BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 2896 Page 1 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 Page 2 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 Page 3 Analysis Prepared by:Ben Ebbink / L. & E. / (916) 319-2091