BILL NUMBER: AB 930 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 11, 2005
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member De La Torre
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Torrico)
FEBRUARY 18, 2005
An act to amend Section 12087 of add
Section 12089 to the Government Code, relating to citizenship
assistance.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 930, as amended, De La Torre. Naturalization services program.
Existing law sets forth the duties of the Department of Community
Services and Development respecting certain community programs in the
state.
This bill would require establish within
the department to conduct a naturalization services
program to provide funding to local governments and community-based
organizations to assist legal permanent residents in obtaining
citizenship the New Californians Act to develop a
comprehensive, coordinated, accessible, and accountable
naturalization and civic participation program to assist eligible
immigrants through the naturalization process and to help
them integrate into the economic and civic fabric of our state;
create a method for allocating funds to organizations and citizenship
assistance providers that is equitable and effective, linked with
need for services, and tied to a statewide accountability mechanism
for effective service; and create an advisory committee of experts on
citizenship issues. The bill would require the state agency
administering the act to contract with, and allocate funds to,
organizations and citizenship assistance providers to provide free
naturalization services, as specified. The bill would prohibit
contractors of citizenship assistance services from specified
activities that may be a conflict of interest.
This bill would require the department to implement the provisions
in the bill on and after January 1, 2006, only if the Legislature
appropriates funds for these purposes in the Budget Act of 2006.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Citizenship and participation in the civic process plays a
critical role in the well‑being of our neighborhoods,
communities, schools, and state.
(b) Immigrants who are citizens are able to more fully integrate
into the civic life of our communities and state and there are
currently 2.7 million immigrants in California who are eligible for
naturalization.
(c) California has one of the lowest naturalization rates in the
country.
(d) A comprehensive and well‑coordinated naturalization
services and civic education system will assist more legal permanent
residents to become citizens.
(e) The state established the Naturalization Services Program
(NSP) in 1996 to assist legal permanent residents in the process of
obtaining citizenship. In alliance with nonprofit and community
organizations, NSP has assisted approximately 90,000 individuals as
of December 2003. NSP has been funded annually through budget
appropriations and is a critical resource for California's legal
permanent residents seeking citizenship. The NSP has laid the
foundation for a more comprehensive citizenship program that will
better organize resources, engage community members in civic
activities, and coordinate existing resources.
SEC. 2. It is the intent of the Legislature to create a
program in the Department of Community Services and Development,
called the New Californians Act that accomplishes all of the
following:
(a) Develops a comprehensive, coordinated, accessible, and
accountable naturalization and civic participation program to assist
eligible immigrants through the naturalization process and to help
them integrate more fully into the economic and civic fabric of our
state.
(b) Creates a method for allocating funds that is equitable and
effective, linked with the need for services, and tied to a statewide
accountability mechanism for effective service.
(c) Creates an advisory committee of experts on citizenship issues
to develop guidelines for funding allocation, grantee selection,
data collection, and evaluation mechanisms.
SEC. 3. Section 12089 is added to the Government
Code , to rea d:
12089. (a) There is hereby established within the Department of
Community Services and Development, the New Californians Act to
accomplish all of the following:
(1) Develop a comprehensive, coordinated, accessible, and
accountable naturalization and civic participation program to assist
eligible immigrants through the naturalization process and to help
them integrate more fully into the economic and civic fabric of our
state.
(2) Create a method for allocating funds that is equitable and
effective, linked with need for services, and tied to a statewide
accountability mechanism for effective service.
(3) Create an advisory committee of experts on citizenship issues
to develop guidelines for funding allocation, grantee selection, data
collection, and evaluation mechanisms.
(b) The New Californians Act shall fund programs and activities
that move legal permanent residents toward citizenship and increase
their participation in local civic activities.
(c) The department shall contract with, and allocate funds to,
organizations to provide free naturalization services, that shall
include, to the extent consistent with applicable federal law, all of
the following:
(1) Outreach services and public education efforts.
(2) Citizenship application assistance and services.
(3) Followup and advocacy assistance with the United States Bureau
of Citizenship and Immigration Services within the federal
Department of Homeland Security.
(4) Civic education and leadership development activities.
(d) Community‑based organizations, faith‑based
organizations, and nonprofit and governmental entities shall be
eligible to receive funding under the act.
(e) The department, upon its determination, shall award contracts
to organizations and citizenship assistance providers that have done
the following:
(1) Demonstrated success based on past performance.
(2) Demonstrated a demand for their citizenship services.
(3) Demonstrated expertise in citizenship issues.
(4) Shown a commitment or ability to work in collaboration with
other naturalization services, when applicable.
(f) The department shall form an advisory committee to assist in
implementation of the New Californians Act. The advisory committee
shall (1) delineate service areas according to the number of
immigrants eligible for naturalization in a region, the geographic
contiguity of areas, and other relevant factors such as need,
resources, and demographics; (2) establish specific guidelines for
grantee eligibility and dissemination of funds; and (3) institute
accountability measures and evaluation mechanisms for fund
recipients. The advisory committee shall also offer recommendations
for how the administrative agencies overseeing existing citizenship
and English literacy programs can work together to ensure seamless
access to resources for clients in need.
