Latest news with #SenateBill58
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bills cracking down on immigration moving slowly in Missouri legislature
The crowd outside the Missouri Capitol for the inauguration of Gov. Mike Kehoe in January (Tim Bommel/Missouri House Communications). With national attention focused on immigration issues, Missouri legislators have joined in efforts to address the issue at the state level but have seen little progress midway through their annual session. More than a dozen bills have been introduced, but the main activity on immigration has been two executive orders Gov. Mike Kehoe signed when he took office in January. The push for stricter immigration policy comes after President Donald Trump signed 10 executive orders during his first week in office. Since then, several states, including Missouri, have introduced legislation to follow suit. On the day Kehoe was inaugurated, he signed two executive orders dealing with how state agencies will handle immigration issues. Executive Order 25-05 states that law enforcement systems will begin collecting immigration status from criminal offenders. In his second order, 25-04, certain members of the Missouri Highway Patrol will be trained in federal immigration laws. Once trained, these officers will enforce federal immigration laws, focusing on preventing illegal immigration, apprehending criminal offenders and intercepting drug trafficking. Here's what to know about proposed immigration policies making their way through the Missouri legislature. Several pieces of legislation aim to limit or punish immigrants lacking permanent legal status. Sponsored by Sen. Jill Carter, a Republican from Granby, Senate Bill 58 allows the governor to assist other states through an interstate compact in securing the U.S.-Mexico border. Carter said her bill was designed as a catalyst for a broader conversation about how states are dealing with this 'crisis,' which is classified into three main categories: humanitarian, health and public safety. After a tumultuous committee hearing — with one witness calling a state senator a fascist and others carrying signs in protest — the bill won approval and is on the Senate calendar for consideration. Also debated in the Senate Committee on Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety, SB 72 would create a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement program at the state level, said sponsor Sen. David Gregory, a Republican from Chesterfield. The bill also makes entering the country illegally a felony in Missouri, which makes immigrants lacking permanent legal status ineligible to vote in elections, receive a driver's permit or license, receive public benefits or become a legal state resident. Many of those provisions are already part of federal or state law. Commonly known as the 'bounty hunter' immigration bill, this would create a new program to train bounty hunters who would be allowed to arrest those in Missouri who entered the country illegally, Gregory said. Speaker of the House Jon Patterson said in January he had not heard any enthusiasm from House Republicans for a bill that would put a bounty on immigrants lacking permanent legal status. Patterson said even if the bill makes its way through the Senate, it is unlikely to gain much support in the House. Also sponsored by Gregory, SB 480 would require a court to determine whether a defendant charged with an immigration trespassing offense is seeking asylum. If they are not seeking asylum, the court can order that they be jailed until trial. The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety. Two bills, SB 137 and SB 282, would create the offense of improper entry by immigrants lacking permanent legal status with additional provisions, such as deportations. The latter, sponsored by Sen. Ben Brown, Washington Republican, would impose a $10,000 fine with incremental punishments, while the former, sponsored by Sen. Curtis Trent, a Republican from Springfield, would impose a fine of $100,000. Sponsored by Rep. Richard West, a Republican from Wentzville, House Bill 540 would create the 'offense of trespass by an illegal alien' for immigrants lacking permanent legal status who violate state law or county municipal ordinance. The bill has since been referred to the House Committee on Emerging Issues. Another bill, HB 120, establishes the 'Immigrant Employment Registration and Taxation Protection Act.' Sponsored by Rep. Jim Murphy, a Republican from St. Louis, the bill would require that the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations maintain a 'database or registry of qualified immigrant workers.' Those who fail to provide the correct documentation to verify work authorization status would be charged with a felony. The bill has not been assigned to a committee. On a similar note, SB 528 would impose penalties for employers who fail to enroll and actively participate in a federal work authorization program. The penalties could be things like fines for employing an immigrant lacking permanent legal status. Sponsored by Minority Floor Leader Sen. Doug Beck, a Democrat from Affton, the bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on General