On Friday, the Senate took up SB 1718 (Ingoglia) and passed the bill by a 27-10 vote.
Earlier in the week, FCCB's Christie Arnold, associate for social concerns and respect life, testified in opposition to SB 1718 before the Fiscal Policy Committee, which amended and advanced the bill on a 14-6 vote.
"We first want to say we appreciate the changes made from the original version of the bill," said Arnold. "However, we oppose SB 1718 because the bill unfairly targets the immigrant community and does not address the issues inherent in our nation’s broken immigration system."
The bill was amended to remove a provision that would criminalize the transportation of undocumented immigrants within the state of Florida. It instead increases human-smuggling penalties for transporting into Florida a minor or five or more individuals without legal status (entered the country unlawfully and were not inspected by the federal government since entry).
Some of FCCB's concerns remain in the bill text, including mandating E-Verify for private employers with 25 or more employees; prohibiting local governments from having community ID programs, invalidating out of state drivers' licenses issued to undocumented immigrants, and forbidding people brought to the US by their parents as children, or are otherwise undocumented, from becoming attorneys. "Finally, we are concerned that the provision requiring certain hospitals to collect data on patients’ immigration status may stigmatize patients and discourage them from seeking needed care, which could place a greater fiscal burden on already-strained medical systems if those individuals experience emergencies at later times," said Arnold.
Companion bill HB 1617 (Michaels) was advanced by the House Commerce Committee on Monday with a 13-5 vote. Two additional committee references were removed, and the bill has been placed on the House calendar on second reading.