COLUMBIA -- Governor Mark Sanford on Tuesday joined with Spartanburg Solicitor Trey Gowdy and Beaufort Sheriff P.J. Tanner to call for the passage of both DUI Reform and Immigration Reform -- two parts of Governor Sanford's "First 30 Days" agenda he called for in this year's State of the State address.

Both DUI Reform and Immigration Reform have passed the Senate and House and are awaiting action in conference committees, where the two chambers will work out their differences on the bills.

"Both of these bills have been in the works for quite some time, and our message to all the conferees is simple * send meaningful bills to my desk sooner rather than later," Gov. Sanford said. "Continuing to delay action on these bills is frankly handcuffing law enforcement in this state -- both in the way our weak drunk driving laws make our highways more dangerous, and in the way illegal immigration has diverted frontline law enforcement resources. If we're serious about changing this, we need a DUI law with real teeth, and an immigration law with effective private employee verification."

On the DUI bill, Governor Sanford favors the version passed by the House, which puts penalties for refusing a breath test at six months, up from the current 90 days that the Senate had sought to leave unchanged. The House also proposed a stronger tiered penalty system for first-time offenders, toughening penalties tied to greater blood alcohol levels that the Senate had watered down.

On the immigration bill, the House version of the bill does not contain any verification requirements for private employers. The Senate version contains a requirement for I-9 verification, an ineffective system already employed by the federal government and fraught with the potential for abuse due to ID fraud. Governor Sanford favors a system similar to what was proposed by Senators Campsen and McConnell, requiring private employers to check South Carolina drivers' licenses, employ a new S.C. version of the I-9, or use the online e-verify system. Five states already use e-verify in some capacity, including Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma, Missouri, and neighboring Georgia * with Arizona already reporting that illegal immigrants are starting to self-deport due to the effectiveness of the e-verify system.

"Political compromise shouldn't infect issues as serious as public safety," said 7th Circuit Solicitor Trey Gowdy. "Though it's far from perfect, the House has passed a DUI bill that is leaps and bounds ahead of where we are now as a state, and I think the Senate conferees need to follow suit."

"The increase in illegal immigrants in Beaufort County, as in other counties, has put tremendous demands on local law enforcement," said Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner. "The immigration legislation now in conference * especially the provisions regarding a federal-state-local collaborative pursuant to Section 287(g) of the federal immigration law * will provide some relief, and I strongly urge the General Assembly to quickly send a bill to the governor."

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