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Concerned Citizens and Immigration Reformers,

I was at the NC General Assembly for most of yesterday.

First, the better news. S.205 to deny government benefits to illegal immigrants as federal law will allow, passed the House Rules committee yesterday. It should be passed in the full House. It has already passed the NC Senate.

Now, for the not so good news. H.36 had earlier passed the NC House. It would have done a decent job of denying jobs to illegals, and was a good start only, as it initially only applied to companies with over 24 employees. Yes, I know that was a big loophole, but it was a good start. HOWEVER, when the bill came to the NC Senate it was disemboweled in the Commerce committee. Now it only applies to companies who have contracts with state and local governments and the 25 (now full-time) employee rule is in place with weakened punishments for not obeying the law. I suppose one can say it is better than nothing and it is a start and we can work to make it tougher later, and that would be true. HOWEVER again, this is a sad display of concern for the unemployed in our State and it will do very little to deny jobs to illegal immigrants.

Business lobbying groups who hold tremendous power, pushed for these changes and are more interested in protecting cheap labor for the companies who hire illegals, and apparently could give a damn about our State’s near 10% unemployment rate [U-6 number is more like 15% unemployment] and the people who are unemployed. This is a callous attitude. The particular Republicans who caved are not much better. I can only expect this decision was blessed at the top levels. One would have to be a near idiot to not realize H.36 will have little impact as now passed. Unless Bev Perdue attempts to veto it, H.36 will become law.

It must however be said that the Republicans have given more committee hearings in one day than the earlier Democrats gave us in ten years. A bill doesn’t even get a chance until there is a committee hearing. And some bills are being passed, when literally nothing was done before. I will speak to this again after the Session ends and compile a list of wins, near wins (bill passed one chamber but might wait until next year for final passage) and to-do’s for next session.

Former football great Terry Bradshaw once said, “I never lost a game in football, I just ran out of time on a some occasions”. …….meaning of course that he never gave up. It must also be said that unless we grow our organization and get more people really involved, we will be less effective in fighting against big money and special interests no matter who is in charge. It’s OUR State and OUR Country. More on this later.

Regards,

Ron Woodard

Concerned Citizens and Immigration Reformers,

THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT !!

CALL OR EMAIL THESE NC STATE SENATORS…..see below on what to do….

H.36 HAS PASSED THE NC HOUSE, AND NOW MOVES FORWARD FOR A VOTE IN THE COMMERCE COMMITTEE OF THE NC SENATE. IT HAS TO PASS THIS COMMITTEE !

H.36 will require E-Verify and will dramatically help prevent illegal immigrants from getting new jobs in North Carolina. Our state unemployment rate is 9.7%, so why should illegals be allowed to get jobs which belong to citizens?

TELL THESE NC SENATORS TO VOTE IN FAVOR OF H. 36. WE HAVE NEARLY 10% UNEMPLOYMENT IN OUR STATE. WE MUST PASS H.36 IN THE COMMERCE COMMITTEE TO MAKE SURE NEW JOBS GO TO CITIZENS, NOT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS……

WE WANT TO FOCUS ON THESE NC SENATORS (see link below to get their contact info)

Sen Harry Brown [Republican and Chairman of committee and he sponsored a similar bill in the Senate]

Sen Tom Apodaca [Republican and Vice-chairman of committee and he sponsored a similar bill in the Senate]

Sen Doug Berger [a Democrat who might vote in favor]

Sen Peter Brunstetter [ a Republican who needs to vote in favor]

Sen Rick Gunn [ a Republican who needs to vote in favor]

Sen Brent Jackson [ a Republican who needs to vote in favor]

Sen Wesley Meredith [ a Republican who needs to vote in favor]

Sen Bob Rucho [ a Republican who needs to vote in favor]

Sen William Purcell [ a Democrat who might vote in favor]

GO TO THE LINK BELOW AND THEN CLICK ON THEIR NAME:

http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/gascripts/members/memberList.pl?sChamber=Senate

Thanks and send this email to your friends and associates.

Regards,

Ron Woodard

Concerned Citizens and Immigration Reformers,

EVEN BETTER NEWS! FOUR VICTORIES. [read below, but not laws as yet]

H.36 PASSED THE NC HOUSE (final reading) last night about 10:30pm. We worked hard again to get this legislation passed, and I was in the NCGA House gallery last night when H.36 passed.

H.36 will require E-Verify and will dramatically help prevent illegal immigrants from getting new jobs in North Carolina. Our state unemployment rate is 9.7%, so why should illegals be allowed to get jobs which belong to citizens?

