and safety), and (ii) the court determines that the person is illegally present in the United States. This presumption shall exist unless and until notification is received from the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement that it does not intend to detain the person.

S.B. 639 Crime victims and witnesses; immigration status.

Patron: Ticer

Crime victims and witnesses; immigration status.  Prohibits law enforcement from questioning or investigating the immigration status of a person who reports that he was a victim of or witness to a crime.

S.B. 733 Illegal aliens; presumption against admission to bail for those charged with criminal offense.

Patron: Smith

Presumption against admission to bail for illegal aliens. Adds a presumption, subject to rebuttal, against admitting to bail any alien who has committed any criminal offense and is an alien who is present in the United States illegally and subject to detention by the Law Enforcement Support Center of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the United States Department of Homeland Security.

S.B. 782 Illegal aliens; disciplinary action for employing.

Patron: Obenshain

Professions and occupations; unlawful acts; employing illegal aliens. Provides that it is cause for disciplinary action by any regulatory board established pursuant to Title 54.1 against a regulant if such regulant has been convicted of a state or federal law prohibiting the employment of persons who are not legally eligible to be employed in the United States.