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AB-617 One California program.(2023-2024)



Current Version: 02/09/23 - Introduced

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AB617:v99#DOCUMENT


CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 617

Introduced by Assembly Member Jones-Sawyer

February 09, 2023

An act to amend Sections 13300, 13301, 13303, 13304, 13305, and 13307 of, and to add Section 13311 to, the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to immigration services.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 617, as introduced, Jones-Sawyer. One California program.
Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services, subject to an appropriation, to provide grants to qualified nonprofit organizations through contracts, in order to provide persons with certain immigration-related legal services. Under existing law, a component of those grants is aimed at legal services to unaccompanied undocumented minors who are transferred to the care and custody of the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement and who are present in the state.
This bill would make changes to the criteria for organizations providing legal services to those minors, including adjustments to qualifications based on the organization’s history of professional experience and to the fee system for legal services.
Under existing law, another component of those grants is aimed at services relating to immigration remedies and naturalization, among other processes, to assist persons residing in, or formerly residing in, the state.
This bill would expand those qualifying services to persons having an intent to reside in and having a nexus to the state, and would expand the scope of services to include, among other things, holistic legal representation and related services for removal defense. The bill would make changes to the definitions of various terms relating to legal services and immigration remedies.
Existing law prohibits use of the grant funds to provide legal services to an individual who has been convicted of, or who is currently appealing a conviction for, a violent or serious felony.
This bill would remove that prohibition on the use of funds for those individuals.
Existing law requires the department to update the Legislature on specified information relating to the grant program in the course of budget hearings.
This bill would expand the scope of reportable information and would instead require the department to update the Legislature through an annual report, and to post the reports on the department’s internet website and make them publicly available. The bill would also require the department to update the Legislature through a publicly available report, every 3 years, commencing on July 1, 2025, that provides information and analysis on the costs associated with service provision and that provides recommendations for any program administration updates addressing these costs.
The bill would make conforming changes to related provisions. The bill would also make legislative findings relating to the “One California” Immigration Services Funding program, addressing the above-described provisions.
The bill would require the Section Chief of the Immigration Services Bureau, at the department, or their representative, to convene an ongoing advisory committee, with a specified composition, to be established by January 1, 2025. Under the bill, the committee’s purpose would be to create voluntary guidance and make recommendations to the department and to the Legislature on policies and procedures to ensure that indigent immigrant Californians receive the vital legal services and other concomitant resources needed to set up immigrants and their families to thrive in the state.
Under the bill, personally identifiable information, collected by the department as related to the above-described services, would not be a public record and would be prohibited from disclosure by the department, except where necessary to comply with a court-issued order, warrant, or subpoena.
Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.
This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   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) In the 2015–16 fiscal year, the state established the “One California” Immigration Services Funding program, which provides state funds to support low-income state residents eligible for naturalization or affirmative immigration relief, including through the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
(b) The state has continued to invest in One California, which has grown in scope and impact, supporting legal nonprofit organizations throughout the state to provide vital education, outreach, and legal services to immigrants and their families in need of affirmative relief or removal defense services.
(c) One California grantee organizations provided education and outreach to 200,000 immigrant Californians, legal and application assistance to tens of thousands of immigrant Californians, and representation for over 1,000 Californians facing detention, deportation, and family separation.
(d) However, the current landscape of legal services provision, outreach, and education has fundamentally shifted, due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, increasing complexity of federal immigration law, the ever-changing nature of the national conversation on immigration reform, and innovations to immigration law practice that prioritize holistic care of immigrant clients necessitate updates to existing law governing immigration legal services funded by the state. For example, effective legal representation for unaccompanied undocumented minors or those facing removal requires sufficient resources to ensure that legal services providers can engage support staff, investigative staff, interpretation and expert witness services, and social services providers of supportive and rehabilitative services.
(e) The ability to access legal services is vital. For example, over 200,000 people in California have pending removal cases and are facing deportation and family separation. In the 2021–22 fiscal year, alone, 58.3 percent of immigrants facing removal proceedings did not have legal representation in California. In the 2021–22 fiscal year, 76.7 percent (or 4,791) of people in California who lost their case and were ordered deported did not have legal representation.

SEC. 2.

 Section 13300 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:

13300.
 (a) Subject to the availability of funding in the act that added this chapter or the annual Budget Act, the department shall contract, as described in Section 13301, with qualified nonprofit legal services organizations to provide legal services to unaccompanied undocumented minors who are transferred to the care and custody of the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement and who are present in this state.
(b) Legal services provided in accordance with subdivision (a) shall be for the sole purpose of providing legal representation to unaccompanied undocumented minors who are in the physical custody of the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement or who are residing with a family member or other sponsor.
(c) For purposes of this chapter, the term “unaccompanied undocumented minors” means unaccompanied children as described in Section 279(g)(2) of Title 6 of the United States Code.
(d) For purposes of this chapter, the term “legal services” “holistic legal services and related services,” or a variation thereof as specified in subdivision (b) of Section 13303, includes culturally and linguistically appropriate services provided by attorneys, paralegals, interpreters interpreters, social workers, and other support staff for state court proceedings, federal immigration proceedings, and any appeals arising from those proceedings. The term includes psychological evaluations, expert witness testimony, interpretation and translation, medical examinations, investigators, postrelease services, and other litigation costs.

