BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1024|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1024
Author: Gonzalez (D), et al.
Amended: 9/6/13 in Senate
Vote: 21
PRIOR VOTES NOT RELEVANT
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 5-1, 9/11/13
AYES: Evans, Corbett, Leno, Monning, Vidak
NOES: Anderson
NO VOTE RECORDED: Jackson
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : Attorneys: admission to practice
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill allows applicants, who are not lawfully
present in the United States, to be admitted as an attorney at
law.
Senate Floor Amendments of 9/6/13 delete contents of the bill
related to cooperative housing and instead provide that upon
certification by the Committee of Bar Examiners (CBE), if an
applicant who is not lawfully present in the U.S. has fulfilled
the requirements for admission to practice law, the Supreme
Court may admit that applicant as an attorney at law, as
specified.
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ANALYSIS :
Existing federal law:
1. Prohibits, under the Personal Responsibility and Work
Opportunity Reconciliation Act, certain categories of
individuals not lawfully present in the U.S. from receiving
specified public benefits, including "any grant, contract,
loan, professional license, or commercial license provided by
an agency of a State or local government or by appropriated
funds of a State or local government."
2. Provides that a state may render "an alien who is not
lawfully present in the United States . . . eligible for any
State or local public benefit for which such alien would
otherwise be ineligible . . . through the enactment of a
State law after the date of the enactment of this Act which
affirmatively provides for such eligibility." (8 United
States Code (U.S.C.) Section 1621(d))
Existing state law:
1. Establishes, under the State Bar Act, qualifications for
individuals who seek to be certified to the Supreme Court for
admission and a license to practice law. Among other things,
applicants to the State Bar must: (a) be at least 18 years
old; (b) be of good moral character; (c) have received a
juris doctor degree or otherwise studied law diligently and
in good faith, as specified; (d) have passed a prescribed
examination in professional responsibility or legal ethics;
and (e) have passed the general bar examination before they
can be certified for admission.
2. States that upon certification by the examining committee
that an applicant has fulfilled the requirements for
admission to practice law, the Supreme Court may admit such
applicant as an attorney at law in all the courts of this
state and may direct an order to be entered upon its records
to that effect.
3. States that every person on his admission shall take an oath
to support the U.S. Constitution and the Constitution of the
State of California, and faithfully to discharge the duties
of any attorney at law to the best of his knowledge and
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ability.
This bill provides that, upon certification by the CBE, if an
applicant who is not lawfully present in the U.S. has fulfilled
the requirements for the admission to practice law, the Supreme
Court may admit that applicant as an attorney at law, as
specified.
Background
In 1996, Congress enacted the Personal Responsibility and Work
Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), Pub. L. No. 104-193,
110 Stat. 2105 (Aug. 22, 1996). PRWORA, among other things,
prohibits certain categories of individuals not lawfully present
in the U.S. from receiving certain public benefits, including
"any grant, contract, loan, professional license, or commercial
license provided by an agency of a State or local government or
by appropriated funds of a State or local government." (8
U.S.C. Section 1621(c).) PRWORA provides that a state may
render "an alien who is not lawfully present in the United
States . . . eligible for any State or local public benefit for
which such alien would otherwise be ineligible . . . through the
enactment of a State law after the date of the enactment of this
Act which affirmatively provides for such eligibility." (8
U.S.C. Section 1621(d).) Consistent with that provision, this
bill seeks to expressly extend eligibility to obtain a license
to practice law to individuals who are not lawfully present in
the U.S.
The Supreme Court is currently considering Sergio Garcia for
admission to practice law in the State of California. (See In
re Sergio C. Garcia on Admission, S202512, May 15, 2012.) Mr.
Garcia has been unlawfully present in the U.S. for approximately
20 years, and is currently petitioning the federal government
for an immigrant visa. During his time in the U.S., Mr. Garcia
has graduated from law school, passed the California Bar Exam,
and has been found by the CBE to have met all the necessary
requirements for admission to practice law in the State of
California. However, given his immigration status, it is an
open question whether the Supreme Court can admit Mr. Garcia to
practice law. To clarify the issue, this bill expressly
provides that the Supreme Court may admit an applicant who is
not lawfully present in the U.S. as an attorney at law in all
the courts of this state upon certification by the State Bar
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examining committee that the applicant has fulfilled the
requirements for admission to practice law.
Prior legislation . AB 844 (Lara, Chapter 619, Statutes of 2011)
provided that any student, including a person without lawful
immigration status or a person who is exempt from nonresident
tuition, may serve in any capacity in student government at the
California State University or the California Community Colleges
and receive any grant, scholarship, fee waiver, or reimbursement
for expenses that is connected with that service to the full
extent consistent with federal law. The bill also eliminated
the requirement that a nonvoting student member of a community
college district governing board be a resident of California.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 9/10/13)
Attorney General's Office
American Civil Liberties Union of California
American Friends Service Committee
California Faculty Association
California Immigrant Policy Center
Catholic Charities CYO
Central American Resource Center
Chinese for Affirmative Action
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles
Consumer Attorneys of California
Dolores Street Community Services
Educators for Fair Consideration
National Center for Lesbian Rights
Pangea Legal Services
Pomona College
United We Dream Network
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author writes:
There are currently bright, young individuals, who have worked
hard to progress in their education and have met the rigorous
requirements for obtaining a law degree and a legal license,
including passing the California Bar Exam, but due to their
immigration status are unable to fulfill their dream of
becoming a licensed attorney. Sergio Garcia is one of those
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Dreamers who are currently unable to obtain a law license.
Having passed the State Bar examination and fulfilled all
other requirements, Mr. Garcia was routinely sworn into the
legal profession in 2011. Two weeks later his license was
rescinded on the basis that the Personal Responsibility and
Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act passed by Congress in 1996
prohibits undocumented immigrants from receiving professional
licenses with the use of public funds, unless state law
explicitly overrides it.
AB 1024 is a direct response to an admission application
currently pending at the California State Supreme Court. AB
1024 would make explicit the intent of this legislature that
all individuals who meet the state law qualifications for the
practice of law in California be affirmatively eligible to
apply for and obtain a law license regardless of their
citizenship or immigration status. Specifically, AB 1024
permits the State Supreme Court to admit as an attorney any
applicant who is certified by the examining committee as
having fulfilled the requirements for admission to practice
law, notwithstanding their undocumented status. This
provision would therefore satisfy the requirements of 8 U.S.C.
§ 1621(a), to the extent that 8 U.S.C. § 1621(a) is
applicable.
The bill does not create any authorization for employment in
the United States nor does it modify or displace any
requirement for admission to practice law.
AL:k 9/11/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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