Posted on 02/16/2011 10:10:09 AM PST by mandaladon
Tennessee governor Bill Haslam is pushing state legislators to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill.
The Tennessee Republican said Wednesday he is working with state Republican legislative leaders to develop a broad-based bill aimed at addressing illegal immigration.
Mr. Haslam says he plans to put forth a number of bills, all of which are meant to address a certain immigration issue. One of the proposals would require the written portion of driver’s license exams be given in English, a proposal that has sparked debate in the past. “What I want to make certain is that those businesses that have located here and anyone else who’s here for a legal reason doesn’t feel threatened by that in any way,” Mr. Haslam said.
Tennessee’s move to address immigration reform is the latest attempt by state legislators to push forward with proposals while Congress considers national immigration reform measures. A number of state legislatures are pushing ahead, saying Congress is failing to carry out its responsibility in dealing with the issue.
Utah, which is currently considering an Arizona-style immigration law, passed a measure earlier this week allowing state lawmakers to pass immigration measures. The move followed comments from Utah U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch, who said Congress will likely delay passing an immigration bill this yea
(Excerpt) Read more at thestatecolumn.com ...
They need to push how it will save money.
They call that “Mean spirited”.
Common sense is irrelevant - How you FEEL about the law is more important.
If you can’t read well enough to pass the driving test, how will you be able to read road signs ?
English only !
Over the objections of Democrats who said it would place an undue burden on senior citizens and the poor, the state Senate voted 21-11 Monday to require voters to show photo identification.
Republicans argued the new requirement would stop fraud, pointing out some 13,000 dead people and 12,000 felons have been discovered on voter rolls in the past two years. Sen. Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro, said his bill addresses “the need to protect the purity of the ballot box.”
“This gives the Division of Elections a tool to detect and deter voter impersonation,” Ketron said.
But Sen. Roy Herron, D-Dresden, called it “a modern-day poll tax.” Naming several Democratic constituencies, he said some voters would have to pay to travel distances to obtain photo IDs so that they could exercise their right to vote.
“If you’re a senior citizen, if you’re disabled, if you’re poor and don’t own an automobile, that’s a substantial burden,” Herron said.
“...The problems that are solved by this, if any, are far outweighed by the problems that are caused by this.”
In a statement, AARP Tennessee State Director Rebecca Kelly also expressed reservations about the bill.
“Voting is the most basic of rights and must be preserved,” Kelly said. “AARP has concerns about any legislation that creates obstacles for eligible voters, particularly those who are older, poor and geographically isolated. There are too few people who make the effort to vote as it is. We should be working to make the voting process easier, not more burdensome.”
The bill lets people who are 65 or older vote by absentee ballot, and anyone without a photo ID could cast a provisional ballot to be considered later by election officials.
The Senate has approved the bill three straight years, but it always has failed in the House. This session, it almost certainly will pass the House too and become law, with Republicans now in firm control of the legislature. Eight other states require photo IDs for voting.
Ping!
Offering only one foreign langague (Spanish) is discriminatory against foreigners of non-Hispanic origin.
And Navajo. And every other Indian language. Us Indians were here first, so if you are going to offer it in Spanish, you need to accomodate the 0.008% of us who refuse to learn English by offering it in Ute, Mandan, Sioux, Shawnee, Delaware, Cherokee and the original language of every one of our 3,800 or so tribes.
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