Senate advances bill raising E‑Verify threshold from 15 to 50 employees

Senator Bramble presented House Bill 252 to change the state's E‑Verify threshold for private employers, telling colleagues the bill "moves it from 15 to a 50." He said E‑Verify, enacted for larger employers in 2010, has not demonstrably reduced identity theft and that state workforce officials told him the system "is really not helping a whole lot." Bramble said the bill does not repeal the requirement but raises the employee cutoff for when private businesses must use E‑Verify.

The Senate held a roll call and ordered the bill to be read a third time; the clerk announced the result as 24 yea votes, 0 nay votes, with five senators recorded absent. No floor amendments or substantive questions were raised during the chamber's discussion.

Supporters framed the change as a way to reduce regulatory burden on small employers while preserving the state's ability to verify employment eligibility for larger firms. The bill will return for third reading and final passage procedures according to the Senate calendar.