One piece of legislation this year which attracted much interest is House Bill 1804. HB 1804 is the immigration reform bill sponsored by Representative Randy Terrel (R-Moore). This bill is viewed as one of the most aggressive pieces of state legislation in the nation dealing with immigration reform.

A few weeks ago after much debate, the bill passed the house on a vote of 88-9. It is now in the hands of the Senate where it appears it faces a strong challenge. Some may wonder what changed between house passage and senate consideration to make the bill more vulnerable.

A key point of contention appears to be an attempt in the bill to hold employers accountable for hiring illegal aliens. The idea is that if employers stop being complicit in offering jobs to illegals, then illegals seeking employment will re-channel their energies into securing legal status.

The bill requires any business working under a state contract to verify social security numbers of their perspective employees in order to ensure they are legal. The bill encourages other businesses (those not under state contract) to verify social security numbers of perspective employees through the following means--it allows American employees who are terminated at a business which does not verify social security numbers to file an action with the Department of Labor if they were terminated while an illegal alien remains on that business payroll.

It is this provision that seems to have drawn the wrath of the Research Institute of Economic Development (RIED). Each year RIED publishes an index that grades legislators on how friendly they are to business interests. Each issue is graded on a scale of -20 to +20. In one of their latest updates, RIED indicated they will be grading immigration reform as a -20 vote. In other words, any lawmaker who votes for immigration reform will likely have a very hard time getting a real strong REID index score.

This is why immigration reform may face an uphill climb in the Senate. If the bill does pass the Senate, it may be a watered-down version which may not prevent employers from turning a blind eye to illegal immigration in their hiring practices. The sad reality of the situation dictates that unless we dry up the jobs, then illegal immigration will probably continue to be a major problem.



Lawmaker Speaks Out Against Government Debt

Saying his election to office was due in part to an aggressive stance against new state government indebtedness, freshman State Representative Jason Murphey (R-Guthrie) praised fellow representatives for voting for a budget that included no action on a proposal for new debt.

"The true winners in the FY2008 budget process are our children and grandchildren, since we will not be passing on more big government costs to future generations," Murphey said.

Murphey noted that the initial budget proposed to the legislature in February called for $663,000,000 of indebtedness funding for a variety of projects. Murphey expressed opposition to the debt proposals and concern about the legitimacy of some of the projects for which the money would have been used.

Murphey has been a strong proponent against new government debt and made the issue a major plank in his 2006 campaign. "In communicating with the residents of House District 31, I have come to believe that a strong majority of Oklahomans feel that state government should stop incurring unnecessary debt," Murphey said.

Murphey also called on the legislature to approve HJR 1027 which would require a vote of the people before the legislature could incur certain types of debt. HJR 1027, authored by Representative Trebor Worthen (R-Oklahoma City) is pending before a house committee. "It is a strong temptation for politicians to incur debt and pass the cost on to future generations who will pay for it long after current politicians are no long in office," Murphey said. "That is why we must make it more difficult to develop new debt."



State Seal May Return To Original Home

The state seal of Oklahoma may be set to make its way back to Logan County for may be the first time since it was taken to Oklahoma City in June of 1910.

The resolution calling for the move, House Concurrent Resolution 1015 by State Representative Jason Murphey (R-Guthrie) received approval of the House of Representatives and now heads to the Senate where it is sponsored by State Senator Patrick Anderson (R-Enid).

Murphey said that HCR1015 requests the Secretary of State to move the seal back to Guthrie for the week of the Oklahoma Centennial, November 12th to 16th where it will be placed on display in the Guthrie’s legislative hall. “We wanted to be sure and mark Centennial week by emphasizing the importance Guthrie has played in Oklahoma History,” Murphey said.

Guthrie Centennial Committee Chairman George Watts has suggested the seal could play an important part in the joint legislative ceremony that will take place in legislative hall on the day before statehood day. “The ceremony will give Guthrie’s leaders an opportunity to formally present the seal to Oklahoma City since that occasion was never possible due to the way the seal was taken in the first place,”Murphey said referring to the alleged theft of the seal in 1910 before Oklahoma City could be certified as winning the statewide election for the rights to replace Guthrie as Oklahoma’s capitol.

Murphey also thanked Robert Davis for agreeing to display the seal in the old legislative hall and Senator Anderson for sponsoring the resolution in the Senate.