BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                            



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                                    THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 35
          Author:   Roger Hernández (D)
          Amended:  8/27/13 in Senate
          Vote:     21


           SENATE LABOR & INDUST. RELATIONS COMM.  :  4-0, 6/12/13
          AYES:  Monning, Leno, Padilla, Yee
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Wyland

           SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE  :  4-2, 7/2/13
          AYES:  Corbett, Jackson, Leno, Monning
          NOES:  Walters, Anderson
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Evans

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  Senate Rule 28.8

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR :  58-16, 5/23/13 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill seeks to extend consumer protections and  
          improve the treatment of immigrants, particularly those who have  
          been granted legal temporary status under the federal Deferred  
          Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program, as specified.

           Senate Floor Amendments  of 8/27/13 move the identification card  
          provisions to a different code section in order to avoid any  
          conflict with AB 60 (Alejo).
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           ANALYSIS  :     DACA Program  .   The Secretary of the Department of  
          Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a directive allowing certain  
          undocumented individuals who meet several key criteria for  
          relief from removal from the United States or from entering into  
          removal proceedings to be eligible to receive deferred action  
          for a period of two years, subject to renewal, and would be  
          eligible for work authorization; determinations are made on a  
          case-by-case basis under the guidelines set forth by the DHS.

          Existing law:

          1.Provides for the regulation of immigration consultants by the  
            Department of Consumer Affairs, the licensure and regulation  
            of attorneys by the State Bar of California, and the  
            commission of notaries public by the Secretary of State (SOS).  
             A violation of certain of these provisions is a crime.   
            Additionally, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), within  
            the U.S. Department of Justice and the highest administrative  
            body for interpreting and applying immigration laws, is also  
            responsible for the recognition of organizations and  
            accreditation of representatives requesting permission to  
            practice before the DHS, the immigration courts, and the BIA.

          2.Provides that it is unlawful for any person, for compensation,  
            other than persons authorized to practice law or authorized by  
            federal law to represent persons before BIA or the United  
            States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to engage  
            in the business or act in the capacity of an immigration  
            consultant within the state except as provided by law.

          3.Under existing law, a person engages in the business or acts  
            in the capacity of an immigration consultant when that person  
            gives non-legal assistance or advice on an immigration matter  
            that includes but is not limited to the following:

             A.   Completing a form provided by a federal or state agency  
               but not advising a person as to their answers on those  
               forms; 

             B.   Translating a person's answers to questions posed in  
               those forms; 

             C.   Securing for a person supporting documents, such as  

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               birth certificates, which may be necessary to complete  
               those forms; 

             D.   Submitting completed forms on a person's behalf and at  
               their request to the USCIS; and
             E.   Making referrals to persons who could undertake legal  
               representation activities for a person in an immigration  
               matter.

          1.Provides that immigrants who are authorized to work are  
            entitled to unemployment compensation if they otherwise  
            satisfy the eligibility requirements.  The Unemployment  
            Insurance (UI) program, administered by the Employment  
            Development Department, is a federal-state program that  
            provides weekly unemployment insurance payments to eligible  
            workers who lose their jobs through no fault of their own.

          2.Provides that any federal document demonstrating favorable  
            action by the federal government for acceptance of a person  
            into this deferred action program shall satisfy specified  
            requirements for the purposes of being authorized to receive  
            an original driver's license from the Department of Motor  
            Vehicles (DMV), as described.

          This bill seeks to extend consumer protections and improve the  
          treatment of immigrants, particularly those who have been  
          granted legal temporary status under the federal DACA Program.

          Specifically, this bill:  

          1.States that immigration consultants, attorneys, notaries  
            public, and organizations accredited by the U.S. BIA shall be  
            the only individuals authorized to charge clients or  
            prospective clients, fees for providing consultations, legal  
            advice, or notary public services, respectively, associated  
            with the filing of an application.