Laws. Sponsored by Sen. Rick Brattin, a Harrisonville Republican, SB 114 would fine communities that declare themselves sanctuaries for immigrants lacking permanent legal status $25,500 per day. The bill expands the offense of transporting an immigrant lacking permanent legal status to include concealment or encouraging one to come to Missouri. It would also allow law enforcement to enforce federal immigration laws that establish criminal penalties. No hearing has been scheduled. Current Missouri statute prohibits municipalities from adopting sanctuary policies that limit cooperation with federal requirements to verify or report illegal immigration statuses or grant one the right to lawful presence. HB 1163, sponsored Rep. Bill Lucas, R-DeSoto, clarifies that any municipality that adopts such policy would be prohibited from receiving state money. The bill has not been sent to a committee. Rep. Wick Thomas, D-Kansas City, introduced HB 1051 to repeal the prohibition against sanctuary cities. Current law states if a municipality fails to suspend business permits of those employing immigrants lacking permanent legal status, it is subject to penalties. This bill would repeal the penalties. The bill has not been assigned to a committee. Some bills would act as provisionary safeguards for immigrants, given aggressive efforts to question and detain members of certain ethnic groups. SB 738 provides that if a person submits certain federal documents relating to employment authorization, they are eligible for a temporary professional or occupational license. Sponsored by Sen. Maggie Nurrenbern, D-Kansas City, the bill is waiting to be read a second time on the Senate floor before being assigned to a committee. This story originally appeared in the Columbia Missourian. It can be republished in print or online.
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NC Senate passes bill barring AG Jeff Jackson from challenging Trump's executive orders
Senate Bill 58 would block Attorney General Jeff Jackson from challenging President Donald Trump's executive orders. (Photo of NC Department of Justice by Clayton Henkel/NC Newsline) The North Carolina Senate passed a bill blocking Attorney General Jeff Jackson from challenging President Donald Trump's executive orders Tuesday afternoon amid a flurry of constitutional objections to the administration's conduct. The proposal, known as Senate Bill 58, passed the Senate on its third reading by a margin of 29-19 after a previous successful vote on March 5, with all Republicans present voting in favor and all Democrats present voting against. It would prohibit Jackson or any future attorney general from filing any action or advancing any argument that would seek to invalidate a presidential executive order. Sen. Terence Everitt (D-Granville) proposed an amendment to the bill that would have delayed implementation for four years, until the next opportunity to vote on North Carolina's attorney general — on the grounds that the voters elected Jeff Jackson with the understanding that he would have the power to challenge executive actions. 'Jeff Jackson clearly won the AG position in North Carolina,' Everitt said. 'Now I did not make it to a lot of the Trump rallies, so I don't know exactly what he was running on, but I did hear Jeff Jackson talk about defending North Carolina and its interests, and that's what folks voted for — for him to be a check on the federal government.' Sen. Graig Meyer (D-Orange) thanked Jackson for challenging Trump's federal funding freeze and obtaining a preliminary injunction saving 'billions of dollars' and 'thousands of jobs' in the state. He noted that the order halting that freeze only does so for the states that were plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit — were Jackson unable to challenge the executive order, the state would still be subject to a freeze on federal spending. 'We should not take away the Attorney General's ability to represent the citizens of the state of North Carolina when he has the opportunity to defend our state for jobs, for funding, for healthcare, for things that our people desperately need,' Meyer said. Jackson wrote in a March 6 statement on social media that North Carolina 'needs an Attorney General who has the authority to challenge unlawful executive orders.' 'We won an injunction against an order that would have cut hundreds of millions in research funding from our public universities and research institutions,' Jackson wrote. 'It was a reminder that an important part of this job is being a shield against unlawful federal acts that would undercut our economy and hurt our future. For the good of our state, that shield should remain in place.' The amendment to delay enactment of the bill failed, but a substitute amendment tasking Jackson with investigating the impersonation of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents offered up by Sen. Warren Daniel (R-Caldwell) succeeded, also by a 29-19 vote. Drawing on an earlier proposal by Senate Democrats to raise the penalty for impersonating members of law enforcement, the change directs Jackson to compile a study on how many such violations have occurred in the last four years and specifically, how many people have been convicted for impersonating ICE agents. 