FRANKFORT — A bill that would require governments and those who receive a government contract to use E-Verify to determine that all employees are legal citizens passed the House Labor and Industry Committee on Thursday.

House Bill 5, sponsored by Rep. Bob Damron, D-Nicholasville, would require state and local governments to use the federal system to verify that employees are in the country legally. If an employer is caught hiring an undocumented worker — and has not run that employee through E-Verify X— the company would be banned from any government contracts for a year.

Companies or contractors being caught a second time would be banned for five years.

The bill has passed the Democrat-controlled House twice before but has never received a hearing in the Republican-controlled Senate.