It always happens.
Every year the General Assembly attempts to make substantive policy changes through the end of session “technical” corrections bill that is designed to only make necessary error-fixing and clarifying changes.
This year, the bill SB 1242, would gut an existing provision that requires local law enforcement agencies to report the number of illegal immigrants they arrest for DUI to state authorities and compile an annual report on the number of instances.
The following section would be stricken from statute:
(d) The administrator or other person in charge of the facility shall annually report the
30 number of queries performed under subsection (b) of this section and the results of those
31 queries to the Governor’s Crime Commission of the Department of Crime Control and Public
32 Safety. The Governor’s Crime Commission shall make the reports available to the public.”
Under this change, law enforcement would still be required to check with Department of Homeland Security on the immigration status of the drunk driver, but would not have to keep count or record how many illegal immigrant DUI arrests are made.
Is the problem of illegal immigrants drinking while driving so bad that the General Assembly and Governor want to bury the report and hide its true impact? It sure seems so.
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