SEC. 3.

 Section 13301 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:

13301.
 Contracts awarded pursuant to Section 13300 shall fulfill all of the following:
(a) Be executed only with nonprofit legal services organizations that meet all at least three of the following requirements:
(1) Have at least three years of experience handling asylum, T-Visa, U-Visa, or special immigrant juvenile status cases and have represented at least 25 individuals in these matters. matters, or include on the staff of the organization a supervising attorney or representative accredited by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) or federal Office of Legal Access Programs (OLAP) (DOJ or OLAP Accredited Representative) with at least three years’ experience and expertise in providing legal representation to indigent clients in civil immigration matters before the United States Department of Homeland Security.
(2) Have experience in representing individuals in removal proceedings and asylum applications. applications, or include on the staff of the organization a supervising attorney or DOJ or OLAP Accredited Representative with at least three years’ experience and expertise in providing legal representation to indigent clients in civil immigration proceedings before the Executive Office for Immigration Review within the United States Department of Justice.
(3) Have conducted trainings on these issues for practitioners beyond their staff. practitioners.
(4) Have experience guiding and supervising the work of attorneys whom themselves do not regularly participate in this area of the law but nevertheless work pro bono on the types of cases described in paragraph (1).
(5) Are accredited by the Board of Immigration Appeals under the United States Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review or meet the requirements to receive funding from the Trust Fund Program administered by the State Bar of California.
(b) Provide for legal services to unaccompanied undocumented minors on a fee-per-case basis, as determined by the department, which shall include minors, which shall cover all administrative and supervisory costs and court fees.
(c) Require reporting, monitoring, or audits of services provided, as determined by the department.
(d) Require contractors to coordinate efforts with the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement Legal Access Project in order to respond to and assist or represent unaccompanied undocumented minors who could benefit from the services provided under this chapter.
(e) Require contractors to maintain adequate legal malpractice insurance and to indemnify and hold the state harmless from any claims that arise from the legal services provided pursuant to this chapter.

SEC. 4.

 Section 13303 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:

13303.
 (a) Subject to the availability of funding in the act that added this section or the annual Budget Act, the department shall provide grants, as described in subdivision (b), to organizations qualified under Section 13304.
(b) Grants provided in accordance with subdivision (a) shall be for the purpose of providing one or more of the following services, as determined by the department:
(1) Services to persons residing in, or formerly residing in, or having an intent to reside in and having a nexus to, California, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
(A) Services to assist with the application process for initial or renewal requests of deferred action under the DACA policy with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. Department of Homeland Security.
(B) Services to obtain other immigration remedies. remedies and any appeals arising from the process.
(C) Services to assist with the naturalization process and any appeals arising from the process.
(2) Services to provide legal training and technical assistance.

(3)(A)(i)Funds available for the purposes of this section shall not be used to provide legal services to an individual who has been convicted of, or who is currently appealing a conviction for, a violent felony, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 667.5 of the Penal Code, or a serious felony, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 1192.7 of the Penal Code.

(ii)For the purposes of this subparagraph, “legal services” does not include activities relating to client intake, which shall be provided regardless of an individual’s criminal history.

(B)Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit eligibility for services pursuant to this section for individuals whose criminal records are shown to be inaccurate.

(3) Services to provide holistic legal representation and related services, as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 13300, for removal defense.
(4) Services to provide holistic legal services, as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 13300, to unaccompanied undocumented minors.
(c) For purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
(1) “DACA” refers to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status as described in guidelines issued by the United States Department of Homeland Security.
(2) “Services to assist” includes, but is not limited to, outreach, workshop presentations, document review, Freedom of Information Act requests, services to obtain postconviction relief, and screening services that seek to assist individuals with the services described in subdivision (b).
(3) “Services to obtain” includes, but is not limited to, legal representation, investigative services, interpretation and translation, expert witness services, or the provision of supportive and rehabilitative services to people facing removal from the United States.

(3)

(4) “Legal training and technical assistance” includes, but is not limited to, educational and capacity building activities that will augment the competent provision of legal services to immigrants, including for organizations located in and serving underserved communities.