'We agree with the policy direction of looking at criminal impersonating ICE agents,' Daniel said. 'It will refocus the Attorney General's efforts on his core job, leading law enforcement in our state.' Daniel declined to answer a question on the floor as to whether he would support raising the penalty for impersonation of a law enforcement officer, responding instead that it 'depends on the results of the study.' The bill will now be sent to the state House of Representatives for a vote, setting up the first major test of North Carolina Republicans' hold on the lower house of the state legislature. Should Governor Josh Stein veto the bill, support from all Republicans in the House may not be enough to pass it over his objection depending on Democratic attendance and votes — the state House GOP has just under the number of members required to meet the three-fifths threshold to overcome a gubernatorial veto.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NC Senate moves ahead with bill limiting AG Jackson, latest Helene relief package
The North Carolina Legislative Building (Photo: Clayton Henkel) Republicans in the North Carolina Senate, in an unexpected Wednesday vote, approved a bill that would ban Attorney General Jeff Jackson, a Democrat, from challenging presidential executive orders. Senate Bill 58 forbids the state's attorney general from filing 'any action' or making 'any argument' that would invalidate an executive order from the White House. It comes just months after Jackson won the AG's office, defeating Republican Congressman Dan Bishop. Sen. Timothy Moffitt (R-Henderson), the bill's sponsor, has called it 'housekeeping,' arguing that policy battles in the courts fall outside the AG's purview. 'I just think that anything that would rise to a level of concern, this General Assembly is capable of interceding,' Moffitt said in February. Democrats blasted both the bill itself and the unexpected motion to debate Wednesday. 'With this bill we kneel to the president,' Sen. Mujtaba Mohammed (D-Mecklenburg) said. 'And with this bill, North Carolina will always kneel.' And Sen. Graig Meyer (D-Caswell) said if party control was reversed, 'I would do not this.' 'That's easy to say,' Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) told reporters in response after the vote. 'It's easy to criticize. So, I mean, I take him at his word.' The vote on the measure was added suddenly to the Senate's calendar on Wednesday. Democrats said they were given notice only after the afternoon floor session commenced. It was approved 28-17, along party lines. One more vote is needed to send the legislation to the House; that vote is scheduled for Tuesday. In the first months of his tenure, Jackson has joined lawsuits against the federal government over the potential exposure of North Carolinians' personal information to Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, an attempted freeze on wide swaths of funding from the National Institutes of Health, and most notably, an order by Trump purporting to end birthright citizenship in the United States. Federal judges granted relief to the states in every challenge. NC Newsline's Brandon Kingdollar contributed reporting. The state Senate passed new spending for Hurricane Helene relief on Wednesday, adding money for summer school programs and boosting the amount of agricultural aid in the half-billion-dollar spending package. House Bill 47, the legislature's third dedicated relief bill for western North Carolina, also sends a final bundle of money to finish post-hurricane homebuilding efforts for in the east. The bill, passed unanimously in the Senate, now returns to the House for final approval. The bill lays out $545 million in new state spending for Helene recovery efforts. And it sends $217 million to ReBuild NC, the long-struggling homebuilding program, to finish construction projects from post-Hurricanes Matthew and Florence. 'I appreciate the fact that it was a unanimous vote here in the Senate, and looking forward to the House concurring with the changes that we've made,' Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) told reporters. Among those changes are an additional $4.5 million to fund summer schooling for districts in western North Carolina. Gov. Josh Stein had requested the money, previously absent in the bill, to help students who missed weeks of classes after the storm catch up. Senators also added more money to agricultural aid, making it the largest line-item in the bill at $192 million. That money will fund a crop loss program, as well as debris removal on farms. Other major spending includes $140 million for a new homebuilding program, $100 million for private road and bridge repairs, and $55 million for local governments to repair business infrastructure. Senate Democrats voted in support of the bill, but lamented a continued lack of money for small business grants and rental assistance. Sen. Julie Mayfield (D-Buncombe) questioned why the bill's extensive aid to farmers couldn't be extended to other industries. 'That is frankly a distinction I do not understand,' Mayfield. 'Nor does anyone in my district.'
