South Carolina General Assembly
117th Session, 2007-2008

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H. 4384

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Viers, E.H. Pitts and Littlejohn
Document Path: l:\council\bills\bbm\10247mm08.doc

Introduced in the House on January 8, 2008
Currently residing in the House Committee on Judiciary

Summary: Illegal aliens and public benefits

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

     Date      Body   Action Description with journal page number
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  12/12/2007  House   Prefiled
  12/12/2007  House   Referred to Committee on Judiciary
    1/8/2008  House   Introduced and read first time HJ-54
    1/8/2008  House   Referred to Committee on Judiciary HJ-54

View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

12/12/2007

(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 OF TITLE 43 SO AS TO REQUIRE THE STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO VERIFY THE LAWFUL PRESENCE IN THE UNITED STATES OF A PERSON FOURTEEN YEARS OR OLDER WHO HAS APPLIED FOR STATE OR LOCAL PUBLIC BENEFITS OR FOR FEDERAL BENEFITS ADMINISTERED BY THIS STATE, TO PROVIDE EXEMPTED BENEFITS, TO PROVIDE FOR AN AFFIDAVIT OF ELIGIBILITY AND FOR CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR A FRAUDULENT MISREPRESENTATION IN THE AFFIDAVIT, AND TO PROVIDE FOR ANNUAL REPORTS FROM THESE AGENCIES.

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.    (A)    Except as provided in subsection (C) of this section or where exempted by federal law, every agency or a political subdivision of this State shall verify the lawful presence in the United States of a natural person fourteen 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 section must be enforced without regard to race, religion, gender, ethnicity, or national origin.

(C)    Verification of lawful presence pursuant to this section is not required for:

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

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

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

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

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

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

(c)    are necessary for the protection of life or safety.

(D)(1)    Verification of lawful presence in the United States by the agency or political subdivision required to make the verification requires that the applicant execute an affidavit under penalty of perjury that:

(a)    he is a United States citizen; or

(b)    he is a qualified alien under the federal Immigration and Nationality Act, and is lawfully present in the United States.

(2)    The agency or political subdivision providing the state or local public benefits shall provide notary public services at no cost to the applicant.

(E)    For an applicant who has executed the affidavit described in subsection (D) of this section, verification of eligibility for benefits must be made through the Systematic Alien Verification of Entitlement 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 is presumed to be proof of lawful presence for the purposes of this section.

(F)    A person who knowingly and wilfully makes a false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement of representation in an affidavit executed pursuant to subsection (D) of this section is subject to criminal penalties applicable in this State for fraudulently obtaining public assistance program benefits. If the affidavit constitutes a false claim of United States citizenship under 18 U.S.C. Section 911, a complaint shall be filed by the agency requiring the affidavit with the United States Attorney for the applicable district based upon the venue in which the affidavit was executed.

(G)    Agencies or political subdivisions of this State may adopt variations to the requirements of the provisions of this section which demonstrably improve the efficiency or reduce delay in the verification process, or to provide for adjudication of unique individual circumstances where the verification procedures in this section would impose unusual hardship on a legal resident of South Carolina.

(H)    It is unlawful for any 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 section.

(I)    A state agency or department that administers a program of state or local public benefits shall provide an annual report to the Governor, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives with respect to its compliance with the provisions of this section. The agency or department shall monitor the Systematic Alien Verification of Entitlement program for verification application errors and significant delays and shall provide an annual public report on errors and significant delays, and recommendations to ensure that the application of the Systematic Alien Verification of Entitlement program is not erroneously denying benefits to legal residents of South Carolina. Errors also must be reported to the United States Department of Homeland Security by the agency or department."

SECTION    2.    The repeal or amendment by this act of any law, whether temporary or permanent or civil or criminal, does not affect pending actions, rights, duties, or liabilities founded thereon, or alter, discharge, release or extinguish any penalty, forfeiture, or liability incurred under the repealed or amended law, unless the repealed or amended provision shall so expressly provide. After the effective date of this act, all laws repealed or amended by this act must be taken and treated as remaining in full force and effect for the purpose of sustaining any pending or vested right, civil action, special proceeding, criminal prosecution, or appeal existing as of the effective date of this act, and for the enforcement of rights, duties, penalties, forfeitures, and liabilities as they stood under the repealed or amended laws.

SECTION    3.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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