BILL NUMBER: SB 10 INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Senator Lara DECEMBER 1, 2014 An act to add Chapter 1.7 (commencing with Section 12099.10) to Part 2 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, relating to immigration. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 10, as introduced, Lara. Immigration: Governor's Office of New Americans. Existing law establishes the Naturalization Services Program, administered within the Department of Community Services and Development, to fund community-based organizations in assisting legal permanent residents in obtaining citizenship. This bill would establish the Office of New Americans in the Governor's office for the purpose of, among other things, coordinating an ongoing multiagency, multisector public and private effort to provide information and services to new Americans, overseeing the creation of a statewide plan for the coordination and implementation of any presidential executive action on immigration reform or federal comprehensive immigration reform, and providing outreach, education, and fraud prevention services to the new American population. 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. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) An estimated 2.6 million Californians are undocumented immigrants. One in six children lives with an undocumented parent. Eighty percent of these children are native born United States citizens who stand to benefit from increased family stability and economic security. (b) President Obama has recently decided to employ executive action to expand deferred action on millions of Americans. This population will need assistance with accessing resources and completing the requisite applications for deferred action. (c) California, which has the largest undocumented population in the nation, has more to gain from immigration reform than any other state. California's future depends on our ability to successfully integrate immigrants, regardless of their immigration status, into the economic, social, and political fabric. (d) One in 11 workers is an undocumented immigrant. Legalization will allow undocumented immigrants to join the formal economy and increase their economic contributions. Studies show that immigrants are better off, by almost any economic measure, after gaining legal status and citizenship. And what is good for California's undocumented residents is good for the state. (e) Immigrant workers are important to our state's economy. Studies show that immigrant workers contribute about 31 percent of California's gross domestic product (GDP). Undocumented immigrants in our state contribute about $130 billion of California's GDP, which is a figure greater than the entire GDP of the state of Nevada. (f) Immigrant households also make up 27 percent of the total household income in California, representing a substantial share of all spending power in this state. (g) The success of a large-scale legalization program will depend significantly upon the coordination of a multiagency, multisector, statewide public and private effort to provide undocumented immigrants accurate, accessible information and services. The state must develop a coordinated effort that leverages public and private resources to provide education, fraud prevention services, application assistance, legal services, English instruction, and civics classes to undocumented immigrants. SEC. 2. Chapter 1.7 (commencing with Section 12099.10) is added to Part 2 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, to read: CHAPTER 1.7. THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE OF NEW AMERICANS 12099.10. There is within the Governor's office an Office of New Americans. 12099.11. The duties of the office shall include, but are not limited to, all of the following: (a) Coordinating an ongoing multiagency, multisector public and private effort to provide accurate, accessible information and services to new Americans. (b) Overseeing the creation of a statewide plan for the coordination and implementation of any presidential executive action on immigration reform or federal comprehensive immigration reform (CIR). (c) Providing outreach, education, and fraud prevention services to ensure that the new American population has accurate information relating to eligibility requirements with regard to presidential executive action, CIR, federal deferred action for childhood arrivals (DACA), and other policies, and where to obtain reputable application assistance and legal services. (d) Providing citizenship application assistance, legal services, and English and civics instruction. (e) Monitoring the implementation of the following: (1) DACA and any other presidential executive action on immigration reform or CIR. (2) Chapter 524 of the Statutes of 2013 (Assembly Bill 60 of the 2013-14 Regular Session). (3) Chapter 17.1 (commencing with Section 7282) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, commonly referred to as the TRUST Act. (4) Chapter 752 of the Statutes of 2014 (Senate Bill 1159 of the 2013-14 Regular Session). (f) Creating neighborhood-based connections between new Americans and their communities through civic engagement and other opportunities. (g) Marshaling resources to fund these efforts.