A bill that creates a database of unauthorized immigrants who have committed felonies passed the Georgia Senate Tuesday.
Passage of House Bill 452, which requires the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to publicly post and share personally identifying information of unauthorized immigrants who have committed certain crimes follows a back and forth shuffle between the state chambers.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Cowsert presented an amended version of House Bill 452 Friday to create a separate agency for a state Department of Homeland Security that's currently combined with the Georgia Emergency Management Agency. The language, which was lifted from his domestic terrorism bill, was stripped by a House members in a committee hearing.
Because Cowsert’s amendment was longer than the bill itself, it was sent back to the Senate Rules Committee Friday. The committee then decided to place it back on the Senate calendar Tuesday, the second to last day of the legislative session.
Cowsert, a Republican from Athens, provided no additional testimony before the Senate Tuesday.
The bill, sponsored by Jesse Petrea, R-Savannah, passed 36-18. Because the bill was changed in the Senate, it now goes back to the House for final review.
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