BILL ANALYSIS
AB 402
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Date of Hearing: May 3, 2005
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON JOBS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND THE ECONOMY
Juan Arambula, Chair
AB 402 (Dymally) - As Amended: May 2, 2005
SUBJECT : Borders: Mexico.
SUMMARY : Requires the Office of California-Mexico Affairs
(Office) to establish a migrant advisory committee to focus upon
issues confronted by those parties migrating from Mexico to
California. Specifically, this bill :
1)Prohibits a sitting member of the Commission of the
Californias (Commission) from simultaneously serving as a
member of the migrant advisory committee established by this
bill.
2)Requires members of the migrant advisory committee be
appointed by the Chairman of the Commission and serve at the
pleasure of the Chairman.
3)Requires the migrant advisory committee focus its advice to
the Office upon the issues faced by groups currently migrating
or recently migrated from Mexico to California.
4)Provides recommendations of the migrant advisory committee are
advisory in nature only to the Office and are not binding upon
the Governor or the Legislature.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires the Office establish advisory committees on topic
areas identified and deemed necessary by the Director of the
Office.
2)Requires members of the established advisory committees be
appointed by the Chairman of the Commission and serve at the
pleasure of the Chairman.
3)Provides the Governor serves as the Chairman of the Commission
and the Lieutenant Governor as Vice Chairman. In the
Governor's absence, the Lieutenant Governor serves as Chairman
and assumes all responsibilities and authorities over the
Commission.
AB 402
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4)Provides recommendations of the advisory committees are
advisory in nature only to the Office and are not binding upon
the Governor or the Legislature.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of the Bill : According to the author, this bill would
allow Committees advising the Commission of the Californias to
consist of members that represent those migrating to
California. The author additionally states, there must be
fair representation of various groups that migrate to
California on the advisory committees.
While this bill does expressly require creation of a migrant
advisory committee, there is no requirement that the committee
membership include "members that represent those migrating to
California." Rather this bill does require migrant advisory
committee members who are not simultaneously serving as
Commissioners and requires the entire migrant advisory
committee to advise "the office on issues facing groups who
are migrating, or have recently migrated, to California from
Mexico."
This bill, if enacted, would prohibit Commissioners from
simultaneously serving as members of the migrant advisory
committee. However, the silence in current law as to whether
non-Commissioners can serve as members of other advisory
committees of the Office will be continued under the
provisions of this bill.
2)Office of California-Mexico Affairs : The Office of
California-Mexico Affairs, its four-member staff, and its
functions, including operation of the Commission of the
Californias, was terminated in 2003 with adoption of the state
budget for the fiscal year 2003-2004. That year's budget
trailer bill for state agencies - AB 1757 of 2003 (Chapter
229, Statutes of 2003) - eliminated the Technology, Trade, and
Commerce Agency (TTCA) under which the Office of
California-Mexico Affairs most recently functioned and zeroed
out funding for the Office.
The statutes authorizing and prescribing the operations of the
Office of California-Mexico Affairs and placing the Commission
AB 402
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of the Californias therein remain as current law in the
Government Code. Following the transfer of multiple entities
from TTCA to other agencies, the Office has been placed under
the International Trade and Investment Division of the
Business, Transportation, and Housing Agency's Commerce and
Economic Development Program.
Most recently, both the Office and Commission have been
specifically identified for elimination from statute by the
Governor's California Performance Review for the entity and
function having been effectively abolished.
3)Related Legislation : AB 1395 (Nu?ez) requires the Secretary
of Environmental Protection and the Secretary of Business,
Transportation, and Housing in consultation with other
agencies to develop a comprehensive strategic plan to
coordinate an interagency California-Mexico Relations Ten Year
Plan and recommend an appropriate governance structure.
(Pending in Assembly Appropriations)
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file.
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Tom Higgins / J., E.D. & E. / (916)
319-2090