(g) For purposes of this provision, "citizenship assistance
provider" or "provider" means any not-for-profit or faith-based
entity, including a community-based organization, community college,
adult education program, or local government, that has cultural and
linguistic capabilities, and that has been approved to provide
services under this section by the department.
(h) For purposes of this section, "department" means the state
agency administering the New Californians Act.
(i) The department shall award contracts and allocate funds
pursuant to a competitive bid process open to existing and new
providers so that the aggregate allocation to citizenship assistance
providers serving each county will be in an amount equal to that
county's percentage of legal permanent residents, as determined by
the department.
(j) The department shall also be responsible, either directly or
through subcontracting, for providing technical assistance to
grantees, creating meaningful civic education and leadership
development materials and activities, developing data collection
measures, and collecting data from grantees. The department shall
also collect, distribute, and serve as a central clearinghouse for
translated materials, public service announcements and advertisements
in different languages, and other information to be made available
to immigrant clients.
(k) The New Californians Act shall emphasize the following areas
to ensure accountability, effectiveness, and accessibility:
(1) Collaboration among grantees and other providers in their
region, including the State Department of Education English as a
Second Language and civics grantees, and development of a referral
system in each service area to ensure immigrants are informed about
adult education, English literacy, and citizenship services in their
region.
(2) Institution of a data collection system tracking the
effectiveness of the act.
(3) Documenting of best practices related to civic participation
and immigrant leadership development as well as dissemination of
civic education materials to grantees.
(4) Serving immigrants with the most need, including immigrants
who are limited English proficient, seniors, and low income.
(l) The following restrictions apply to contractors of citizenship
assistance services:
(1) The contractor shall be prohibited from all political
activities if they involve the use of any funds that are the subject
of this program or any other funds, programs, projects, or activities
that originate from this program.
(2) The contractor shall be prohibited from any activity that is
designed to provide voters and prospective voters with transportation
to the polls or to provide similar assistance in connection with an
election or any voter registration activity if such activities
involve the use of any funds that are the subject of this program.
(3) The contractor shall refrain from all lobbying activities if
they involve the use of any funds that are the subject of this
program or any other funds, programs, projects, or activities that
originate from this program.
(4) The provider shall be ineligible to receive funding under this
article if any officer or employee of the provider who would be
involved in the administration of grant funds has been convicted of a
criminal offense related to the administration of grant funds.
(m) The Department of Community Services and Development shall
implement this section on and after January 1, 2006, only if the
Legislature appropriates funds for the purposes of this section in
the Budget Act of 2006.
SECTION 1. Section 12087 of the Government Code is amended to
read:
12087. The department shall do all of the following:
(a) Recognize existing community action agencies, as defined by
Section 2790 of Title 42 of the United States Code, and Indian tribes
or tribal organizations, as the operators of programs to serve the
poor in local communities, and, where the programs are of a statewide
or multicounty nature, other limited purpose agencies may be
considered as program operators.
(b) Provide technical assistance, directly or through grants or
contracts, to community action agencies, Indian tribes, and other
agencies that operate programs of an antipoverty nature.
(c) Coordinate antipoverty efforts throughout the state, to the
extent permissible under federal law, to avoid duplication, improve
delivery of services, and relate programs to one another.
(d) Maintain liaison with the federal Department of Health and
Human Services, Office of Community Services, county and city
commissions on economic opportunity, citizens' groups, and all other
governmental agencies engaged in economic opportunity or community
service programs, or both.
(e) Collect and assemble pertinent information and data available
from other agencies of the state and federal governments and
disseminate information in the interests of community services
programs in the state by publication, advertisement, conference,
workshops, programs, lectures, and other means.
(f) Plan and evaluate long-range and short-range strategies for
overcoming poverty in the state.
(g) Mobilize public and private resources in support of
antipoverty and community services programs.
(h) Encourage participation by residents of poor communities in
the development and operation of community action programs for their
betterment.
(i) Advise the Governor of his or her responsibilities under the
Economic Opportunity Program (Chapter 34 (commencing with Section
2701) of Title 42 of the United States Code) and the Community
Services Block Grant Program (Chapter 106 (commencing with Section
9901) of Title 42 of the United States Code), as well as any other
federal law enacted with respect to meeting the needs of the poor.
(j) Measure and evaluate, directly or through grants or contracts,
the impact of this article and other poverty-related programs
authorized by law, in order to determine the effectiveness of the
programs in achieving stated goals, impact on related programs, and
the structure and mechanisms for the delivery of services. All the
offices under the executive branch shall cooperate and provide the
necessary information to the director, upon his or her request, to
achieve the purposes of this subdivision.
(k) Conduct a naturalization services program to provide funding
to local governments and community-based organizations to assist
legal permanent residents in obtaining citizenship.