Penalties for hiring illegal immigrants advance in Legislature

A bill that would deny tax incentives to Nebraska businesses that knowingly hire illegal immigrants has been sent out to the full Legislature. The 5-2 vote from the Revenue Committee came on the same day another committee officially reported its decision to kill Gov.

Dave Heineman’s proposal that would have required all state and local government agencies to verify non-citizen’s legal authority to be in the United States before granting them government benefits such as unemployment, welfare or resident tuition rates at Nebraska colleges. The Revenue Committee vote on LB784, however, appeared to be mostly symbolic.

The measure, introduced by State Sen. Gwen Howard of Omaha, has not been given priority status. With the legislative session more than half complete, Howard said she doubted any action could be taken on the measure before the Legislature’s scheduled April 17 adjournment.