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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