BILL ANALYSIS
AB 702
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Date of Hearing: August 25, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Norma Torres, Chair
AB 702 (Salas) - As Amended: August 9, 2010
SUBJECT : Joe Serna, Jr., Farmworker Housing Grant Program:
agricultural employees.
SUMMARY : Expands the definition of "agricultural employees" for
purposes of the Joe Serna Jr., Farmworker Housing Grant Program
(FWHG). Specifically, this bill :
1)Expands the definition of "agricultural employees" for
purposes of the FWHG program to include any person who works
on or off the farm in processing of any agricultural commodity
until it is shipped for distribution.
2)Includes an urgency clause.
EXISTING LAW
1)Establishes the FHWG program to fund the development of
ownership or rental homes for agricultural employees and their
families through grants to local governments and non-profit
organizations (Health and Safety Code Section 50515.7).
2)Defines "agricultural employees" as persons engaged in
agriculture as well as persons who work at a packing shed for
a labor contractor or other entity that contracts with an
agricultural employer in order to perform services in
connection with handling, drying, packing, or storing any
agricultural commodity in its raw or natural state (Health and
Safety Code Section 50515.7).
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill was gutted and amended in the Senate
and has not been heard by a fiscal committee. However, HCD
estimates that any costs would be minor and absorbable.
COMMENTS :
AB 702, for purposes of the FWHG program, expands the definition
of "agricultural employees" to include any person who works on
or off the farm in the processing of any agricultural commodity
until it is shipped for distribution. The bill also includes an
AB 702
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urgency clause.
According to the bill's sponsor, the California Coalition for
Rural Housing, in 2008 Congress, for purposes of federal housing
programs, expanded the definition of domestic farm labor to
include workers engaged not only in the handling of agricultural
commodities in the unprocessed stage but also in the "processing
of agricultural or aquacultural commodities." Moreover, the
federal legislation clarified that farm labor may be performed
off the farm, not just on the farm. This bill more closely
conforms the state's definition of agricultural employee to the
analogous federal definition, which the sponsor argues will have
the following benefits:
Allow operators of farmworker housing to rent out units
financed with both federal and state funding using one set
of eligibility rules rather than two;
Increase the financial viability of state-financed
farmworker housing by expanding the eligible population that
may rent such units;
Eliminate confusion and instability among agricultural
workers who perform more than one kind of agricultural
activity (e.g., field work and processing); and
Provide a stable and well-housed workforce for local
employers engaged in the cultivation, handling, drying,
packing, processing, or storing of agricultural products.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Coalition for Rural Housing (sponsor)
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Anya Lawler / H. & C.D. / (916)
319-2085
AB 702
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