S.205 PASSED IN THE NC SENATE (final reading) YESTERDAY AS WELL. S.205 would deny non-emergency services to illegal immigrants as federal law will allow. The idea is to cut out government services now going to illegals, because many County agencies do not adequately check to make sure if the illegals are eligible. S.205 tightens down on the kinds of documents that are acceptable. I was in the NC Senate gallery when S.205 passed.

S.303 PASSED THE NC SENATE (final reading) YESTERDAY. S.303 would require a special mark on a NC driver’s license issued to non-citizens who are in the USA for a shorter period of time legally. This would draw attention to the expiration date, and that is was a shorter duration driver’s license, in an effort to restrict those who overstay their visa and attempt to use their driver’s license as an ID and for driving purposes. Once a person overstays their visa, they become an illegal immigrant.

H.351 PASSED A SECOND READING (needs a final third reading and vote today to pass the NC House) LAST NIGHT. H.351 would require a legitimate photo ID document and also has a number of other provisions to authenticate the voting process in North Carolina. NC LISTEN is and has been in favor of this bill, because it would help to make sure illegal aliens cannot vote. Voting is a special privilege and it should be conducted in a lawful manner.

I will provide a special email, once these bills become law, to tell you about the heroes [specific NC House and NC Senate members] in the NC General Assembly.

BUT REMEMBER, WE ARE NOT YET DONE ! THESE BILLS NOW HAVE TO BE PASSED IN THE OTHER CHAMBER (NC House passed bills go the NC Senate, and Senate bills now go to the House).

Thanks again for the help you provided by making calls, sending emails, and some even helped “on the ground” at the NC General Assembly. More help will be required.

Regards,

Ron Woodard

Concerned Citizens and Immigration Reformers,

THIS IS BIG NEWS! TWO BIG VICTORIES TODAY.

TODAY H.36 HAS PASSED THE SECOND READING ON THE NC HOUSE FLOOR (the entire NC House voted and it won with about a 40 vote margin) AND NOW MOVES FORWARD FOR A FINAL THIRD READING ON THE NC HOUSE FLOOR. The third reading is critical to it passing the NC House, but this is normally near automatic with such a large margin from the second reading. Then it’s on to the NC Senate. We worked hard again today to get support for this legislation, and I was in the NCGA gallery when H.36 passed.

H.36 will require E-Verify and will dramatically help prevent illegal immigrants from getting new jobs in North Carolina. Our state unemployment rate is 9.7%, so why should illegals be allowed to get jobs which belong to citizens?

S.205 was heard in the NC Senate Judiciary II committee today, and I spoke in favor of it. S.205 PASSED WITH NEAR UNANIMOUS APPROVAL. S.205 would deny non-emergency services to illegal immigrants as federal law will allow. The idea is to cut out government services now going to illegals, because many County agencies do not adequately check to make sure if the illegals are eligible. S.205 tightens down on the kinds of documents that are acceptable. S.205 should be voted upon by the full NC Senate before the end of the week. Then it goes to the NC House.

We are getting close to having several important bills complete the process to become law. I thank those of you who called and emailed at my request. I know you go a few weeks without hearing from me and I explained this earlier, and then you get a number of emails. But this is the way things work — fits and starts.

I am tired but we will charge forward until the job is done. Special thanks also go to ALIPAC and NC Fire, as we continually partner with each other to get the job done. Also Randy’s Right and ncrenegade have assisted in this process. I will provide a special email once legislation is completed in each chamber to tell you about the heroes [specific NC House and NC Senate members] in the NC General Assembly doing some of the heavy lifting.

Regards,

Ron Woodard

Concerned Citizens and Immigration Reformers,

CALL OR EMAIL YOUR NC HOUSE MEMBERS…..see below on what to do….THIS IS IMPORTANT!

H.36 HAS PASSED THE FINAL COMMITTEE AND NOW MOVES FORWARD FOR A VOTE ON THE NC HOUSE FLOOR.

H.36 will require E-Verify and will dramatically help prevent illegal immigrants from getting new jobs in North Carolina. Our state unemployment rate is 9.7%, so why should illegals be allowed to get jobs which belong to citizens?

TELL YOUR NC HOUSE MEMBER TO PRESS FOR A 2nd READING AND VOTE FOR HOUSE BILL 36.

IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHO YOUR NC HOUSE MEMBER IS, THEN CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW and scroll to the bottom of the page and “by zipcode” enter your zipcode and click GO. Your member of the NC State House will appear and you can click on his/her name for office phone and email address.

http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/GIS/Representation/Representation.html

Thanks and send this email to your friends and associates.

Regards,

Ron Woodard