A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to require all state agencies and licensing boards TO use the Systematic Alien VERIFICATION for Entitlements (SAVE) to verify the immigration status of applicants for public benefits.
Whereas, federal law provides that an alien who is not lawfully present in the United States is not eligible for any State or local public benefit; and
Whereas, federal law defines a State or local public benefit (public benefit) as any grant, contract, loan, professional license, or commercial license provided by an agency of a State or local government or by appropriated funds of a State or local government as well as any retirement, welfare, health, disability, public or assisted housing, postsecondary education, food assistance, unemployment benefit, or any other similar benefit for which payment or assistance is provided to an individual, household, or family eligibility unit by an agency of a State or local government or by appropriated funds of a State or local government; and
Whereas, the Department of Homeland Security provides a Web‑based service known as the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) Program to assist State agencies and licensing boards in verifying the immigration status of applicants for public benefits; and
Whereas, very few State agencies and licensing boards currently use the SAVE Program to verify the immigration status of applicants for public benefits; Now, therefore,
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Chapter 64 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Article to read:
"Article 3.
"Verification of Eligibility for Receipt of Public Benefits.
"§ 64‑40.  Definitions.
As used in this Article, the following shall mean:
(1)	Alien. – As defined in 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(3).
(2)	License. – Any evidence of qualification which an individual is required to obtain before he may engage in or represent himself to be a member of a particular profession or occupation.
(3)	Licensing board. – Any board, committee, commission, or other agency in North Carolina which is established for the primary purpose of regulating the entry of persons into and the conduct of persons within a particular profession or occupation and which is authorized to issue licenses.
(4)	Public benefit. – As defined in 8 U.S.C. § 1621.
(5)	State agency. – A unit of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of State government, such as a department, an institution, a division, a commission, a board, a council, or The University of North Carolina.
"§ 64‑41.  Verification of eligibility for public benefits.
All State agencies and all licensing boards shall enter into a memorandum of agreement or computer matching agreement with the Department of Homeland Security to use the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) Program to verify the immigration status of applicants for public benefits.
"§ 64‑42.  Implementation.
(a)	Beginning January 1, 2020, no State agency or licensing board may provide a public benefit to any applicant unless the State agency or licensing board has used the SAVE Program to verify the immigration status of the applicant. No State agency or licensing board shall provide a public benefit to an alien who is not (i) a qualified alien under 8 U.S.C. § 1641, (ii) a nonimmigrant under 8 U.S.C. § 1101, et seq., or (iii) an alien who is paroled into the United States under 8 U.S.C. § 1182(d)(5) for less than one year.
(b)	No later than December 1, 2019, and annually thereafter, each State agency and each licensing board shall report to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on General Government on the implementation of this Article."
SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law.