The below request for comment was sent to the Georgia Student Finance Commission at 7:13 PM on Dec. 27, 2023. I did not receive a reply.
GSFC
I am in hopes that your office can offer a comment or direction.
By D.A. King
The below request for comment was sent to the Georgia Student Finance Commission at 7:13 PM on Dec. 27, 2023. I did not receive a reply.
GSFC
I am in hopes that your office can offer a comment or direction.
By D.A. King
The below reply and follow up was received from Rep Martin Dec. 5, 2023 at 8:00 AM.
The original request is here.
_
Mr. King,
To my reading and the reading of others with whom I have consulted, SB 379 via definitions, particularly in lines 19 – 33, requires the participant (“Apprentice”) and the employer (“Apprenticeship sponsor”) to be registered in Georgia and with the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship. Further, *a bulletin from the Office of Apprenticeship explains in part, “all individuals who are eligible to work in the U.S. are afforded an opportunity to participate and complete a RAP [registered apprenticeship program].”
Additionally, lines 52 – 55 outline employer application, providing another layer in assuring compliance with all applicable Georgia Law and Federal Law.
In sponsoring the legislation in the House in my role as Higher Education Chair, I relied on Senator Strickland’s statement that SB 379 stacks on underlying Georgia and Federal Law as outlined above.
Best Regards,
Rep. Chuck Martin.
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*Note: In my own reply to this response I asked Rep Martin for the title and date of the *U.S. DOL bulletin he cited and he was kind enough to send me this bulletin, (which I had already found and read). I am grateful to Rep Martin.
By D.A. King
*Updated with replies: Dec. 6:
Reply from Sen. Strickland is here.
Reply from Rep Martin is here.
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Sent today at 11:11 AM to Senator Brian Strickland. Also sent to Rep Chuck Martin.
By D.A. King
The below reply was received December 4, 2023 at 9:28 AM from Sen. Strickland’s staffer.
The original request is here.
“Good morning,
I hope this email finds you well. On behalf of Senator Strickland, ” “SB 379 established for the first time a registered apprenticeship program in Georgia that allows individuals to connect with small businesses in search of workers today to gain the skill and experience necessary to start a career. The bill requires oversight from the State Board of the Technical College System of Georgia and also requires that any individual taking part as an apprentice be registered in Georgia with the United States Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship. Illegal immigration was not specifically addressed in this bill but if any legislator believes that illegal aliens are taking the funds set forth in this program, then I am sure we will see a bill to address this.”
Thank you,
“ | HANNAH HOLCOMB | Legislative Assistant Georgia General assembly |
Georgia State Senate | 18 Capitol Square SW, Suite 324 CLOB | Atlanta, GA 30334
O. 404-656-0508
Email: HANNAH.HOLCOMB@senate.ga. gov
SENATOR KAY KIRKPATRICK, DISTRICT 32
Chairwoman – Children and Family
SENATOR BRIAN STRICKLAND, DISTRICT 17
Chairman – Judiciary
By D.A. King
*Update: Dec. 5, 2023: I received a response in a Twitter message from Garrison Douglas, Gov Kemp’s Press Secretary at 4:58 PM today.
That reply directed me to OCGA 50-36-1, which is a code section I have been working on since it was introduced as part of SB 529, the ‘Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act of 2006.’ I drafted the first update to that law in HB2 (it’s section 3) in 2009. I worked on this law in 2011 when GA passed HB 87, the “Illegal Immigration Reform and Enforcement Act of 2011.” I can recite much of the details and requirements in that law from memory.
It is worthy of note that around 11:30 AM today, Dec. 5, I received a call that went to my voicemail from a David Dove in Gov Kemp’s office informing me that I could call him back about the request I had sent to their “comms” office.
I called back multiple times but never got an answer or any voice mail despite the phone ringing about twenty times. I then called the main number for Gov. Kemp’s office (404-656-1776) and spoke to a very nice staffer there. She confirmed that David Dove did in fact work there but she had no phone number or email address for him. I asked her to note that I called. It was quite odd.
I was informed later that David Dove is Gov. Kemp’s Executive Counsel.
I will have much more to say about Gov Kemp’s answer to me very soon. It is posted above as a screenshot from Twitter/X.
Audio of David Dove’s voice mail below.