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NC Senate bills to limit AG's powers, ban phones in schools, and mandate ICE cooperation advance
The North Carolina Legislative Building (Photo: Clayton Henkel) The North Carolina Senate is set to consider bills limiting Attorney General Jeff Jackson's powers, requiring cellphone limitation policies in schools, and mandating cooperation with federal immigration authorities after favorable votes in a powerful gatekeeper committee. On Thursday, members of the Senate Rules Committee endorsed Senate Bill 55, requiring schools to bar the use of cellphones during class time; Senate Bill 58, removing Jackson's ability to challenge presidential executive orders; and Senate Bill 153, ordering state law enforcement agencies to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The committee also advanced two technical bills related to the state's community college system. Most discussion during the meeting centered on the bills concerning the attorney general and immigration. 'While there may be disagreement with whether he can do this or not, it does seem to me that the Attorney General is actually standing up to protect our universities and giving us a competitive advantage,' said Sen. Jay Chaudhuri (D-Wake), referencing cuts to federal research funding. 'In some ways, he's better positioning you all to provide tax cuts.' He asked whether backers of SB 58 would want the Attorney General to litigate an executive order that would harm North Carolina's interests — for example, an 'anti-sweet potato' order, a hypothetical that drew laughs from the room. 'If in fact that was to happen, I feel fairly confident that the General Assembly could rise to the occasion and direct the Attorney General to take action against the President,' replied Republican Sen. Timothy Moffitt, the bill's lead sponsor. Sen. Julie Mayfield, a Democrat from Buncombe County, noted that Jackson had participated in just four lawsuits challenging Trump's executive orders, choosing to do so when billions of dollars in federal funding and thousands of North Carolina jobs were at stake. 'I'm just puzzled about what it is that we don't like about what our attorney general is doing to help protect the jobs and the economy, to defend — which is his job — defend attacks on the jobs and the economy in North Carolina,' Mayfield said. She also asked what would happen if Jackson — who serves in an independent constitutionally elected office — simply ignores the General Assembly's directive. 'You can't impeach him. You can't call for a new election — what happens if the Attorney General ignores this?' 'I could contemplate that the action that this body could take would be to take Chapter 114, Section 2, and just completely zero it out, and that way, the Attorney General is a feckless, empty shell of a position that has no authority to do anything,' Moffitt said. Discussing the immigration bill, Sen. Buck Newton, a Republican who co-sponsored the proposal, called it simply 'the next step that the state needs to take to help support President Trump's efforts to curb illegal immigration.' He explained it as a follow-up to a bill last session that required North Carolina sheriffs to cooperate with ICE, requiring state agencies to do the same, preventing public benefits from going to undocumented immigrants, blocking the University of North Carolina from undertaking 'sanctuary-type policies,' and opening up counties that do not cooperate with ICE to lawsuits by waiving their sovereign immunity. Mario Alfaro, a policy director for El Pueblo NC, criticized the immigration bill as a 'violation of state autonomy' during public comment Thursday. 'Instead of protecting the state's citizens, it will create distrust and increase insecurity for everyone,' Alfaro said. 'More than 50% of farm workers are immigrants, more than 35% of construction workers are immigrants. We urge legislators to support policies that protect immigrants and their contributions, not those that ignore or hide the fact that North Carolina's economy needs immigrant workers.' Samantha Salkin, a policy analyst for the ACLU of North Carolina, also condemned the bill, calling it 'an attack on immigrant communities and an attempt to further the false narrative that immigrants are a drain on our public service system.' 'Forcing law enforcement agencies to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement erodes the trust between immigrants and the protective services that they should be able to rely on,' Salkin said. 'Witnesses and victims of crimes are less likely to report crimes and cooperate with police for fear of deportation, making all of us less safe.'
