Providing for Commonwealth grantee employment verification; establishing the Commonwealth Grantee Employment Verification Account; and imposing penalties.
Summary
HB1781 would require most recipients of Pennsylvania State grants, along with their contractors and subcontractors, to enroll in and use the federal E-Verify Program to confirm the employment eligibility of new hires whose wages are paid in whole or in part with State grant money. Before a grant agreement is executed, the grantor agency would have to provide a verification form, and contractors and subcontractors would also have to complete the form before performing grant-funded work. The bill also requires grant contracts to include notice of these obligations and directs grantor agencies to post E-Verify information on their websites.
The bill creates a new enforcement framework within the Administrative Code of 1929. Grantor agencies would be responsible for investigating complaints, conducting random and complaint-based audits, and imposing sanctions for noncompliance. Penalties include warning letters, temporary or longer debarment from State grant-funded work, civil penalties for false or misleading verification forms, and enhanced sanctions for willful violations. The bill also establishes a restricted revenue account in the General Fund to receive penalty revenue and fund administration and enforcement of the program.
Impact
HB1781 would add a new Article XXIV-D to the Administrative Code of 1929, expanding State grant compliance requirements for grantees, contractors, and subcontractors that use State grant funds to pay wages. It would not apply to tax credits, tax benefits, procurement contracts, or money appropriated for other purposes. The bill would also create a new Commonwealth Grantee Employment Verification Account and authorize grantor agencies to use collected penalties to administer and enforce the article. In practice, the measure would affect State grant administration across executive-branch agencies and impose new compliance, recordkeeping, and contracting obligations on grant recipients and their vendors.
Sentiment
Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee debate or votes in the provided materials, the overall sentiment appears to be supportive of stricter employment-verification requirements for State grant recipients. The bill’s sponsors and co-sponsors suggest interest in immigration-related employment compliance and grant accountability. Because no transcripts or vote history are available, there is no documented opposition or support from committee members in the supplied record.
Contention
The main points of contention likely center on the use of E-Verify as a condition of receiving State grant funds, the administrative burden on grantees and their contractors, and the scope of sanctions for noncompliance. Potential concerns include the risk of erroneous employment-eligibility results, possible discrimination or disparate impacts, and whether grant-funded entities should be subject to debarment for verification failures. The bill attempts to address some of these issues by prohibiting discrimination, providing good-faith immunity for entities relying on E-Verify, and limiting liability among grantees, contractors, and subcontractors, but those safeguards may not eliminate concerns about enforcement and compliance costs.
In public works employment verification, further providing for definitions, for duty of public works contractors and subcontractors, for verification form, for violations, for enforcement and sanctions, for Public Works Employment Verification Account, for protection from retaliation, for good faith immunity and for public works contractor and subcontractor liability; and making an editorial change.
Providing for the use of a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer identifier in all Commonwealth agency or entity blanks, forms, documents and applications; and imposing penalties.
A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 58.1-416, as it is effective and as it may become effective, 58.1-422.4, and 58.1-422.5, as it may become effective, of the Code of Virginia and to repeal the third enactment of Chapter 256 and the third enactment of Chapter 257 of the Acts of Assembly of 2022, relating to corporate income tax; sourcing of sales other than sales of tangible personal property.
A Joint Resolution proposing integrated amendments to the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, providing for the election and qualifications of the Secretary of the Commonwealth.