Public safety boosted
By STATE SEN. CHIP PEARSON

Chip Pearson

During the 2007 legislative session, the General Assembly debated and passed several pieces of legislation affecting public safety. As always, the safety and security of Georgia citizens was a top priority for Senate leaders, and we feel that several of the new policies that have now gone to Governor Perdue's desk will protect our citizens and their livelihoods. In addition, the 2008 budget will include enhancements to assist law enforcement officers and help counties with the burden of housing state prisoners. Dealing with the Illegal Immigration issue

Many of my constituents have expressed the issue of illegal immigration in Georgia and throughout the entire U.S. as their number one concern. Since the early 1990s, Georgia has seen an influx of illegal immigrants moving into our state. Many of these individuals are laborers who are paid in cash and don't pay any taxes, thus overburdening our systems of public education and Medicare. In 2007, we took additional steps to protect legal Georgia citizens, especially when it comes to protection from those who operate motor vehicles illegally. The following Senate bills passed that attempt to deal with aspects of the illegal immigration problem:

SB 15 increases the penalties for the offense of driving without a license. SB 23 allows the Courts to make a determination of the legality of a person's presence in the U.S. when sentencing for probation, suspension of sentences and parole hearings. SB 38 requires a valid license or state ID to purchase a car tag.

Also, a bill I sponsored, SB 100, makes it a felony to manufacture and sell or distribute false identification cards and other documents. The measure incorporates a certain amount of leniency for underage citizens who may be too young to realize producing fake IDs for the purpose of purchasing alcohol is not a good idea. The bill's intent is to punish people who manufacture and sell fake IDs to those who use them to stay in the U.S. illegally.

In related news, my readers will be pleased to know that the initial provisions of SB 529, the Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act, are set to begin on July 1, 2007. This sweeping piece of immigration reform was championed by my Senate colleague, Sen. Chip Rogers of Woodstock, in an effort to protect the well-being of Georgia citizens. Beginning July 1, Georgia law will require every state agency and local government to verify the lawful presence in the U.S. of any person 18 years of age or older who has applied for state or local public benefits. In addition, the law requires all public employers, government contractors and subcontractors with 500 or more employees to verify information on all new employees prior to entering into any contract in connection with the performance of services within this state. The new policy will also set forth random audits of Georgia businesses to determine the immigration status of its workers.

As a co-sponsor of SB 529, I know that Georgia lawmakers worked very hard on this groundbreaking piece of legislation. Now we are beginning to see other states working on the same type of bill in the effort to rein in illegal immigration in our country.

Protecting Georgia from Identity Theft

As many of you know, identity theft, credit card fraud and mortgage fraud are on the rise in our state. With the advent of technology such as Internet shopping, check or debit cards and card swipe machines at almost every retail establishment, citizens are now at a greater risk of having their personal finances raided by unscrupulous individuals. Over the last several years, the General Assembly has worked to implement several consumer protections, especially when it comes to protecting your personal information, such as social security numbers and dates of birth. Here are some bills we passed this year to protect personal info:

SB 5 authorizes our Governor to delay compliance with provisions of the REAL ID Act until Homeland Security expressly guarantees that implementation of the Act will not compromise the economic and biological privacy of Georgia's citizens. In May 2005, Congress passed the REAL ID Act, creating national standards for the issuance of state driver's licenses and ID cards. REAL IDs must include the person's name, date of birth, sex, ID number, a digital photograph, address and a "common machine-readable technology" that will be selected by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. SB 212 says that the state will no longer be required to provide the news media with the dates of birth or social security numbers of public employees. SB 236 requires data collectors to provide notification of a breach in security to any database holding personal information. Also, the bill revises the elements of the offense of identity fraud and allows a person who has learned that he/she is the victim of identity fraud to contact the local law enforcement agency, which must then make a report of the complaint.

These are just a few of the many bills that have passed that look to improve public safety and enhance the lives of our citizens. This is one of the commitments we have made as public servants and as elected officials. I am proud of the work that we were able to do during the 2007 session, but as always, our work does not end there. I am here for you year-round and I encourage you to contact me with your comments, suggestions and ideas.

Please feel free to contact Sen. Chip Pearson at his office in Atlanta at 404.656.9221 or by email atchip@team51.org.