State Chamber Critical Of New Law

Tuesday, June 19th 2007, 5:44 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- A new state immigration law hailed by Oklahoma lawmakers as one of the toughest in the nation on illegal immigrants was decried Tuesday by a group that represents businesses and industries across the state.

The bill in its initial form in the House was opposed by The State Chamber, whose lobbyists worked during the session to remove some provisions it deemed too harsh on Oklahoma employers, said Mike Seney, the chamber's senior vice president of operations.

"There was no real reform," Seney said during The State Chamber's annual meeting at the Skirvin Hotel in downtown Oklahoma City. "The bill that came out of the House was a bad bill."

Seney said a number of changes were made to the bill in the Senate, including delaying the effective date of provisions affecting private employers until July 1, 2008, which allowed The State Chamber to remain neutral on the final version.

"I'm not going to say it's a good bill, but it's not as bad as it was," said Monty Akridge, assistant vice president for Integris, who moderated the panel with chamber officials.

Seney said Oklahoma companies who employ illegal immigrants still can face stiff penalties under the new law, but he said employers who use a federal Status Verification System to check their employees are given "safe harbor" under the bill.

Another disappointment for The State Chamber was the Legislature's inability to enact an overhaul of the state's civil justice system, which was one of the group's top priorities this year.

Commonly called tort reform, the measure passed the House and narrowly cleared the Senate by one vote, but was vetoed by Gov. Brad Henry.

"We'll look at those concerns and go back again next year," Seney said.

Some of the difficulties encountered by lobbyists at the Capitol this year resulted from a host of new lawmakers as a result of legislative term limits.

"We had a great deal of inexperience in the Legislature," Akridge said. "We just didn't get the bills moved at all."

While there were some disappointments for the Chamber, there were also several successes. The group hailed passage of a number of tax exemptions for businesses, a sales tax holiday and the expansion of a program to help employers pay health insurance premiums for their workers.

The keynote speaker at Tuesday's event was former Gov. George Nigh, who challenged those in attendance to push the state forward as it celebrates its centennial.

"The centennial should end with a comma, not a period," said Nigh, 80. "Then put the exclamation point there that Rodgers and Hammerstein did in 1943.

"If you're not excited, then who will be."

Related Stories:

3/5/2007 Green Country Hispanics Fight New Immigration Bill

4/3/2007 Controversial Immigration Bill Closer To Becoming Law

4/16/2007 State Senate Approves Sweeping Immigration Legislation

4/19/2007 Hispanics Speak Out Against Immigration Legislation

5/1/2007 State House Sends Immigration Reform Bill To The Governor

5/1/2007 Hispanic Leaders Say State Immigration Bill Will Not Work

5/2/2007 Governor Henry Still Undecided On Immigration Reform Bill

5/8/2007 Governor Signs Sweeping Immigration Reform Bill

5/8/2007 Controversial Immigration Bill Signed Into Law

5/9/2007 Local Business Could See A Boost Thanks To A New Immigration Law

5/9/2007 Immigration Law Creates New Rules For Oklahoma Employers

5/22/2007 Tulsa City Council Mulls Immigration Plan

5/24/2007 Still No Decision In Tulsa Immigration Plan

5/25/2007 City Council Passes New Immigration Ordinance

5/31/2007 Key Officials Meet To Discuss The City's Immigration Policy

6/2/2007 Debate Continues On Immigration Reform

6/2/2007 Tackling The Immigration Issue