AZ Senate President Russell Pearce (R-National Alliance) is attempting to out-SB1070 last year's SB1070, the bill that became the law that both powered and rode the wave of nativist sentiment sweeping across large portions of the country (and not coincidentally, the law that the utterly unqualified Jan Brewer used to gain an elected term as governor of Arizona.
He has introduced this year's SB1611.
Among other things, it...
...removes all consideration of federal law when determining eligibility for federal benefits...
...mandates a mandatory minimum sentence of six months in jail for using a false ID to obtain employment...
...mandates that if an undocumented immigrant is caught driving a vehicle, that vehicle will be forfeited to the state...
...mandates that if an undocumented immigrant is caught driving a vehicle, he/she must serve at least 30 days in jail, no matter what...
...mandates that if an undocumented immigrant is caught driving a vehicle, he/she must pay for all of the costs of his/her incarceration...
...bars school districts from admitting students who can't demonstrate "lawful presence" in the district (this one conflicts with federal law), and severely limits the documents that are acceptable proof...
...bars students from being homeschooled unless they prove "lawful presence" with the same documents as above...
...mandates indefinite suspension of all business licences of employers who don't use the E-Verify systems, even if there aren't any other violations of law involved...
...mandates that issuance of a title to an automobile is contingent on proof of lawful presence in the country...
...mandates that all applicants for any public housing must prove lawful presence before their applications are accepted...
...mandates eviction of any resident of public housing who allows an undocumented immigrant to reside in their unit...(so if your minor child, or elderly and ailing parent can't prove their immigration status, they're on their own)...
...mandates that any police officer lose his/her AZPOST certification (basically, the equivalent of a professional license for police officers. No AZPOST certification = no job) for any officer "who refuses to uphold the United States and Arizona constitutions and enforce the laws of this state." No word on what will happen if an officer refuses to enforce an Arizona law that has been found to violate the U.S. Constitution. Under this clause, he would lose his/her job no matter what he did.
...mandates that consular ID cards cannot be accepted as identification by the state or any political subdivision (this one has been floating around in one bill or another for a few years now. What if a consular official is stopped by the police? Under this provision, he/she has no way to prove his/her right to access consular premises...
Of course, the committee will be hearing the [cue up the sarcasm] *the single most vital piece of legislation of the Senate* - at least it must be, since the budget hasn't been balanced, the school system hasn't been firmed up, and an adequate permanent water supply hasn't been guaranteed for the state, but they are considering...
SB1610.
That one answers the most profound question of our time - "What is the official firearm of Arizona?"
After the bill's enactment, the official firearm of Arizona will be the Colt Single Action Army Revolver.
Whew! Now we can all rest easy tonight.
/sarcasm
The meeting to hear this bill, and the other *really* bad bills, will be held Tuesday, February 22, 2011 at 2 p.m. in SHR109. Arrive early, as seating is limited and the room is sure to be packed.
Arizona Republic coverage of this, from Mary Jo Pitzl, is here
Arizona Capitol Times coverage, from Luige del Puerto, is here.
1 comment:
I truly believe that if we continue, we are entering another dark age where knowledge and truth take a back seat to ideology and ethnocentric attitudes. Unless the rational majority confronts this destructive behaviour, we will find ourselves in a world of myths, lies, half truths and racisim.
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