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Original post:
At about 11:45 AM today the below request for a comment and response from Gov. Kemp’s office was emailed to Mr. Andrew Iisenhour, Gov. Kemp’s Communications Director. I also emailed it to Gov. Kemp and received a reply from him that it had been received. I also tweeted / X’ed this post to Mr. Garrison Douglas, Gov. Kemp’s Press Secretary.
_
Mr. Eisenhour,
(apologies)
Mr. Isenhour,
Focused on illegal immigration in Georgia, I am writing a news/opinion column on the results of passage of SB 379 in the 2022 General Assembly. To insure fairness and accuracy I hope to include a comment from Gov. Kemp’s office.
I see the quote in a Nov. 2022 media release from the governor on the legislation and the HDCI program: “During the 2022 legislative session, Governor Kemp and lawmakers partnered to pass SB 379, representing a historic investment in apprenticeships in Georgia through the HDCI Program. The HDCI Program awards up to $50,000 in funding to Georgia businesses to upskill workers through registered apprenticeships and increase skilled talent within Georgia’s high-demand industries.”
I am hoping for a response to the following request:
Please cite any language or reference to any required verification procedure contained in current laws created by SB 379 that serve to exclude illegal alien employees and employers from participating in and benefiting from the HDCI/apprenticeship program as apprentices, apprenticeship sponsors or apprenticeship employers.
* For clarity and put differently, is there a provision in state law created by 2022’s SB 379 that prevents illegal alien employers and employees similar to the subjects of this press release by the U.S. Attorney in Georgia’s Southern District from accessing the tax-payer-funded apprenticeship program on any level?
If yes, please cite and explain any existing provisions.
I am writing for my own blog and will likely submit a version of my finished investigation column to James Magazine Online and/or Breitbart News. My deadline is Tuesday, Dec.5 2023 at 5:00 PM.
Thank you. Please contact me with any questions.
Go Dawgs!
D.A. King
Marietta
404-
By D.A. King
The below post is a copy of a letter to the editor published today in the Middle Georgia Houston Home Journal . There is a paywall. We are grateful to Mr. Trent for sending his letter along and for the kind words.
“I can’t help but wonder if Laken Riley’s family knows about Sen. Walker’s measure.”
April 17, 2024
Dear editor,
I write in regard to the guest column your newspaper published Saturday from Mr. D.A. King and the legislation sponsored by Sen. Larry Walker passed by the GOP-controlled General Assembly. I thank you for running the accurate and wisely written column. King is an expert. I too recommend that Gov. Kemp veto SB 354.
I hope readers and conservative voters in Middle Georgia recognize the fact while the Republican lawmakers were proudly boasting of passage of HB 1105 aimed criminal illegals and sanctuary policies, they also passed Walker’s SB 354 which is a literal written invitation to illegal aliens to come to Georgia. The irresponsible quest for more workers and more business in Georgia at any cost has gone over the top of the lunacy mark.
Inviting more illegals will produce more crime and needless misery for Georgians. I can’t help but wonder if Laken Riley’s family knows about Sen. Walker’s measure.
As a retired Senior Special Agent of the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (USINS) I have spent most of my life fighting the fully avoidable crime created by illegal immigration. I served on metropolitan area drug, and organized crime task forces for many years and have supervised special agents assigned to the Joint Terrorism Task Force. In addition, I spent ten years as a uniformed Border Patrol agent assigned to both the northern and southern borders.
My final assignment was as the Assistant Director, Enforcement Training, U.S. Immigration Officer Academy, Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, Glynco, GA.
Trusting voters should be reminded that as ‘candidate Kemp’ in 2018 our governor promised to focus on illegal immigration in Georgia and to end the already illegal sanctuary policies that some jailers have created. Having closely watched Gov. Kemp, I can say with great disgust that he has done nothing since then about our very real illegal immigration problem in Georgia.
If SB 354 becomes law, it will lead to more bills that further dismantle the system in place to discourage illegal immigration in Georgia.
Not many Republican voters want Georgia to be “a great place for illegals to live, work and raise a family.” But Nobody should be surprised if Gov. Kemp proudly signs Walker’s dangerous bill into law while assuring us that it’s “good for business.”
Robert Trent
St. Mary’s
Contact info for the Georgia delegation in Washington DC here. Just click on their name.
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