BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 901|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 901
Author: Steinberg (D)
Amended: 8/29/12
Vote: 21
PRIOR VOTES NOT RELEVANT
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not available
SUBJECT : Taxation: undocumented immigrants
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill establishes a voluntary program to be
administered by the Department of Justice (DOJ) that
encourages certain immigrants to pay state income tax and
potentially allows those who do to gain relief from federal
enforcement and decriminalizes members' employment. The
participants of the program must be undocumented California
residents who pay state income tax with a federal
Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN); and can
meet the following thresholds: no felony convictions, not
suspected terrorists, know or are learning English, pay
processing fee, provide a photo, are not public charges,
lived in Ca. since January 1, 2008. Program participants
must continue to use a federal Individual Tax
Identification Number to continue paying income taxes and
pay annual renewal fee to remain in the program. This
billdirects the Governor to petition the President and
other federal agencies to provide relief and or exemptions
CONTINUED
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from federal immigration enforcement actions against
participants and their families, as well as decriminalize
employment of program participants.
Assembly Amendments delete the prior Senate version of the
bill which dealt with air pollution, and add the current
language.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law :
1. Provides for the regulation of immigration exclusively
by the federal government. (E.g., LULAC v. Wilson , 908
F. Supp. 755, 786-87 (C.D. Cal. 1995))
2. Authorizes the removal of aliens from the United States
who were inadmissible at the time of their entry, have
been convicted of certain crimes, have engaged in
unauthorized work, or meet other criteria set by federal
law. (8 U.S.C. section 1227)
3. Provides that an agency's decision not to prosecute or
enforce is a decision generally committed to an agency's
absolute discretion (Heckler v. Chaney, 470 U.S. 821,
835 (1985), and that such prosecutorial discretion also
applies to immigration enforcement activities. ( Reno v.
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Comm. , 525 U.S. 471,
478-79 (1999).)
4. Prohibits an employer from employing any person whose
immigration status makes them ineligible for work and
imposes fines ranging from $250 to $10,000 for each
undocumented worker, and criminal penalties for habitual
violators ranging from a $3,000 fine to six months in
prison. (8 U.S.C. section 274A)
5. Pursuant to the Immigration Reform and Control Act of
1986 (IRCA), imposes sanctions on employers who
knowingly hire or continue to employ undocumented
workers, and requires every employer to verify the
employment authorization status of prospective
employees. (8 U.S.C. section 1324a, subd. (a))
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6. Provides that, notwithstanding any other provision of
federal, state, or local law, no person or agency may
prohibit or restrict a federal, state, or local
government entity from doing any of the following with
respect to information regarding the immigration status
of any individual:
A. Sending such information to, or requesting or
receiving such information from, the Immigration
and Naturalization Service.
B. Maintaining such information.
C. Exchanging such information with any other
federal, state, or local government entity. (8
U.S.C. Section 1373, subd. (b).)
This bill establishes a voluntary program to encourage
certain immigrants to pay state income taxes, and requests
the federal government not to expend resources on
enforcement of immigration laws against program
participants. Specifically, this bill:
1. Defines "qualified person" as a natural person who meets
all of the following criteria:
A. Is not eligible to receive a social security
number (SSN).
B. Filed a state income tax return with a valid
individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) for
the most recent taxable year that a return was
required to be made, as specified.
C. Is not employed by a public entity, including, but
not limited to, the federal government, the State of
California, or any political subdivision of the
state.
D. Declares that he or she is able to speak and
understand English or is enrolled in, or has applied
to enroll in, an English-as-a-second-language class,
except as provided.
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E. Has not been convicted of a felony under
California law.
F. Is not a public charge, within the meaning of 8
U.S.C. Section 1182(a)(4).
G. Declares that he/she has been a resident of
California continuously since at least January 1,
2008.
H. Consents to a fingerprint background check, the
disclosure of any information necessary to confirm
program eligibility, and the disclosure of his/her
name and federal ITIN to the Franchise Tax Board
(FTB).
2. Requires the DOJ, until January 1, 2018, to administer
the program established by this bill, including, among
other things:
A. Prescribe an application for program admission.
B. Upon receipt of an application, investigate and
determine whether the applicant meets the definition
of a qualified person.
C. Provide confirmation of admission and collect
fees, as specified.
3. Requires the FTB to prepare and submit an annual report
to the Legislature that details the tax receipts
collected from program participants, without disclosing
identifying information of any specific participant.
