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State representatives file birth certificate bill filed for presidential candidates
Posted by Caleb on November 18, 2010 · Comments (20)
A state representative on Tuesday filed a bill that would require any candidate for president or vice president of the United States to show his or her birth certificate to the Texas secretary of state, another indication of just how ambitious the conservative agenda for next year’s session of the Texas Legislature is expected to be.
“This bill is necessary because we have a president whom the American people don’t know whether he was born in Kenya or some other place,” Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler, said in reference to President Barack Obama and of House Bill 295. “If you are running for president or vice president, you’ve got to show here in Texas that you were born in the United States and the birth certificate is your proof.”
Berman’s bill specifies that “the secretary of state may not certify the name of a candidate for president or vice-president unless the candidate has presented the original birth certificate indicating that the person is a natural-born United States citizen.”
If the Legislature passes the proposed legislation and Gov. Rick Perry signs it into law, it would become effective on Sept. 1, 2011, six months before the state holds its 2012 presidential primaries.
Read More: Lubbock Avalanche Journal
State representatives file birth certificate bill filed for presidential candidates
Posted: November 17, 2010 - 1:40am
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AUSTIN — A state representative on Tuesday filed a bill that would require any candidate for president or vice president of the United States to show his or her birth certificate to the Texas secretary of state, another indication of just how ambitious the conservative agenda for next year’s session of the Texas Legislature is expected to be.
“This bill is necessary because we have a president whom the American people don’t know whether he was born in Kenya or some other place,” Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler, said in reference to President Barack Obama and of House Bill 295. “If you are running for president or vice president, you’ve got to show here in Texas that you were born in the United States and the birth certificate is your proof.”
Berman’s bill specifies that “the secretary of state may not certify the name of a candidate for president or vice-president unless the candidate has presented the original birth certificate indicating that the person is a natural-born United States citizen.”
If the Legislature passes the proposed legislation and Gov. Rick Perry signs it into law, it would become effective on Sept. 1, 2011, six months before the state holds its 2012 presidential primaries.
Berman’s proposal is similar to one introduced in the Arizona Legislature this year which prompted the Arizona Republic, the largest newspaper in that state, to write: “The legislation originated from a fringe group that believes President Barack Obama is not a natural-born citizen of the United States and therefore ineligible to be president.”
The so-called “birther movement,” which questions Obama’s citizenship, started during the 2008 presidential campaign and though most news organizations have reported that there is overwhelming evidence that the president was born in Hawaii in 1961, there is small percentage of the U.S. population which is not convinced.
Berman, who in previous sessions introduced legislation aimed at stopping illegal immigration in Texas, also filed bills that would make English the official language in the Lone Star State and crack down on illegal immigrants.
Another bill would impose an 8 percent fee on any amount of money wired to or sent by another electronic method to Mexico, Central American and South America — unless the sender shows proof of U.S. citizenship or legal residence.
These are bills that Berman has unsuccessfully filed in previous sessions.
In the 2007 session, for example, then Rep. David Swinford, R-Dumas, chairman of the House State Affairs Committee, single-handedly killed all of Berman’s bills on the advice of Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott.
Committee chairmen have the power to kill bills they consider harmful to the state. Swinford killed Berman’s bills because Abbott advised him that if the Legislature passed them, they would not survive court challenges and the state would spend millions of dollars on legal fees, like California did in the mid-1990s.
In 1994 California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 187, a ballot initiative that would have denied basic services like health care and education to illegal immigrants but it never became law because of successful court challenges.
Berman’s bills are the latest in a series of proposals aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration, making English the official language of the state, and requiring Texas voters to show identification before casting a ballot.
Last week, when the first day of pre-filing bills for the 82nd Legislature started, Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Tomball, filed legislation that would allow police to ask for proof of citizenship to anyone suspected of being in the U.S. illegally, like the recent Arizona law currently being challenged in court.
Rep. Jessica Farrar of Houston, leader of the House Democrats, has no doubt that Berman’s and Riddle’s bills will pass in the lower chamber because Republicans are expected to have a historic 99-51 majority.
But like other Democrats, Farrar doubts such bills will make it in the 31-member Senate because Democrats have 12 votes, barely enough to kill any legislation they oppose unless the chamber lifts its two-thirds rule which requires a two-thirds vote to bring any legislation to the Senate floor.
Berman said he is also aware that the fate of his bills is uncertain in the Senate and also in the House — unless the lower chamber elects a more conservative speaker.
Although he didn’t mention House Speaker Joe Straus by name, Berman said that if San Antonio Republican remains the chamber’s leader, his bills could be killed again.
“My bills will pass in the House if we have a conservative speaker,” said Berman, who supports Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, one of two challengers Straus is facing in his re-election bid.
To comment on this story:
enrique.rangel@morris.com • 512-673-7553
terry.greenberg@lubbockonline.com • 766-8700
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