One solution: Make them legal, and make them pay for it

By Steve Brawner, © 2019 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

The head of the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce hears often from employers who can’t find workers, so here’s his solution: Let those workers come from south of the border, make them pay for a work permit, and use the money to enhance border security.

That plan produces many winners, Randy Zook told me.

First, there are 7.1 million open jobs, but not enough Americans who are available to work, want to work, and/or have the necessary skills. Immigrants can help farmers, construction firms, and employers like the Peco Foods chicken plant in Pocahontas meet their labor requirements. Business and industry would do much of the vetting to ensure immigrants are job seekers, not drug dealers.

Meanwhile, immigrants could pay for a work permit – say $2,500 for two years. That’s a lot, but it beats paying a coyote to make the dangerous journey across the border. Then they’d be legal, though not citizens, and wouldn’t have to worry about being deported. Continue reading →

Sanctuary bill: Prevention, or fixing the unbroken?

LegislatureBy Steve Brawner, © 2019 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

In politics, is an ounce of prevention worth a pound of cure? Or if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it?

With one bill dealing with illegal immigration, Arkansas lawmakers went with the first adage, despite Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s concerns.

On the day the Legislature recessed April 10, the House voted to ban Arkansas municipalities from adopting “sanctuary city” policies.

Act 1076 by Sen. Gary Stubblefield, R-Branch, is a response to some cities like Los Angeles and Chicago that have declared themselves sanctuary cities for illegal immigrants.

“Sanctuary cities” is a political term, not a precise legal one, but this bill does describe the policies it seeks to counteract. Among its provisions are these: Cities could not limit municipal employees and officials from cooperating with federal immigration agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement. They also could not grant to illegal immigrants the right to a lawful presence.

No Arkansas cities have enacted sanctuary policies, so lawmakers are using an “ounce of prevention” to fix something that’s not broken. Continue reading →

Webb chairs Arkansas’ new majority party

By Steve Brawner, © 2019 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

As of this past election cycle, the Republican Party can be described as the majority party in Arkansas, and its chairman had something to do with that happening.

It may surprise you to learn that Republicans only now are the majority. The party has controlled all congressional seats and statewide offices since 2014 and three-fourths of the Legislature since 2016.

But Democrats still controlled enough local offices to maintain a majority of the total partisan offices in Arkansas. As of 2016, Republicans controlled 621 of the 1,524 total offices, not counting constables and not counting municipal offices, which often aren’t partisan. That’s less than 41 percent.

The flip occurred this past election. The Republican Party of Arkansas says the party controls 754 seats, or 49.48 percent. Eight more offices would be half, but independents occupy some offices, so almost certainly there are more Republicans than Democrats.

It’s been a historic turnaround since 2008, when Republicans controlled only 220 offices, or 14 percent. Continue reading →

How a freshman Democrat passed an immigration bill in Arkansas

LegislatureBy Steve Brawner, © 2019 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

How does a freshman Democrat in a Republican-dominated Arkansas Legislature pass a bill on an emotional issue like illegal immigration?

By making it about less emotional issues like economic development and professional licensure. Also, handwritten notes help.

House Bill 1552 by Rep. Megan Godfrey, D-Springdale, will let the Board of Nursing grant licenses to students covered by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy – those young people brought to America illegally by their parents.

The bill became necessary after the board stopped granting licenses in 2017 because it believed it needed clearer legal authority. Some students had the rug pulled from under them after they had enrolled in nursing school.

Illegal immigration is the hot-button issue most associated with electing President Trump. The Legislature is 75 percent Republican. Continue reading →

What that “phhhbtt!” sound means

LegislatureBy Steve Brawner, © 2019 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

That “phhhbtt!” sound you may have heard is the air coming out of the State Capitol dome. After nearly three months of being separated during the week from their families, and in many cases, their full-time jobs, legislators are ready to go home.

The plan is to recess April 10, and then reconvene for cleanup work in May.

It’s wrap-up time. And last Wednesday, a big item was crossed off the to-do list when legislators approved funding for the agency administering Arkansas Works, the program that purchases health insurance for about 234,000 Arkansans as of February 1. There’s usually much drama associated with this, but it only took two House votes to pass the funding measure, and that’s despite a court ruling that had removed a work requirement.

This week, legislators were deciding how to spend your money under the state’s Revenue Stabilization Act. They also added a third proposed constitutional amendment to Arkansans’ ballot in 2020 – this one to make it harder to amend the Constitution. The other two would permanently extend the half-cent sales tax for roads and change legislative term limits.

House Bill 1763 by Rep. Andy Davis, R-Little Rock, the governor’s transformation initiative, also needs to finish working its way through the process. The slow pace would be expected for a 2,049-page bill that will reduce the number of state agencies from 42 to 15. Continue reading →