NorthWest Florida Republican

E-Verify is a Government program that allows employers to check an employees Social Security Numbers against the names. If they don’t match then it will let the employers know. This is a great tool to verify that prospective employees are actually eligible to work in the United States.

There has been several attempts to get this through the Florida Legislature and US Congress. This is the first time that it may actually make it though the Florida Legislature. Unlike some of the past attempts, this attempt only focuses on State agencies and Florida government contractors.

HB219 unanimously passed the Florida House Governmental Affairs Policy Committee on March 24, 2010. HB219 contains a good E-Verify provision for public contractors and state agencies. This would mean that State of Florida funds will be expended only if contractors and subcontractors to state agencies verify that their workers are legal.

So there is only one more committee that this has to go though in the House. The Senate has a companion bill that is in the works but seems to have stalled.

HB219 has one additional committee in the House and five committees in the Senate so it will be a daunting task to get the bill through committees and a full House and Senate vote prior to the end of the Session on April 30, 2010. Because the bill is moving in the House the focus is now on Senate bill S1880, the companion bill to HB219.

E-Verify has proven in about 15 states to be business-friendly, easy to use, accurate, free to use, low cost to administer, and effective.

Email your Florida Senators your support of ensuring only legal workers are employed in Florida.

If you are looking to do more in support of legal immigration, try Floridians for Immigration Enforcement.