BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 35| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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). CONTINUED AB 35 Page 2 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 CONTINUED AB 35 Page 3 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 CONTINUED AB 35 Page 4 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 CONTINUED AB 35 Page 5 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, CONTINUED AB 35 Page 6 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 **** END **** CONTINUED