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NC Senate committee advances bill blocking Jeff Jackson's power to challenge presidential orders
Attorney General Jeff Jackson said he joined a legal challenge to the federal funding freeze out of concern for 'widespread and immediate damage' to North Carolinians. (Photo: Brandon Kingdollar/NC Newsline) A North Carolina Senate committee voted Wednesday to advance a bill removing Attorney General Jeff Jackson's ability to challenge federal executive orders. The bill, Senate Bill 58, would forbid North Carolina's attorney general from acting to 'file an action' or 'advance any argument' challenging the validity of an executive order by the President of the United States — adding to a provision that prohibits the attorney general from seeking to invalidate any act of the General Assembly passed shortly after Jackson's election last year. The proposal for the added restriction passed the Senate Judiciary Committee along party lines in a vote Wednesday afternoon. Republican Sen. Timothy Moffitt, the bill's lead sponsor, said it represents 'a little housekeeping' that is overdue, stating that the powers exercised by members of the Council of State 'have always concerned me.' He and other Republicans charged that North Carolina attorneys general have used the power of the office to wage policy battles in the courts, actions Moffitt views as outside the office's purview. Sen. Lisa Grafstein, a Democrat representing Wake County, requested that the committee delay consideration of the bill until further into the administration, noting the significant number of ongoing challenges to Donald Trump's actions in office. She cited the president's ongoing efforts to cut off research funding by the National Institutes of Health, an effort that has had an especially pronounced effect in the Research Triangle, whose economy depends heavily on the biomedical industries. 'We have a system where the state attorney general's position really is to defend the state regardless of the context,' Grafstein said. 'I did not expect to be sitting here defending states' rights, but here we are.' Moffitt pushed back on the idea that a challenge by the attorney general to a presidential executive order would ever be necessary. He characterized the pushback to Trump's executive orders as 'fearmongering' — and 'nothing more than just that' — adding that as a longtime business owner, he does not view the withdrawal of NIH funding as a significant issue. 'I just think that anything that would rise to a level of concern, this General Assembly is capable of interceding,' Moffitt said. 'I'm not particularly sympathetic to people that are concerned regarding if their funding source is going to dry up.' SB 58 comes amid controversy that has arisen over a barrage of executive orders from the Trump administration that seeking to slash federal programs, deport undocumented immigrants, and abolish diversity, equity, and inclusion programs around the country. In the first two months of his tenure, Jackson has joined lawsuits against the federal government over the potential exposure of North Carolinians' personal information to Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, an attempted freeze on wide swaths of funding from the National Institutes of Health, and most notably, an order by Trump purporting to end birthright citizenship in the United States. Federal judges granted relief to the states in every challenge. 'Attorney General Jackson has filed four federal lawsuits to protect billions in funding for western North Carolina, our public universities, and rural jobs. In each case, judges across the country have agreed that the federal government's actions were likely unlawful or unconstitutional,' wrote Ben Conroy, a spokesperson for Jackson, in an emailed statement. 'Any legislation that undermines the independence of the Attorney General's Office is bad for our state and its people.' Among the members of the public who spoke at the committee hearing was Liz Barber of the ACLU of North Carolina, who said that Jackson is 'within his rights' to challenge executive orders he believes threaten the civil rights of North Carolinians, as the state constitution grants the attorney general common law powers. 'North Carolinians back in November, they elected Jeff Jackson to do that job. They elected him to protect their rights, which we have seen him do on several occasions,' Barber said. 'This is certainly not a policy weapon when you stand up and say that an executive order violates the United States Constitution's 14th Amendment to guarantee people born in this country and in North Carolina citizenship. That's recognizing constitutional law.' In a testy exchange, Sen. Mujtaba Mohammed, a Democrat who represents Mecklenburg County, asked committee members whether they would be comfortable with the bill were the roles reversed, with Kamala Harris as president with Republican Dan Bishop as attorney general. He noted that Republicans, long the party of states' rights, have stridently opposed executive action pertaining to healthcare and immigration issues under Democratic presidents. 'Are you sure you're clearly thinking through what you're doing here?' Mohammed asked. 'Think through what you're doing here, because it might come back to bite you.' 'I'm pretty sure we know what we're doing here,' replied Sen. Bobby Hanig, a Republican who is also sponsoring the bill. 'I'll ask you a question: if the roles were reversed, and you were standing here in the same situation, would you be doing the same thing?' 'Absolutely not,' Mohammed said.
