Bill Text: GA SB458 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Government; modify provisions; verification requirements, procedures, and conditions for applicants for public benefits
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 4-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2012-03-27 - House Postponed [SB458 Detail]
Download: Georgia-2011-SB458-Comm_Sub.html
LC 29 5273S
The
House Committee on Judiciary Non-civil offers the following substitute to SB
458:
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Code Section 50-13-2 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to definitions applicable to provisions relating to administrative procedure, so
as to exclude the Immigration Enforcement Review Board from certain
administrative procedures; to amend Chapter 36 of Title 50 of the Official Code
of Georgia Annotated, relating to the verification of lawful presence within the
United States, so as to modify provisions relating to verification requirements,
procedures, and conditions for applicants for public benefits; to modify the
definition of a secure and verifiable document; to provide for related matters;
to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Code
Section 50-13-2 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
definitions applicable to provisions relating to administrative procedure, is
amended by revising paragraph (1) as follows:
"(1)
'Agency' means each state board, bureau, commission, department, activity, or
officer authorized by law expressly to make rules and regulations or to
determine contested cases, except the General Assembly; the judiciary; the
Governor; the State Board of Pardons and Paroles; the State Financing and
Investment Commission; the State Properties Commission; the Board of Bar
Examiners; the Board of Corrections and its penal institutions; the State Board
of Workers' Compensation;
the
Immigration Enforcement Review Board; all
public authorities except as otherwise expressly provided by law; the State
Personnel Board (Merit System); the Department of Administrative Services or
commissioner of administrative services; the Technical College System of
Georgia; the Department of Revenue when conducting hearings relating to
alcoholic beverages or relating to bona fide coin operated amusement machines or
any violations relating thereto; the Georgia Tobacco Community Development
Board; the Georgia Higher Education Savings Plan; any school, college, hospital,
or other such educational, eleemosynary, or charitable institution; or any
agency when its action is concerned with the military or naval affairs of this
state. The term 'agency' shall include the State Board of Education and
Department of Education, subject to the following qualifications:
(A)
Subject to the limitations of subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, all otherwise
valid rules adopted by the State Board of Education and Department of Education
prior to January 1, 1990, are ratified and validated and shall be effective
until January 1, 1991, whether or not such rules were adopted in compliance with
the requirements of this chapter; and
(B)
Effective January 1, 1991, any rule of the State Board of Education or
Department of Education which has not been proposed, submitted, and adopted in
accordance with the requirements of this chapter shall be void and of no
effect."
SECTION
2.
Chapter
36 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the
verification of lawful presence within the United States, is amended by revising
Code Section 50-36-1, relating to verification requirements, procedures,
conditions, exceptions, regulations, and criminal and other penalties for
violations, as follows:
"50-36-1.
(a)
As used in this Code section, the term:
(1)
'Agency head' means a director, commissioner, chairperson, mayor, councilmember,
board member, sheriff, or other executive official, whether appointed or
elected, responsible for establishing policy for a public employer.
(2)
'Agency or political subdivision' means any department, agency, authority,
commission, or government entity of this state or any subdivision of this
state.
(3)
'Applicant' means any natural person, 18 years of age or older, who has made
application for access to public benefits on behalf of an individual, business,
corporation, partnership, or other private entity.
(4)(A)
'Public benefit' means a federal benefit as defined in 8 U.S.C. Section 1611, a
state or local benefit as defined in 8 U.S.C. Section 1621,
a benefit
identified as a public benefit by the Attorney General of Georgia, or a public
benefit which shall include the following
and the
following public benefits:
(i)
Adult education;
(ii)
Authorization to conduct a commercial enterprise or business;
(iii)
Business certificate, license, or registration;
(iv)
Business loan;
(v)
Cash allowance;
(vi)
Disability assistance or insurance;
(vii)
Down payment assistance;
(viii)
Energy assistance;
(ix)
Food stamps;
(x)
Gaming license;
(xi)
Health benefits;
(xii)
Housing allowance, grant, guarantee, or loan;
(xiii)
Loan guarantee;
(xiv)
Medicaid;
(xv)
Occupational license;
(xvi)
Professional license;
(xvii)
Public postsecondary education;
(xvii)(xviii)
Registration of a regulated business;
(xviii)(xix)
Rent assistance or subsidy;
(xix)(xx)
State grant or loan;
(xx)(xxi)
State identification card;
(xxi)(xxii)
Tax certificate required to conduct a commercial business;
(xxii)(xxiii)
Temporary assistance for needy families (TANF);
(xxiii)(xxiv)
Unemployment insurance; and
(xxiv)(xv)
Welfare to work.
