TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A bill aimed at expanding the use of E-Verify in Florida to ensure that only individuals legally authorized to work in the United States are employed passed its first House committee on Tuesday.
What it does: HB 955 removes previous exemptions for smaller private businesses and mandates that all private employers, regardless of size, use the E-Verify system starting July 1.
- In 2023, Republican Rep. Berny Jacques carried legislation that required private employers with more than 25 employees to use E-Verify; the new 2025 bill removes this threshold, making the requirement applicable to all private employers.
Employers must certify their compliance when filing annual tax returns through the bill.
The sponsor(s): Jacques is carrying the House bill. There are two related Senate bills, however, none have been assigned to committee agendas thus far.
- Bill sponsor Jacques is a legal immigrant from Haiti and has previously said there is a “right way and a wrong way” to come into the country.
What they’re saying: Jacques gave a closing speech Monday and said this bill is about the unauthorized aliens “operating and lurking here in our state – and it is an issue.”
- “It is an issue because if one of these individuals slips through the cracks and commits either a crime or an accident and harms one of our own, that is an issue because it is a preventable death, it is a preventable accident, if we just simply enforce our laws,” Jacques said.
Multiple Democrats opposed the bill during debate, such as Democratic Rep. Anna Eskamani, who said immigrants “do jobs that everyday Americans don’t want to do,” and believes that “undocumented people pay taxes and contribute to the economy [and] aren’t dangerous.”
Next steps: The House bill has one more stop. The Senate bills have not yet moved.
If approved, it would take effect July 1.