Taking a sensible first step, the Democrats in Olympia are tackling the thorny illegal immigration issue in a no-nonsense way (that is, not in a touchy-feely way) by putting the spotlight on the real culprits, the companies that exploit illegal immigrants. Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-36, Ballard, Queen Anne, Magnolia) has introduced a bill that would bring the “underground economy” to light by forcing the state to look into how many illegal immigrants are working in the construction industry. The bill, which would eliminate the incentive for both illegal immigrants and predatory companies to flout the rules, got a hearing this morning.

Sen. Kohl-Welles’s bill was signed onto by a pretty cool batch, including Seattle-area Sens. Ed Murray and Adam Kline, along with their liberal colleagues Chris Marr and Rodney Tom. Even conservatives, like faux Democrat Sen. Tim Sheldon (D-35) signed on.

Here’s the intro to the bill:

The legislature finds that some current estimates place the percentage of unreported employment in Washington state’s construction industry at between twenty percent and fifty percent, although solid data on this phenomenon is not readily available in Washington. The legislature also finds that unreported construction employment may result in the loss of a worker’s employment rights and protections, including workers’ compensation and unemployment insurance compensation. The legislature further finds that unreported construction employment also could deny the state the revenues it is due, including sales taxes, business and occupation taxes, and other business fees paid to the state. The legislature declares that the underground economy in this state may permit unfair conditions to exist against persons working in the construction industry who do follow the employment laws and appropriately pay taxes. It is the legislature’s intent to determine the extent and potential costs to the state of the underground economy in the construction industry.