BILL NUMBER: AB 1067 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 18, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 16, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Medina
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Brown, Fox, and V. Manual Pérez)
FEBRUARY 22, 2013
An act to add Chapter 4.2 (commencing with Section 6315) to
Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, relating to economic
development.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1067, as amended, Medina. Economic development: foreign trade.
The Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development serves
as the Governor's lead entity for economic strategy and the marketing
of California on issues relating to business development, private
sector investment, and economic growth. The office, among others,
makes recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature regarding
policies, programs, and actions to advance statewide economic goals.
This bill would establish the California Foreign Investment
Program. The bill would require the Governor's Office of Business and
Economic Development to serve as the lead state entity for
overseeing the state's participation with the U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services' EB-5 Investment Program. The bill would require
the director of the office to set the terms and conditions for
issuing a state designation letter for target employment areas within
the structure and scope of the EB-5 Investment Program and to post
on the office's Internet Web site a list with the contact information
for each regional center, as specified. The bill would require a
regional center operating in the state to provide the office with,
among other things, information on the number of clients served, the
location of investments, and the number of direct and indirect jobs
created. The bill would authorize the office to provide a support
letter for regional center applications to the U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Service. The bill would authorize a public corporation,
as defined, that is authorized to establish, operate, and maintain a
regional center to provide for indemnity or assurance to the federal
government, as specified, and to deposit moneys with the federal
government, as specified. The bill would apply only to EB-5
activities of the state relating to the EB-5 Investment Program
occurring on or after January 1, 2014.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 4.2 (commencing with Section 6315) is added to
Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, to read:
CHAPTER 4.2. CALIFORNIA FOREIGN INVESTMENT PROGRAM
6315. (a) This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the
California Foreign Investment Program.
(b) For purposes of this chapter:
(1) "Director" means the Director of the Governor's Office of
Business and Economic Development.
(2) "Office" means the Governor's Office of Business and Economic
Development.
(3) "Public corporation" means the state, any political
subdivision thereof, any incorporated municipality therein, any
public agency of the state, of any political subdivision thereof, or
of any municipality therein, or any corporate municipal
instrumentality of this state or of this state and one or more other
states.
(4) "EB-5 Investment Program" and the "Foreign Investment Program"
means Section 203(b)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. Sec. 1153(b)(5)).
6315.1. (a) The office shall serve as the lead state entity for
overseeing the state's participation with the United States
Citizenship and Immigration Service's EB-5 Investment Program.
(b) The director shall set the terms and conditions for issuing a
state designation letter for target employment areas within the
structure and scope of the EB-5 Investment Program.
(c) (1) A regional center operating in the state shall provide the
office with contact information for the center and the geographic
region and industry sector or subsectors recognized by the United
States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for that center.
(2) A regional center operating within this state shall annually
provide information to the office on the number of clients served,
location of investments, and number of direct and indirect jobs
created. The regional center may satisfy this requirement by
submitting a copy of Form I-9224A of the (USCIS) to the office.
(c) (1) An applicant for a visa from the United States Citizenship
and Immigration Service under the EB-5 Program may register with the
office.
(2) The office may provide assistance to an applicant, registered
with the office pursuant to this subdivision, with the applicant's
EB-5 visa application.
(3) The office may charge a fee for these services.
(d) The office may provide a support letter for regional center
applications to the (USCIS).
(e) The director shall post on the office's Internet Web site a
list with contact information for each regional center where
information is readily available to the office. The list shall be
updated when new information is made available on at least an annual
basis.
6315.2. (a) Any public or private corporation authorized to
establish, operate, and maintain a regional center whose application
is granted pursuant to the terms of the Immigration and Nationality
Act may establish, operate, and maintain the regional center subject
to the conditions and restrictions of the EB-5 Investment Program,
and any amendments thereto, and any conditions and restrictions
established by the director pursuant to this chapter.
(b) If authorized to establish, operate, and maintain a regional
center, a public corporation may, in addition to its other powers, do
either of the following:
(1) Provide for indemnity or assurance to the federal government
or its agencies as they may request.
(2) Deposit moneys with the federal government, as the federal
government or its agencies may request, provided those moneys are
available by direct appropriation or otherwise.
6315.3. This chapter shall apply only to EB-5 activities of the
state relating to the EB-5 Investment Program occurring on or after
January 1, 2014.