BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 2896


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          Date of Hearing:  May 4, 2016


                     ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT


                               Roger Hernández, Chair


          AB 2896  
          (Committee on Labor and Employment) - As Introduced March 1,  
          2016


          SUBJECT:  Farm labor contractors:  license:  payment


          SUMMARY:  Authorizes the Labor Commissioner to accept a credit  
          card charge as a method of payment for farm labor contractor  
          license fees, as provided.


          EXISTING LAW requires farm labor contractors to be licensed by  
          the Labor Commissioner and to comply with specified employment  
          laws applicable to farm labor contractors. Existing law requires  
          farm labor contractors to pay license fees to the Labor  
          Commissioner, and continuously appropriates a portion of the fee  
          revenues from the Farmworker Remedial Account for enforcement  
          and verification purposes.


          FISCAL EFFECT:  Unknown


          COMMENTS:  Existing law requires farm labor contractors (FLCs)  
          to be licensed by the Labor Commissioner.  Existing law also  
          requires FLCs to pay license fees to the Labor Commissioner and  
          those funds are used for enforcement and verification purposes.









                                                                    AB 2896


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          However, FLCs have reported that credit cards issued by  
          MasterCard and American Express are the only forms accepted for  
          online payment. Many FLCs do not have either type of card.  They  
          contend that a Visa credit card is a commonly held type of card  
          and should also be an accepted form of payment.





          Some question has been raised regarding whether making this  
          change would require legislative authorization, or may be  
          resolved through administrative action.  Therefore, in order to  
          resolve any doubt or question, this bill will simply provide the  
          Labor Commissioner with the authority to accept a credit card  
          charge as a method of payment for FLC license fees.





          REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:




          Support


          California Association of Winegrape Growers
          California Farm Bureau Federation


          Opposition


          None on file.









                                                                    AB 2896


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          Analysis Prepared by:Ben Ebbink / L. & E. / (916) 319-2091