BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
Senator Tony Mendoza, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 2896 Hearing Date: June 22,
2016
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|Author: |Committee on Labor and Employment |
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|Version: |March 1, 2016 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |No |
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|Consultant:|Martha Gutierrez |
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Subject: Farm labor contractors: license: payment
KEY ISSUE
Should the Legislature permit the Labor Commissioner's office to
accept credit cards as a method of payment for Farm labor
contractor license fees?
ANALYSIS
Existing law
1. Specifies that the Labor Commissioner shall not issue to
any person a license to act as a farm labor contractor, nor
shall the Labor Commissioner renew that license, until all
of the following conditions are satisfied:
The person has executed a written application
in a form prescribed by the Labor Commissioner,
subscribed and sworn to by the person.
The Labor Commissioner, after investigation,
is satisfied as to the character, competency, and
responsibility of the person.
The person has deposited with the Labor
Commissioner a surety bond in an amount based on the
AB 2896 (Committeeon Labor and Employment) Page 2
of ?
size of the person's annual payroll for all employees,
as specified.
1. The person has paid to the Labor Commissioner a license
fee of five hundred dollars ($600) plus a filing fee of ten
dollars ($10). However, when a timely application for
renewal is filed, the ten-dollar ($10) filing fee is not
required. Part of the fees collected by the Labor
Commissioner are used to fund the Farm Labor Contractor
Enforcement Unit and the Farm Labor Contractor License
Verification Unit. (Labor Code §1684)
This Bill authorizes the Labor Commissioner to accept a credit
card charge as a method of payment for farm labor contractor
license fees, as provided.
COMMENTS
1. Need for this bill?
Existing law requires Farm Labor Contractors (FLC's) 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. By allowing the Labor Commissioner's office to use
all credit cards as form of payment, it will streamline the
FLC's licensing process.
2. Proponent Arguments :
According the author, Farm Labor Contractors have reported
that credit cards issued by MasterCard and American Express
are the only ones accepted for online payment. Many FLCs do
not have either type of card. Proponents argue that as it is
by far the most commonly held type of credit card in the
United States, a Visa credit card should also be an accepted
form of payment. In order to resolve any doubt or question, AB
2896 will simply provide the Labor Commissioner with the
AB 2896 (Committeeon Labor and Employment) Page 3
of ?
authority to accept any credit card charge as a method of
payment for farm labor contractor (FLC) license fees.
3. Opponent Arguments :
None received.
SUPPORT
California Association of Winegrape Growers (Co-Sponsor)
California Farm Bureau Federation (Co-Sponsor)
OPPOSITION
None of file
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