4. Provides that all identifying information of applicants
or qualified persons in the program must be kept
confidential and exempt from disclosure under the
California Public Records Act, and must not be disclosed
for any purpose.
5. Requires all records relating to the program that
contain any individual identifying information be
destroyed on January 1, 2019, or as soon as practicable
thereafter, except as provided.
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6. Authorizes and directs the Governor on or after July 1,
2013, to request that the President direct the
Department of Homeland Security, the ICE, and other
relevant federal agencies not to expend resources during
the term of the program on either of the following:
A The apprehension, detention, or removal of a
program participant or the participant's spouse or
eligible dependent, unless the participant, spouse,
or eligible dependent meets one of the priority
enforcement criteria set forth in the then-existing
ICE policy on civil immigration enforcement.
B. The prosecution of a person for employing a
qualified person pursuant to 8 U.S.C. section 1324a.
7. Authorizes and directs the Governor on or after July 1,
2013, to request that the President provide any
available waivers, exemptions, or authorizations
necessary to provide a safe harbor for individuals and
businesses from federal civil and criminal liability
arising out of a qualified person's participation in the
program or the employment of a qualified person during
the term of the program.
8. Declares that these provisions shall remain in effect
only until January 1, 2020, and are repealed as of that
date.
9. Requires, on or after January 1, 2014, a written
application for admission to the program by a qualified
person shall be made in the form prescribed by the DOJ.
10. The applicant shall electronically submit to the DOJ
fingerprint images and related information in the form
prescribed by the DOJ , for the purpose of obtaining
information relating to the existence sand content of
both of the following:
A. A record of state arrests and stae convictions.
B. State arrests for which the DOJ establishes that
the person is free on bail or on his/her own
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recognizane pending trial or an appeal.
10.Requires the DOJ to do all of the following for each
person who submits fingerprint images and related
information pursuant to the above to:
A. Obtain the information described in paragraph
(1) of subdivision (l) of Section 11105 of the
Penal Code.
B. Obtain subsequent arrest notification, as
provided pursuant to Section 11105.2 of the Penal
Code.
C. Charge a fee sufficient to cover the reasonable
costs of processing the fingerprint images and
related information.
Comments
According to the author's office, this bill intends to
influence the federal government's exercise of
prosecutorial discretion in immigration enforcement, and
that the primary benefit participants may receive is the
expectation that federal immigration authorities will
classify them, if the need ever should arise, in the
so-called "lowest priority tier" in the federal
government's recently implemented tiered system of
enforcement. The author's office states that this bill
seeks to mirror the Obama administration's latest
statements on immigration policy, citing recent United
States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and
Homeland Security memoranda that set forth how, in the
exercise of prosecutorial discretion, each agency should
refocus its enforcement resources and priorities.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the FTB, this measure would not impact state
revenues, and would likely result in minor fiscal costs.
According to the Legislative Analyst's Office analysis of a
similar ballot initiative, the measure would result in an
unknown net change in annual state tax revenues through
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fiscal year (FY) 2017-18, but probably without a
significant impact on overall General Fund (GF) revenues,
and annual state administrative costs through FY 2017-18 in
the hundreds of thousands or low millions of dollars,
supported by required participant fees.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/29/12)
Alianza Hondureña de Los Angeles
ANAHUAK Youth Sports Association
Asociación de Veteranos Militares de El Salvador
Casa Nicaragua
Central American Resource Center
Comite de Festejos Centroamericanos
El Centro Cultural de Mexico
El Corredor Comunitario Salvadoreño
El Rescate
Hermandad Mexicana
Hondureños Unidos de Los Angeles
Instituto de Educación Popular del Sur de California
Labor Council for Latin American Advancement
Latino and Latina Roundtable of San Gabriel and Pomona
Valley
Latino Voters League
National Alliance of Latin American & Caribbean Communities
National Central American Roundtable
Promotores Comunitarios del Desierto
Pueblo y Salud, Inc.
Southwest Voter Registration Education Project
Teatro Urbano
Unión de Guatemaltecos Emigrantes
William C. Velasquez Institute
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : Proponents of this bill, including
many immigrant advocates, community organizations and
elected officials, contend that the possibility for program
participants to remain and work in California, despite
being undocumented, is an attractive incentive that will
encourage participation and increase state tax receipts,
perhaps generating as many as one million new taxpayers who
would contribute an estimated $325 million annually in new
revenue. This analysis concludes, however, that because
the federal government is exclusively authorized to
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regulate immigration and immigrants, this bill cannot
unfortunately guarantee program participants protection
from immigration enforcement.
DWL:d 8/31/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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