Sheriff Butch Conway of populous Gwinnett County, a 37-year law enforcement veteran who has served as the county’s chief lawman for 19 years, is never one to hold back on a forthright opinion. And he doesn’t often address pending legislation. But he is very concerned about the surprise introduction of Senate Bill 320, what he cites as its “dangers” and that it was rushed through the Senate Public Safety Committee.
He says “Gwinnett County is a top destination for immigrants, both legal and illegal, this legislation is of great importance to our county.” In this context, he’s concerned that “that SB 320 appears to charge law enforcement officers with the duty of verifying the validity and authenticity of foreign driver’s licenses on Georgia’s roadways and to interpret immigration documents and foreign passports. Additionally, the language of SB 320 seems to assume that an officer on the street would be able to discern what reflects ‘lawful entry’ into the United States by an alien through inspection of a foreign passport or visa.” “As one of the best equipped law enforcement agencies in Georgia,” the sheriff says, “please understand that my deputies don’t have the equipment or training to accomplish these duties. We cannot verify a foreign driver’s license on the street. Budget constraints currently do not allow for the new equipment or training these additional duties would require. “I am also uncomfortable with the concept that any foreign consul or Georgia Commissioner of Economic Development would be given authority to appoint an official to be the arbiter of the validity of a foreign driver’s license, as SB 320 seems to read.”
“It is my professional and personal opinion,” Conway concludes, “that SB 320 poses needless danger to the safety and security of our state and to the citizens my office is charged with protecting. I see no gain to public safety with the passage of this bill. Contrarily, I believe it will weaken enforcement of driver’s license laws with regard to foreign nationals.”
InsiderAdvantage has learned that other sheriffs are also contacting their state legislators to register opposition, and we are in receipt of a letter echoing Conway’s concerns by Union County Sheriff Mack Mason. “I note that this bill seems to be an expansion of the 2014 bill (HB 475) that puts into law the ability of non-citizens who move into the U.S. and Georgia as residents to be issued a Georgia driver’s license without taking our written or road test.,” Mason says. “I respectfully express my amazement.…”
