One proposal, co-sponsored by St. Louis County Democratic Senator Tim Green would toughen the penalties against those who hire illegal workers. The proposal would also bar illegal immigrants from admission to public universities and give police more powers to investigate illegal immigration.
Some Senators have become distressed by the power gained by special interest groups and lobbyists since the passage of term limits, Sen. Tim Green, D- St. Louis County, said. "Political contributions and special interest groups have become the avenue of reason, not public policy," he said.
St. Louis county Senator Tim Green wrote the proposal saying it will benefit students because they will have the chance to learn from career politicians.
The amendment was offered in the Senate by Sen. Tim Green, D-St. Louis County. "I think there's a lot of practical experience of a lot of elected officials that you can not learn in books," Green said after the House committee vote Tuesday. "The strength of special interest, the strength of campaign contributions and how that all plays into the political process."
"If the governor is serious about this, let's start pursuing some legislation ... so we have good employers. Let's start punishing employers, " said Sen. Tim Green, D-St. Louis County. Green is sponsoring and co-sponsoring a pair of bills that would crack down on hiring illegal immigrants in the state.
The Missouri AFL-CIO is supporting a bill offered by Sen. Tim Green, D-St. Louis County, that would bar the hiring of illegal immigrants by subcontractors working on publicly funded projects. Companies that violate the measure would not be allowed to bid on any such projects for 10 years.
Intro: Senators Chris Koster and Tim Green held a news conference on Tuesday concerning a new illegal immigration policy for the state of Missouri. Sam Wappelhorst (WAH-pull-horse-t) has more from the capitol.