Below we have pasted the text of the remarks Georgia state Senator Josh McKoon made at a Georgia Capitol press conference just ended in Atlanta. We urge you to take the time to understand Senator McKoon’s goals for the next legislative session.
You can contact him HERE [1](and through his legislative assistant) with thanks and comments. Donna.Nealey(AT)senate.ga.gov
Remarks as Prepared for Delivery 8 July 2015 – Josh McKoon
“Good morning. Thank you for joining me today.
Today is the first in a series of media availabilities I will have to discuss legislative proposals for the upcoming session of the General Assembly.
For our purposes today, I am announcing two such proposals.
One, in the interest of government transparency, I intend to introduce a resolution in the Senate very early next session that would allow members to vote on changing Senate rules to end the practice of unrecorded votes on the Senate floor.
I have heard it said that the unrecorded, hand vote known as “rise stand and be counted” is necessary “to speed up debate.” Those of us dedicated to government accountability reject the premise that duly elected state Senators – for any reason – should ever cast a vote – on any issue – that cannot be readily visible and noted by our constituents. After serving in the legislature for five years I can say with a degree of certainty that we do not suffer from a lack of time to deliberate but rather the time we have is not appropriately prioritized. Ending the practice of unrecorded votes I suspect will result in a more deliberative and transparent public policy formation process that benefits all involved.
The Senate is empowered to amend this and all of our Rules at anytime during our two year biennium and I intend to give the Senate that opportunity.
Secondly, regarding the crime of illegal immigration, I want to announce the expansion of the language and goals contained in Senate Bill 6.
I am aware that many may not regard this as having the importance of a billion dollar-a-year transportation tax increase. But, I have seen estimates that we spend about $2.5 billion dollars each year from the Georgia budget on the crime of illegal immigration.
According to DHS, we have more illegal aliens than Arizona. While that crime is lowering our wages, hurting our own poor, costing us jobs and doing perhaps permanent damage to the concept of a government operated on the rule of law, all of that must be secondary to the fact that the Obama administration and local governments across the nation are releasing convicted, violent, deportable criminal aliens onto American streets who are murdering innocent people.
The most recent completely preventable murder of yet another American, Kathryn Steinle, who was shot down by an illegal alien who had multiple previous criminal convictions and had been deported five times can, and I fear will, eventually also happen here in Georgia. I am guessing that the general public is unaware that least three law enforcement agencies in the metro-Atlanta area reportedly have the same policies in place that allowed Kate Steinle’s illegal alien killer to be released by San Francisco law enforcement.
While there are very powerful forces aligned against any legislative actions intended to deter illegal immigration and illegal employment in Georgia, I am in hopes that our lifesaving bill will at least be granted a hearing in the senate and that the number of co-sponsors will increase. I will be introducing substitute language designed to increase public safety and save American lives.
We know that enforcement works at encouraging illegal aliens to leave Georgia. Attrition of – not an increase in – the illegal population is the goal of the enforcement provisions in SB 6.
The additions to my bill that already contains language to end the current practice of rewarding any illegal aliens with a Georgia drivers license will include:
1) A component that clarifies and expands the state definition of “sanctuary ” governments and policies.
Currently, I am informed that the sheriff’s offices in Clayton, DeKalb and Fulton counties have in place policies that refuse cooperation with federal law enforcement regarding ICE requests to hold illegal alien prisoners for federal enforcement action.
To be clear: We are exploring all possible methods of sanctioning any law enforcement agency that refuses to cooperate with ICE on detainers or sharing of information.
2) It is our intent to put into state law a requirement that state law enforcement officials are given access to currently available data from federal law enforcement sources regarding criminal aliens released onto American streets by the Obama administration and if possible, make that information available in the form of a public, online registry.
The thought here is that if we can track and register sex offenders, we can and should do the same for criminal aliens to protect American lives. We will be grateful for any and all assistance from the Georgia delegation in Washington D.C. on this.
3) To insure that Americans and legally admitted immigrants are not replaced in line by illegals, language is being added to SB 6 to clarify the intention of the legislature that no illegal alien will qualify for instate tuition in USG schools or technical colleges and are more clearly prohibited from accessing HOPE scholarship funding.
4) Also, in the interest of deterrence and making Georgia much less attractive to illegal immigration, SB 6 will be modified so as to prohibit aliens who do not have legal status from being licensed or employed as professionals in public schools or practicing law as attorneys as is happening in other states.
To the sure-to-come mindless howls of “mean-spirited” and “anti-immigrant”: Let me be clear that our intention is to honor our immigration system and the value of American citizenship by protecting the rule of law and the taxpayers we were elected to serve and defend. In my view, under the Gold Dome, we should strive to be pro-enforcement on immigration.
A time traveler from the Georgia of even ten years ago would be astounded by the unconstitutional actions of the president and current reward system we have in place for illegal aliens the Obama administration has endeavored to grant executive amnesty.
We must not be party to matching president Obama with a Georgia amnesty. The results of the creeping incrementalism of the last several years is undeniable.
In conclusion, to secure the safety of the people of our state so that no one in Georgia is the victim of a wanton crime that should never have happened like Kathryn Steinle, to insure that Georgians who are suffering from unemployment rates above the national average have a fair opportunity to get employed and to end the reward system for illegal aliens in Georgia I can and will continue to press for immediate consideration and action on the proposals I have outlined today.”