(B)
Each year before August 1, the Attorney General shall
prepare a
detailed report indicating any 'public benefit' that may be administered in this
state as defined in 8 U.S.C. Sections 1611 and 1621 and whether such
benefit
provide public
notice listing all public benefits set forth in subparagraph (A) of this
paragraph. Such notice shall also clearly provide that each benefit
listed is subject to SAVE verification
pursuant to this Code section. Such report shall provide the description of the
benefit and shall be updated annually and distributed to the members of the
General Assembly and be posted to the Attorney General's website.
(b)
Except as provided in subsection (d) of this Code section or where exempted by
federal law, every agency or political subdivision shall verify the lawful
presence in the United States of any applicant for public benefits.
(c)
This Code section shall be enforced without regard to race, religion, gender,
ethnicity, or national origin.
(d)
Verification of lawful presence under this Code section shall not be
required:
(1)
For any purpose for which lawful presence in the United States is not required
by law, ordinance, or regulation;
(2)
For assistance for health care items and services that are necessary for the
treatment of an emergency medical condition, as defined in 42 U.S.C. Section
1396b(v)(3), of the alien involved and are not related to an organ transplant
procedure;
(3)
For short-term, noncash, in-kind emergency disaster relief;
(4)
For public health assistance for immunizations with respect to immunizable
diseases and for testing and treatment of symptoms of communicable diseases
whether or not such symptoms are caused by a communicable disease;
(5)
For programs, services, or assistance such as soup kitchens, crisis counseling
and intervention, and short-term shelter specified by the United States Attorney
General, in the United States Attorney General's sole and unreviewable
discretion after consultation with appropriate federal agencies and departments,
which:
(A)
Deliver in-kind services at the community level, including through public or
private nonprofit agencies;
(B)
Do not condition the provision of assistance, the amount of assistance provided,
or the cost of assistance provided on the individual recipient's income or
resources; and
(C)
Are necessary for the protection of life or safety;
or
(6)
For prenatal
care;
or
(7)
For postsecondary education, whereby the Board of Regents of the University
System of Georgia or the State Board of the Technical College System of Georgia
shall set forth, or cause to be set forth, policies regarding postsecondary
benefits that comply with all federal law including but not limited to public
benefits as described in 8 U.S.C. Section 1611, 1621, or
1623.
(e)(1)
An agency or political subdivision providing or administering a public benefit
shall require every applicant for such benefit to:
(1)(A)
Provide at least one secure and verifiable document, as defined in Code Section
50-36-2;
and
(2)(B)
Execute a signed and sworn affidavit verifying the applicant's lawful presence
in the United States, which affidavit shall state:
(A)(i)
The applicant is a United States citizen or legal permanent resident 18 years of
age or older; or
(B)(ii)
The applicant is a qualified alien or nonimmigrant under the federal Immigration
and Nationality Act, Title 8 U.S.C., 18 years of age or older lawfully present
in the United States and provide the applicant's alien number issued by the
Department of Homeland Security or other federal immigration
agency;
and.
(2)
An applicant may satisfy the requirements of this subsection by submitting
documents at any time within nine months prior to the application deadline,
provided that documents that are submitted early remain valid through the
licensing or approval period, or such other period for which the applicant is
applying to receive a public benefit.
(3)
If an applicant for a public benefit is under 18 years of age, the applicant
shall be required to execute the signed and sworn affidavit within 30 days
following such applicant’s eighteenth birthday.
(3)(4)
The state auditor shall create affidavits for use under this
Code
section
subsection
and shall keep a current version of such affidavits on the Department of Audits
and
Account's
Accounts'
official website.
(4)(5)
Documents or
copies of documents required by this
Code
section
subsection
may be submitted
in person, by
mail, or electronically, provided the
submission complies with Chapter 12 of Title 10.
Copies of
documents submitted in person, by mail, or electronically shall satisfy the
requirements of this Code section. For purposes of this paragraph, electronic
submission includes a submission via facsimile, Internet, electronic texting, or
any other electronically assisted transmission.
(6)
The requirements of this subsection shall not apply to any applicant renewing an
application for a public benefit, within the same agency, where the applicant
has previously complied with the requirements of this subsection by submission
of a secure and verifiable document establishing that such applicant is a United
States citizen.
(f)
For any applicant who has executed an affidavit that he or she is an alien
lawfully present in the United States, eligibility for public benefits shall be
made through the Systematic Alien Verification of Entitlement (SAVE) program
operated by the United States Department of Homeland Security or a successor
program designated by the United States Department of Homeland Security. Until
such eligibility verification is made, the affidavit may be presumed to be proof
of lawful presence for the purposes of this Code section.
(g)
Any person who knowingly and willfully makes a false, fictitious, or fraudulent
statement of representation in an affidavit executed pursuant to this Code
section shall be guilty of a violation of Code Section 16-10-20.
