South Carolina General Assembly
117th Session, 2007-2008

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Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

H. 3037

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Viers and Sandifer
Document Path: l:\council\bills\agm\18641mm07.doc
Companion/Similar bill(s): 392, 1336, 3026, 3027, 3068, 3141

Introduced in the House on January 9, 2007
Currently residing in the House Committee on Judiciary

Summary: Illegal Aliens and Public Benefits Act

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

     Date      Body   Action Description with journal page number
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  12/13/2006  House   Prefiled
  12/13/2006  House   Referred to Committee on Judiciary
    1/9/2007  House   Introduced and read first time HJ-30
    1/9/2007  House   Referred to Committee on Judiciary HJ-30

View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

12/13/2006

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A BILL

TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING ARTICLE 11 TO CHAPTER 5, TITLE 43 SO AS TO REQUIRE A STATE AGENCY OR POLITICAL SUBDIVISION OF THE STATE TO VERIFY THE LAWFUL PRESENCE OF A PERSON SEEKING TO OBTAIN PUBLIC BENEFITS.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION    1.    Chapter 5, Title 43 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Article 11

Illegal Aliens and Public Benefits

Section 43-5-1410.    This article may be cited as the 'Illegal Aliens and Public Benefits Act'.

Section 43-5-1420.    (A)    Except as provided in subsection (C) or when exempted by federal law, on or after July 1, 2007, every state agency and political subdivision of this State shall verify the lawful presence in the United States of a natural person eighteen years of age or older who has applied for state or local public benefits, as defined in 8 U.S.C. Section 1621, or for federal public benefits, as defined in 8 U.S.C. Section 1611, that is administered by an agency or a political subdivision of this State.

(B)    The provisions of this article must be enforced without regard to race, religion, gender, ethnicity, or national origin.

(C)    Verification of lawful presence pursuant to the provisions of this article is not required:

(1)    for any purpose for which lawful presence in the United States is not required by law, ordinance, or regulation;

(2)    for assistance for health care items and services that are necessary for the treatment of an emergency medical condition, as defined in 42 U.S.C. Section 1396b(v)(3), of the alien involved and are not related to an organ transplant procedure;

(3)    for short-term, noncash, in-kind emergency disaster relief;

(4)    for public health assistance for immunizations with respect to immunizable diseases and for testing and treatment of symptoms of communicable diseases whether or not the symptoms are caused by a communicable disease; or

(5)    for programs, services, or assistance including soup kitchens, crisis counseling and intervention, and short-term shelter specified by the United States Attorney General, in the United States Attorney General's sole discretion after consultation with appropriate federal agencies and departments, which:

(i)     deliver in-kind services at the community level, including through public or private nonprofit agencies;

(ii)    do not condition the provision of assistance, the amount of assistance provided, or the cost of assistance provided on the individual recipient's income or resources; and

(iii)    are necessary for the protection of life or safety;

(6)    for prenatal care; or

(7)    for postsecondary education, as determined by the Commission on Higher Education, or in accordance with state law regarding postsecondary benefits that comply with all federal law including, but not limited to, public benefits as described in 8 U.S.C. Section 1611, 1621, or 1623.

(D)    Verification of lawful presence in the United States by the agency or political subdivision required to make the verification must occur as follows:

(1)    the applicant shall execute an affidavit that he is a United States citizen or legal permanent resident eighteen years of age or older; or

(2)    the applicant shall execute an affidavit that he is a qualified alien or nonimmigrant under the federal Immigration and Nationality Act eighteen years of age or older lawfully present in the United States.

(E)    For an applicant who has executed an affidavit that he is an alien lawfully present in the United States, eligibility for benefits must be made through the Systematic Alien Verification of Entitlement (SAVE) program operated by the United States Department of Homeland Security or a successor program designated by the United States Department of Homeland Security. Until such eligibility verification is made, the affidavit may be presumed to be proof of lawful presence for the purposes of this article.

(F)    A person who knowingly and wilfully makes a false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement of representation in an affidavit executed pursuant to subsection (D) is guilty of the offense of perjury and must be punished as provided for in Section 16-9-10.

(G)    To the extent that there is no direct conflict with the provisions of this article, agencies and political subdivisions of this State may adopt variations to the requirements of this article to improve efficiency or reduce delay in the verification process or to provide for adjudication of unique individual circumstances where the verification procedures provided in this article would impose unusual hardship on a legal resident of South Carolina.

(H)    It is unlawful for an agency or a political subdivision of this State to provide any state, local, or federal benefit, as defined in 8 U.S.C. Section 1621 or 8 U.S.C. Section 1611, in violation of the provisions of this article. Each state agency, department, division, or other political subdivision which administers a program of State or local public benefits shall provide an annual report with respect to its compliance with the provisions of this article.

(I)    All errors and significant delays by SAVE shall be reported to the United States Department of Homeland Security and to the Secretary of State which will monitor SAVE and its verification application errors and significant delays and report yearly on such errors and significant delays to ensure that the application of SAVE is not wrongfully denying benefits to legal residents of South Carolina.

(J)    Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (F), an applicant for federal benefits as defined in 8 U.S.C. Section 1611 or State or local benefits as defined in 8 U.S.C. Section 1621 is not guilty of a crime for executing an affidavit attesting to lawful presence in the United States that contains a false statement if the affidavit is not required pursuant to the provisions of this article."

SECTION    2.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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