(4)

(5) “Immigration remedies” include, but shall not be limited to, U-visas, T-visas, special immigrant juvenile status, Violence Against Women Act self-petitions, family-based petitions, cancellation of removal, and asylum, or other remedies that may also include remedies necessary to enable pursuit of immigration protections. The department shall broadly construe the definition of “immigration remedies,” which may include, but is not limited to, any remedy or relief from ancillary proceedings before federal or state agencies or courts, and any other remedy or relief that may be available from the United States Department of Justice or the United States Department of Homeland Security.
(d) No more than 40 percent of grant funds awarded to an organization qualified under Section 13304 shall be advanced to that organization.
(e) Personally identifiable information, collected by the department as related to the services provided under this chapter, is not a public record and shall not be disclosed by the department, except where necessary to comply with a court-issued order, warrant, or subpoena.

(e)

(f) The department shall update the Legislature on the following information in the course of budget hearings: through an annual report, in accordance with Section 9795 of the Government Code. The department shall also post the reports on its internet website and make them publicly available. The reports shall include all of the following information:
(1) The timeline for implementation and administration of this section, including important upcoming dates.
(2) The participating organizations awarded contracts or grants, and the aggregate amounts awarded for each service described in subdivision (b).
(3) The number and types of applications submitted, and the aggregate amounts requested for each service described in subdivision (b).
(4) The number of clients served. served, the number of matters in which representation was provided over a designated time period of the awards, and the number of nonprofit organization staff who were funded through the program established pursuant to this chapter.
(5) The types of services provided and in what language or languages.
(6) The regions served. served, and identification of regions that are particularly underserved.
(7) The ethnic communities served. served, and identification of communities that are particularly underserved.
(8) The identification of further barriers and challenges to the provision of services described in subdivision (b). (b), and recommendations to address those barriers and challenges based on findings from data gathered in the furtherance of this subdivision.
(g) The department shall update the Legislature through a report, in accordance with Section 9795 of the Government Code, every three years, commencing on July 1, 2025, that provides information and analysis on the costs associated with service provision and that provides recommendations for any program administration updates addressing these costs. The department shall also post the reports on its internet website and make them publicly available.

(f)

(h) In accordance with Section 1621(d) of Title 8 of the United States Code, this section provides services for undocumented persons.

(g)

(i) The sum of twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) is hereby appropriated to the State Department of Social Services in the 2017–18 fiscal year for immigration services funding to be available for payment to existing entities under contract pursuant to this section for work on behalf of clients involved in, applying for, or subject to, federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status.

(h)

(j) Notwithstanding any other law, payments shall be made by the Controller to existing entities under contract pursuant to this chapter upon receipt of written notification from the State Department of Social Services of the amounts, contractors, and timing of the payments.

SEC. 5.

 Section 13304 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:

13304.
 (a) Grants awarded pursuant to Section 13303 shall fulfill all of the following:
(1) Be executed only with nonprofit organizations that meet the requirements set forth in Section 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(5) of the Internal Revenue Code and that meet all of the following requirements:
(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (D), have at least three years of experience handling the type of immigration issues for which the organization is requesting a grant. grant, as described in paragraphs (1) to (5), inclusive, of subdivision (a) of Section 13301.
(B) Have conducted trainings on immigration issues for persons beyond their staff. issues.
(C) Are recognized and accredited by the Office of Legal Access Programs under the United States Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review or meet the requirements to receive funding from the Trust Fund Program administered by the State Bar of California.
(D) For a legal services organization that provides legal training and technical assistance as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 13303, have at least 10 years of experience conducting immigration legal services and technical assistance and meet the requirements to receive funding from the Trust Fund Program administered by the State Bar of California.
(2) Require reporting, monitoring, or audits of services provided, as determined by the department.
(3) Require grant recipients to maintain adequate legal malpractice insurance and to indemnify and hold the state harmless from any claims that arise from the legal services provided pursuant to this chapter.
(b) For grants awarded prior to the effective date of the act that added this subdivision, with the consent of the department and the grantee, the grantee may provide any of the services described in Section 13303, as amended by that act, and any agreement between the department and grantee shall be deemed to authorize the provision of those services.
(c) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2016.

SEC. 6.

