Workman's outrageous bills

[Paul G]

Sorry I wasn't able to make the forum.  I had planned to attend but had a conflict. I've recently read two bills which Workman submitted during the last session and found them to have shocking provisions. HB 2886 - A bill to create a nonsense state issued worker permit.  This bill was clearly ridiculous since states cannot issue visas and other immigration documents. The Supreme Court would toss this provisions of the bill out by unanimous vote.  There was one section of the bill which would not have been tossed - its the only section which wouldn't have been tossed.  A section granting drivers licenses to illegal aliens. http://www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs/82R/billtext/pdf/HB02886I.pdf#navpanes=0 Read Sec. 54.010, which states, “A person issued a resident alien card under this chapter may obtain a Texas driver ’s license”. There you have it.  Workman submitted a bill to grant drivers licenses to illegal aliens. HB 1370 - A proposal for the state of Texas to create a training academy to train workers, American or illegal alien – the bill doesn’t specify – for construction jobs. The academy is cleverly described as high school level.  Why?  Courts have ruled that illegal aliens cannot be denied a primary school or secondary school education, so we must assume illegal aliens would be welcome.  The bill also says “the academy may enroll high school graduates, especially recent high school graduates”.  Since it doesn’t say they must have graduated from an American high school, and nor does it define “recent”, any garden variety illegal alien would be welcome to receive training at our expense. Clearly this is intended to benefit his construction buddies, and himself, by having the taxpayers shoulder the cost of a trade academy for their workers – again, many of whom would naturally be illegal aliens.   No provision was made to pay for the academy, like perhaps a fee on licensed construction companies in Texas, so we must assume all Texas taxpayers would have paid for the academy. Nothing stops the construction industry from pooling resources and creating a trade training academy on their own, without taxpayer money.  This bill is about a public subsidy to the billion dollar construction industry in Texas. Folks, its high time to realize Workman is a Wall Street Republican – one of those who pocket their profits and boast of their success when times are good, but who want taxpayers to bear their expenses and losses when times are bad. I haven't looked into Ryan Downton yet, but I urge y'all to have a close look at him. Even if we learn Downton is as bad as Workman in some way, I'd recommend voting for him just to deny Workman the opportunity to gain seniority for the next session.  Always vote a bad incumbent  out to put the new guy on notice. Regards, Paul Gelencser

[Paul G]

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/TKCF337

[Michael Marotta]

Maybe we can ask the Chair to schedule a discussion on this.  We are limited in time and this is something we could examine for hours on end.  But if we invest some work in preparation, we might get in a few statements and a Q&A.  

I ask because I have very little problem with so-called "illegal aliens."  I understand that we live by rule of law.  I also understand that in America, we question the law by holding it up to a higher moral code.  (Just for instance, the fact that the Federal income tax has been in the Constitution for nearly 100 years does not prevent us from calling it a bad law.)  Passports were largely unknown before World War I.  Limits on immigration date from the Progressive Era and were tied to the Eugenics movement that was popular with political leaders such as Theodore Roosevelt and Oliver Wendell Holmes and with social activists such as Margaret Sanger.  

But the Grand Old Party is, as we say, a big tent.  If there is a case to be made for limiting immigration, I guess we should avail ourselves of the opportunity to consider it.

Is there any interest in this as a meeting topic?