I oppose the passage of HB 197 (by Burt Solomons)- requiring occupational licensees to provide proof of citizenship or legal status

in order to retain their license or face criminal charges. This legislation is redundant and an onerous burden on Texas residents. It is redundant because in order to have a driver's license in Texas, you must already submit proof of lawful presence. In order to obtain an occupational license or apply for a job or even cash a paycheck, the typical requirement is to provide a valid driver's license. Both laws serve the same purpose and it's virtually impossible to have an occupational license without having already provided the necessary authorization documents to the state when obtaining an ID card or driver's license. Second, the bill is an onerous burden because it requires individuals to continually prove citizenship or legitimacy. In some cases, occupational licenses last only a year. This would require a person to keep submitting proof of lawful presence annually. Those legal immigrants who have a legal right to work in the U.S. on a temporary work visa would be unfairly burdened because, as you know, the U.S. Department of Immigration (ICE) is backlogged by several months (sometimes longer than a year). Getting the documents to the state on time would be a difficult undertaking simply because of the red tape and bureaucratic backlogs involved. This also hurts the Texas economy by discouraging the best and brightest immigrants overseas from coming to our state. A large percentage of patents each year are filed by newly-arrived immigrants. The timing is extremely poor. Discouraging talented and smart people from coming to Texas to start businesses and create jobs is not what we need at this time. Furthermore, the state is already experiencing a severe budget crunch and adding yet another layer of onerous requirements is simply adding to the cost. Why implement two new laws that do virtually the same thing? Please reconsider voting for this bill. Thank you.