          2.Prohibits immigration consultants, attorneys, notaries public,  
            and organizations accredited by the U.S. BIA from  
            participating in practices that amount to price gouging when a  
            client or prospective client solicits services associated with  
            the filing of a DACA application. 

          3.Defines "price gouging" as any practice that has the effect of  

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            pressuring the client or prospective client to purchase  
            services immediately because purchasing them at a later time  
            will result in the paying of a higher price for the same  
            services.

          4.Provides that in addition to existing civil and criminal  
            penalties, a violation of these provisions by an attorney  
            shall be cause for discipline by the State Bar, and violations  
            by a notary public shall be cause for the revocation or  
            suspension of his/her commission as a notary public by the  
            SOS.

          5.Clarifies that a person who has been granted deferred action  
            by the federal government under the DACA Program shall be  
            eligible for UI benefits contingent on receipt of employment  
            authorization from the federal government.

          6.Clarifies that a person who has been granted deferred action  
            under the DACA Program may be issued an original California  
            identification card - in addition to the currently allowed  
            issuance of a driver's license.

           Prior Legislation

           AB 2189 (Cedillo, Chapter 862, Statutes of 2012) among other  
          things, created the Labor Code section authorizing individuals  
          granted temporary legal status under the federal DACA Program to  
          receive an original driver's license from DMV.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  Yes

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  8/28/13)

          American Academy of Pediatrics, California 
          American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
          California Communities United Institute
          California Immigrant Policy Center
          California Primary Care Association
          Catholic Conference
          Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles
          Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations, Inc.
          Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County
          Los Angeles County, District Attorney Jackie Lacey

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          Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    According to the author's office, in  
          the first several months of the DACA Program, their office heard  
          anecdotally from the California Rural Legal Assistance  
          Foundation and the Mexican Consulate that many young immigrants  
          wishing to apply were scared of filling out their own paperwork,  
          for fear of filling something out incorrectly and possibly  
          facing deportation as a consequence.  While these two  
          organizations were providing assistance for free, many  
          prospective applicants felt more secure contracting  
          professionals for pay, such as private attorneys and notary  
          publics.  The author's office argues that, accordingly,  
          professionals are providing services that may not be within  
          their scope of practice or even worse, without a license or  
          certification.

          Proponents note that individuals are being advised about the  
          importance of applying to the DACA Program only after they are  
          certain they meet the criteria, otherwise, applicants could  
          potentially face deportation.  As of May 2013, 17,962 DACA  
          applications have been rejected in the U.S. and 2,352 denied.   
          The author's office argues that if any of these rejected  
          applications were filled out with the paid assistance of an  
          individual without a license or performing work outside of their  
          scope of practice, this should be considered consumer fraud.   
          Thus, this bill creates consumer protections by ensuring that  
          professional assistance acquired for purposes of filling out a  
          DACA application is consistent with scope of practice laws so  
          that the consumer is protected and has recourse to pursue action  
          from the regulatory body of the licensed or certified individual  
          if any wrong doing was committed by the professional.

          Additionally, proponents argue that this bill would further  
          integrate those involved in the DACA Program into our economy by  
          establishing eligibility for state identification cards and UI  
          benefits.

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  58-16, 5/23/13
          AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Ammiano, Atkins, Bloom, Blumenfield,  
            Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian  
            Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Cooley, Daly,  
            Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez,  
            Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Hall, Roger Hernández, Jones-Sawyer,  

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            Levine, Linder, Lowenthal, Medina, Mitchell, Mullin,  
            Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez,  
            Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting,  
            Wagner, Weber, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
          NOES:  Allen, Bigelow, Conway, Dahle, Donnelly, Beth Gaines,  
            Hagman, Harkey, Logue, Maienschein, Mansoor, Melendez,  
            Morrell, Olsen, Patterson, Wilk
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Grove, Holden, Jones, Waldron, Vacancy,  
            Vacancy

          PQ:ej  8/28/13   Senate Floor Analyses 

                           SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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