(h)
Verification of citizenship through means required by federal law shall satisfy
the requirements of this Code section.
(i)
It shall be unlawful for any agency or political subdivision to provide or
administer any public benefit in violation of this Code section. On or before
January 1 of each year, each agency or political subdivision which administers
any public benefit shall provide an annual report to the Department of Community
Affairs that identifies each public benefit, as defined in subparagraph
(a)(3)(A) of this Code section, administered by the agency or political
subdivision and a listing of each public benefit for which SAVE authorization
for verification has not been received.
(j)
Any and all errors and significant delays by SAVE shall be reported to the
United States Department of Homeland Security.
(k)
Notwithstanding subsection (g) of this Code section, any applicant for public
benefits shall not be guilty of any crime for executing an affidavit attesting
to lawful presence in the United States that contains a false statement if said
affidavit is not required by this Code section.
(l)
In the event a legal action is filed against any agency or political subdivision
alleging improper denial of a public benefit arising out of an effort to comply
with this Code section, the Attorney General shall be served with a copy of the
proceeding and shall be entitled to be heard.
(m)
Compliance with this Code section by an agency or political subdivision shall
include taking all reasonable, necessary steps required by a federal agency to
receive authorization to utilize the SAVE program or any successor program
designated by the United States Department of Homeland Security or other federal
agency, including providing copies of statutory authorization for the agency or
political subdivision to provide public benefits and other affidavits, letters
of memorandum of understanding, or other required documents or information
needed to receive authority to utilize the SAVE program or any successor program
for each public benefit provided by such agency or political subdivision. An
agency or political subdivision that takes all reasonable, necessary steps and
submits all requested documents and information as required in this subsection
but either has not been given access to use such programs by such federal
agencies or has not completed the process of obtaining access to use such
programs shall not liable for failing to use the SAVE program or any such
successor program to verify eligibility for public benefits.
(n)
In the case of noncompliance with the provisions of this Code section by an
agency or political subdivision, the appropriations committee of each house of
the General Assembly may consider such noncompliance in setting the budget and
appropriations.
(o)
No employer, agency, or political subdivision shall be subject to lawsuit or
liability arising from any act to comply with the requirements of this chapter;
provided, however, that the intentional and knowing failure of any agency head
to abide by the provisions of this chapter shall:
(1)
Be a violation of the code of ethics for government service established in Code
Section 45-10-1 and subject such agency head to the penalties provided for in
Code Section 45-10-28, including removal from office and a fine not to exceed
$10,000.00; and
(2)
Be a high and aggravated misdemeanor offense where such agency head acts to
willfully violate the provisions of this Code section or acts so as to
intentionally and deliberately interfere with the implementation of the
requirements of this Code section.
The
Attorney General shall have the authority to conduct a criminal and civil
investigation of an alleged violation of this chapter by an agency or agency
head and to bring a prosecution or civil action against an agency or agency head
for all cases of violations under this chapter. In the event that an order is
entered against an employer, the state shall be awarded attorney's fees and
expenses of litigation incurred in bringing such an action and investigating
such violation."
SECTION
3.
Said
chapter is further amended by revising subsection (b) of Code Section 50-36-2,
relating to secure and verifiable identification documents, as
follows:
"(b)
As used in this Code section, the term:
(1)
'Agency or political subdivision' means any department, agency, authority,
commission, or government entity of this state or any subdivision of this
state.
(2)
'Public official' means an elected or appointed official or an employee or an
agent of an agency or political subdivision.
(3)
'Secure and verifiable document' means
a
an
unexpired document issued by a state or
federal jurisdiction or recognized by the United States government and that is
verifiable by federal or state law enforcement, intelligence, or homeland
security agencies. Secure and verifiable document shall not mean a Matricula
Consular de Alta Seguridad, matricula consular card, consular matriculation
card, consular identification card, or similar identification card issued by a
foreign government regardless of the holder's immigration status.
Secure and
verifiable documents shall not include any foreign passport unless the passport
is submitted with a valid United States Homeland Security Form I-94 or I-94A or
other federal document specifying an alien's lawful immigration
status. Only those documents approved and
posted by the Attorney General pursuant to subsection (f) of this Code section
shall be considered secure and verifiable documents.
No secure and
verifiable document shall be submitted or relied upon for purposes that are in
conflict with any limitation or restriction specified in such document. Copies
of secure and verifiable documents submitted in person, by mail, or
electronically shall satisfy the definition of 'secure and verifiable document'
in this chapter. For purposes of this paragraph, electronic submission includes
a submission via facsimile, Internet, electronic texting, or any other
electronically assisted
transmission."
SECTION
4.
This
Act shall become effective on July 1, 2012.
SECTION
5.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.