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.