WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2011…THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA:
A closely-watched bill on immigration won’t be voted on by the Senate Budget Committee until after Easter, members of the committee said Wednesday. The panel’s chairman, Sen. JD Alexander, R-Lake Wales, postponed a vote on the measure (SB 2040) so the committee can get more information on the federal E-Verify system for checking the immigration status of workers. The delay didn’t sit well with a few hundred opponents who made the trek to Tallahassee to voice their opposition to the bill.
Alexander said the delay was not an attempt to disenfranchise anyone but that proposed changes and amendments weren’t ready for a final vote.
The House bill (HB 7089) has been introduced but hasn’t moved. It is on the agenda to be heard Thursday in the House Economic Affairs Committee.
The bills attempt to curb the influx of workers in the state illegally by requiring employers to use the E-Verify system or a comparable mechanism, and tapping local law enforcement officers to help enforce federal immigraion laws