By Bryan Corbin, Evansville Courier & Press
INDIANAPOLIS - With Republicans complaining it was watered down and Democrats contending it was strengthened, the "three strikes" bill to punish employers who hire illegal immigrants was approved by an Indiana House committee Monday.
The House Public Policy Committee made numerous changes to the bill, Senate Bill 335, from the version that passed last month in the Senate.
The committee passed the amended bill, 7-5.
Among other things, the bill no longer would have all 92 county prosecutors investigate immigration complaints against employers and bring charges in local courts.
Instead, the state attorney general would have the option of bringing complaints to the state Department of Labor that would be heard by an administrative law judge.
Employers still could face the loss of their business licenses to operate in Indiana if found guilty three times of employing illegal immigrants.
The difference is, the bill amended Monday shortens the violation period from three times in 10 years to three times in five. If an employer's business license was revoked, the business could appeal.
Under the bill, all employers would be required to verify employees' eligibility status through a federal online system, E-Verify. The wording closes a loophole in the original bill that would have exempted employees who work fewer than 1,500 hours a year.
The wording also deletes criminal penalties for people who harbor, conceal or transport illegal immigrants, focusing on employers instead. Rep. Trent Van Haaften, D-Mount Vernon, who chaired the committee, said a landlord renting an apartment to a tenant could have inadvertently triggered such a law.
The biggest criticism of Republicans on the committee was that the bill no longer requires the superintendent of the Indiana State Police to negotiate an agreement with the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency to provide training to state troopers on enforcing federal immigration laws. The bill allows the state police to pursue such an agreement, but does not mandate it.
"There is no enforcement in this. There is no way we can say now that the legislative body has acted," Rep. Jackie Walorski, R-Lakeville, said.
Van Haaften, D-Mount Vernon, disagreed, saying the changes were necessary to close loopholes in the original bill.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.