WEEKLY LEGISLATIVE REPORT – March 24, 2006

Immigration legislation fails to address the real issue

By Rep. Quincy Murphy

On Thursday, the state House of Representatives voted 123-51 to adopt legislation that attempts to stem the tide of undocumented workers into Georgia.

Senate Bill 529, as amended by the House, would: require people to prove their legal status prior to receiving government benefits like Medicaid; bar businesses from employing undocumented immigrants for government-funded projects; and prohibit companies that employ foreign nationals from taking a state tax deduction on the wages afforded to these workers.

The legislation also absorbed another House proposal that would require illegal residents to pay a 5 percent transfer fee on money wired outside the U.S.

Quite frankly, this is a bad piece of legislation. For one, the federal government requires each state to provide Medicaid to those who financially qualify regardless of nationality. Secondly, SB 529 addresses the symptoms of the problem not the actual cause, which is a do-nothing federal system.

Consider the economic implications. Agriculture is our No. 1 export, followed by carpet manufacturing, construction, poultry processing, lodging and food service. This bill will hurt more than it will help.

I supported an amendment that would have moved the effective dates of the new law to the period between 2009 to 2011 rather than 2006 to 2009. This would give the federal government more time to address the immigration problem as well as delay any negative impact to the state’s economy. However, the amendment failed by a vote of 69-97.

SB 529 now goes back to the Senate, which will consider the House’s changes to the bill.

Also this week, the House overwhelmingly approved a proposal that would allow Georgia high schools to offer classes on the Bible. SB 79 would let school systems form elective high school courses on the cultural and historical literature of the Old and New Testaments.

I supported this bill because the Bible is the basis for much of our history, literature, music and art. It is woven into the very fabric of so many things we teach in Georgia schools.

As an example, when Georgia students study the civil rights movement in the 11th grade, they might read Letter from a Birmingham Jail, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. refers to Jesus, Paul and the Old Testament prophet Amos as “an extremist for justice.” When students are grounded in biblical references, they have a comprehensive understanding of what motivated and guided Dr. King. If they do not have that background knowledge, much of the meaning of the letter is lost.

While I am concerned over some of the specific language in this bill – including mandates and timelines – I believe that overall it is a good first step toward broadening our students’ educational horizons and preparing them for college and life.

House members balked at legislation that would have extended the waiting period for divorcing couples with children. A motion was passed to send the proposal back to Rules Committee, a move that will likely kill the measure. By the time it reached the House floor, SB 25 had been gutted beyond recognition, but the original draft extended waiting periods for no-fault divorces from 30 to 120 days for childless couples and to 180 days for parents of children under 18.

Both the House and Senate have approved legislation I co-sponsored that would ensure that the surviving spouse of a deceased person who had been granted a homestead exemption will continue to receive that exemption, as long as the surviving spouse occupies the home as a residence and homestead. There are differences in the two versions of HB 81 approved in each house, and a conference committee has been appointed to iron out those differences.

There is more good news on the Medicaid estate seizure issue. The Senate Appropriations Committee has passed a substitute bill that would stop the state from seizing the homes of existing nursing home patients. Under the Senate committee substitute to HB 1473, the federally mandated estate recovery guidelines would apply to those who go on Medicaid after the law is passed.

This measure would also require written notice to Medicaid applicants of estate recovery policies. Consumer advocacy groups applauded the measure because many have been admitted to nursing homes without being told their homes were subject to confiscation. Just last week, the House passed a Medicaid bill with a Democratic amendment that raised the value of homes exempted from less than $25,000 as established by the Perdue administration, to as much as $100,000.

• Rep. Quincy Murphy represents the 120th District (Richmond County) in the Georgia House of Representatives. Contact him at 604 Coverdell Office Building, Atlanta, Ga. 30334; by phone at 404-656-0265; or by e-mail at quincy.murphy@house.ga.gov.