HOUSE 3rd Reading Unamended May 4, 2011 HOUSE Amended 2nd Reading May 3, 2011First Regular Session Sixty-eighth General Assembly STATE OF COLORADO REENGROSSED This Version Includes All Amendments Adopted in the House of Introduction LLS NO. 11-1050.01 Kate Meyer HOUSE BILL 11-1309 HOUSE SPONSORSHIP Baumgardner, Scott SENATE SPONSORSHIP Renfroe, House Committees Senate Committees Agriculture, Livestock, & Natural Resources A BILL FOR AN ACT Concerning enactment of the "Unauthorized Employment Act". Bill Summary (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does not reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted. If this bill passes third reading in the house of introduction, a bill summary that applies to the reengrossed version of this bill will be available at http://www.leg.state.co.us/billsummaries.) The bill enacts the "Unauthorized Employment and Human Smuggling Prevention Act". Section 2 of the bill specifies that an employer must comply within 20 days after receiving a request from the director of the division of labor in the department of labor and employment (director) for employment verification-related documentation, and grants the director discretion to grant a one-time extension of up to 10 additional business days to an employer. Section 2 also immunizes from penalty an employer who made a good-faith effort to comply with documentation submission requirements. Section 3 makes any record that relates to the immigration status of a person admissible in a court without further foundation or testimony from a custodian of records if the record is certified as authentic by the government agency that is responsible for maintaining the record. Section 4 directs state and local officials to cooperate with federal authorities in enforcing immigration laws, including allowing a law enforcement agency or officer to securely transport into federal custody a person that the agency has verified is unlawfully present (unauthorized person) in the country. Section 5 allows a peace officer enforcing the law relating to smuggling humans to lawfully stop a person operating a motor vehicle who the officer has reasonable suspicion to believe is in violation of any civil traffic law. Section 6 criminalizes the following acts: Stopping and blocking traffic to hire and pick up passengers for work at a different location; If a person knows or recklessly disregards that an unauthorized person has come to, entered, or remains in the United States in violation of law, transporting or moving the unauthorized person in Colorado, in furtherance of the unauthorized person's unlawful presence, in a means of transportation, or concealing, harboring, or shielding the unauthorized person from detection in any place in Colorado; and Encouraging or inducing an unauthorized person to enter the state when the actor knows or recklessly disregards the fact that the unauthorized person's entrance will be in violation of law. Section 6 also prohibits a person unlawfully in the country from entering a vehicle for the purpose of being transported to work at a different location or from knowingly applying for, soliciting, or performing work in Colorado. A person who commits one of the above offenses is subject to a fine of $500 per unauthorized person. Each day is a separate violation. Fines will be deposited in the newly created immigration enforcement mission cash fund, and will be used to reimburse law enforcement authorities for the costs associated with unauthorized persons. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado: SECTION 1. Short title - legislative declaration. (1) This act shall be known as the "Unauthorized Employment Act". (2) The general assembly finds that federal law: (a) Prohibits an unauthorized person from entering the United States illegally (8 U.S.C. secs. 1181, 1321, and 1323); (b) Prohibits the employment of unauthorized persons (8 U.S.C. sec. 1324a); (c) Prohibits certain unauthorized persons from receiving public benefits (8 U.S.C. secs. 1611, 1621, and 1623); and (d) Authorizes the federal government to remove unauthorized persons who are found to be present illegally in the United States (8 U.S.C. secs. 1226, 1227, and 1231). (3) In addition to federal law prohibitions, the general assembly finds that Colorado law includes the following provisions: (a) A state agency or political subdivision of the state is prohibited from entering into or renewing a public contract for services with a contractor that knowingly employs or contracts with an unauthorized person to perform work under the contract (article 17.5 of title 8, Colorado Revised Statutes); (b) A licensing authority must deny certain professional licenses upon the determination that the applicant is unlawfully present in the United States (section 24-34-107, Colorado Revised Statutes); and (c) A person seeking certain public benefits must present proof of lawful presence in the United States (article 76.5 of title 24, Colorado Revised Statutes). (4) The general assembly therefore declares that, while current laws exist to detect, deter, and punish employment of unauthorized persons, it is necessary to increase the transparency of certain laws in order to assess their effectiveness. To that end, the "Unauthorized Employment Act" is hereby enacted. SECTION 2. 8-2-122 (3) and (4), Colorado Revised Statutes, are amended, and the said 8-2-122 is further amended BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW SUBSECTION, to read: 8-2-122. Employment verification requirements - audits - fine for noncompliance or fraudulent documents - employment verification cash fund created - report - definitions. (3) (a) Upon the Within twenty days after receiving a request of to do so from the director, an employer shall submit documentation to the director that demonstrates that the employer is in compliance with the employment verification requirements specified in 8 U.S.C. sec. 1324a (b) and documentation that the employer has complied with the requirements of subsection (2) of this section. If, prior to the expiration of the twenty-day period, the director receives a written request from an employer for additional time, the director may grant a one-time extension of up to ten business days. (b) (I) The director or the director's designee may conduct random audits of employers in Colorado to obtain the documentation. (II) When the director has reason to believe that an employer has not complied with the employment verification and examination requirements, the director shall request the employer to submit the documentation. (c) Nothing in this section restricts or impairs the ability of the director to use any existing subpoena power to administer or fulfill his or her duties under this section. (4) (a) (I) An employer who, with reckless disregard, fails to submit the documentation required by this section, or who, with reckless disregard, submits false or fraudulent documentation shall be in response to a request for such documentation under subsection (3) of this section, is subject to a fine of not more than five thousand dollars for the first offense and not more than twenty-five thousand dollars for the second and any subsequent offense. (II) An employer who makes a good faith effort to comply with this section is immune from a fine under subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (a). (b) The moneys collected pursuant to this subsection (4) shall be deposited in the employment verification cash fund, also referred to in this subsection (4) as the "fund", which is hereby created in the state treasury. The moneys in the fund shall be appropriated to the department of labor and employment for the purpose of implementing, administering, and enforcing this section. The moneys in the fund shall remain in the fund and do not revert to the general fund or any other fund at the end of any fiscal year. (6) Before February 1, 2012, and prior to February 1 during each regular legislative session thereafter, the director shall personally report to the house economic and business development committee and the senate business, labor, and technology committee, or any successor committees, regarding the administration and enforcement of this section. The report must include, at a minimum, the number of requests for documentation made, the number of random audits conducted, the number of employers fined, and the amounts of the fines assessed during the previous year. Any supplementary materials to the report may be submitted to the committee members electronically. SECTION 3. Safety clause. The general assembly hereby finds, determines, and declares that this act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety.