BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  SB 23
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   July 3, 2013

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

                      SB 23 (Lara) - As Amended:  May 24, 2013 

          Policy Committee:                             JudiciaryVote:8-1

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This bill establishes a 15-member task force on New American  
          Immigration within the Governor's Office. Specifically, this  
          bill:

          1)Requires the task force, by January 1, 2015, to:

             a)   Offer recommendations on protocols and collaboration  
               among governmental agencies to streamline resources to  
               assist immigrant integration.

             b)   Offer recommendations on integrating immigrants into the  
               state, including whether to establish an Office of New  
               Americans.

          2)Requires the task force-within six months after federal  
            immigration is enacted to allow undocumented immigrants to  
            change their legal status-to make recommendations for ensuring  
            the state is ready to provide assistance pursuant to federal  
            law.

          3)Stipulates that task force members not be compensated, but be  
            reimbursed for their expenses to attend meetings, and requires  
            the task force to meet at least four times annually and at  
            least once within Fresno, Los Angeles, San Diego, and San  
            Francisco Counties.

          4)Sunsets all of the above on January 1, 2018.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          1)General Fund costs of up to $200,000 in the first year for two  








                                                                  SB 23
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            full-time staff to support the task force and to reimburse  
            task force members for attending meetings. The staff would  
            organize meetings and prepare relevant materials, perform  
            necessary research and analysis, and draft the required  
            reports. Annual costs in after the first year should be  
            somewhat less, as the task force duties are less clear.

          2)General Fund cost pressure, at least in the low millions of  
            dollars, to establish an Office of New Americans. (In its last  
            year of funding, the Naturalization Services Program (NSP)  
            received a $3 million appropriation. See below.) 

           


          COMMENTS  

           1)Background  . From 1997-98 through 2007-08, the Department of  
            Community Services and Development operated the Naturalization  
            Services Program (NSP), which provided funding to  
            community-based organizations to assist legal permanent  
            residents in obtaining citizenship through outreach, intake,  
            referrals, citizenship application assistance, citizenship  
            testing, and interview preparation. The NSP has since been  
            defunded due to the state's fiscal condition.

           2)Purpose  . At the time of this analysis, Congress was discussing  
            various proposals for comprehensive immigration reform  
            legislation, including enhanced border security and a path  
            toward legal residency status for the nation's 11 million  
            undocumented immigrants. In the meantime, the author proposes  
            this task force to allow the state to take a step toward  
            modernizing and streamlining programs that will better  
            integrate immigrants, including those becoming Americans for  
            the first time (i.e. New Americans).  

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081