BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Senator Loni Hancock, Chair S
2011-2012 Regular Session B
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SB 901 (Steinberg)
As Amended August 29, 2012
Hearing date: In accordance with SR 29.10(d)
Revenue and Taxation Code
MK:dl
TAXATION: UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS
COMMENTS
Please see the attached Senate Floor analysis. This bill is
before the Committee pursuant to Senate Rule 29.10. The
Committee, by a majority vote of the membership, may:
1. hold the bill; or
2. return the bill to the Senate Floor for consideration of
the bill as amended in the Assembly.
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 901|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) |Version: |
|327-4478 | |
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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
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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 bill directs
the Governor to petition the President and other federal
agencies to provide relief and or exemptions 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
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(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))
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:
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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.
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 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.
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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.
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.
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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 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
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information.
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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
SUPPORT : (Verified >)
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
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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
OPPOSITION : (Verified >)
>
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 regulate immigration and immigrants, this bill
cannot unfortunately guarantee program participants protection
from immigration enforcement.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : >
>:> 8/29/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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