 Section 13305 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:

13305.
 (a) Subject to the availability of funding in the act that added this section or the annual Budget Act, the department shall provide grants to organizations qualified under Section 13306 to provide free education and outreach information, services, and materials about services provided pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 13303.
(b) For purposes of this section, “education and outreach” activities means the dissemination of information or activities that promote the benefits of citizenship or immigration remedies, and explain eligibility to prospective United States citizens or prospective individuals eligible for deferred action, or explain to individuals their immigration-related rights.
(1) Education and outreach activities shall include referrals to educational or legal services that support the applicants’ eligibility for citizenship, deferred action, or other immigration remedies, and the importance of participating in civic engagement as a naturalized citizen.
(2) Education and outreach activities do not include representation as legal counsel that would assist in the application process for a prospective citizen or prospective individual eligible for deferred action or other immigration remedies.
(c) No more than 40 percent of grant funds awarded to an organization qualified under Section 13306 shall be advanced to that organization.
(d) The department shall update the Legislature on the following information in the course of budget hearings: annually update the Legislature, through the report described in subdivision (f) of Section 13303, on all of the following information:
(1) The timeline for implementation of this section.
(2) The participating organizations awarded contracts or grants.
(3) The number of applications submitted.
(4) The number of clients served.
(5) The types of services provided and in what language or languages.
(6) The regions served.
(7) The ethnic communities served.
(8) The identification of further barriers and challenges to education, outreach, immigration assistance, and legal services related to naturalization and deferred action.
(e) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2016.

SEC. 7.

 Section 13307 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:

13307.
 The department may transfer funds appropriated for the purposes of this chapter among services described in this chapter in response to the results of requests for applications received or to changing state or federal law. Following the award of funding pursuant to this section, the department shall provide written notification to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee of the items specified in subdivision (e) (f) of Section 13303. Subsequent to this notification, and in addition to the update required by subdivision (e) (f) of Section 13303, the department shall provide written notification to the Department of Finance and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee no less than 30 days prior to either of the following, unless a shorter timeframe is requested by the department due to emergent circumstances:
(a) Any proposed changes that adjust the aggregate amount awarded for any particular service described in subdivision (b) of Section 13303 by more than 15 percent.
(b) For any proposed transfers of funding between the purposes of Sections 13300 and 13303.

SEC. 8.

 Section 13311 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:

13311.
 (a) (1) The Section Chief of the Immigration Services Bureau, at the department, or a representative of the chief, shall convene an ongoing advisory committee, which shall be established by January 1, 2025.
(2) The purpose of the advisory committee shall be to create voluntary guidance and make recommendations to the department and, in accordance with Section 9795 of the Government Code, to the Legislature, on policies and procedures to ensure that indigent immigrant Californians receive the vital legal services and other concomitant resources needed to set up immigrants and their families to thrive in the state.
(b) The advisory committee shall be geographically and demographically diverse, representing the diversity of immigrant communities throughout the state, and shall be composed of no fewer than 10 individuals, with no fewer than 2 of whom being individuals directly affected by immigration enforcement.
(c) The advisory committee shall include, but not be limited to, a representative from all of the following groups:
(1) A nonprofit organization with a minimum of five years of experience in advising and providing legal advocacy on affirmative legal immigration services.
(2) A nonprofit organization with a minimum of five years of experience in advising and providing legal advocacy on removal legal defense.
(3) A nonprofit organization with a minimum of five years of experience in advising and providing legal advocacy on asylum and refugee matters.
(4) A nonprofit organization with a minimum of five years of experience in serving particularly underserved geographic regions.
(5) A nonprofit organization with a minimum of five years of experience in serving particularly underserved communities impacted by immigration enforcement, especially with linguistic barriers in accessing legal services.
(6) A nonprofit organization with a minimum of five years of experience in providing technical assistance to legal nonprofit organizations.
(d) The Speaker of the Assembly and the Senate President pro Tempore may each appoint one individual to the advisory committee. The Section Chief of the Immigration Services Bureau shall appoint all other individuals to the advisory committee.
(e) The advisory committee shall make recommendations, in consultation with the applicable divisions and entities within the department, and with other applicable state agencies or departments, on which additional policies could be adopted by the department or additional legislation enacted by the Legislature to ensure a thriving One California program. The advisory committee shall develop voluntary practice-specific legal and other guidance, as necessary, for the purpose of all of the following:
(1) Educating and providing outreach to immigrants and their families on their rights and privileges, and concomitant resources needed to set them up to thrive in the state.
(2) Setting up a One California infrastructure and processes that ensure and maximize the ability of indigent immigrant Californians to receive the vital legal services and other concomitant resources needed to thrive in communities.
(3) Identifying and evaluating barriers of indigent immigrant Californians in accessing services specific to the practice, and how to remove these barriers through the administration of the program established pursuant to this chapter.

SEC. 9.

 The Legislature finds and declares that Section 4 of this act, which amends Section 13303 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, imposes a limitation on the public’s right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies within the meaning of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution. Pursuant to that constitutional provision, the Legislature makes the following findings to demonstrate the interest protected by this limitation and the need for protecting that interest:
In order to protect the privacy of individuals receiving holistic legal services and other immigration-related services under the “One California” Immigration Services Funding program, except where necessary to comply with a court-issued order, warrant, or subpoena, it is necessary that this act limit the public’s rights of access to personally identifiable information collected by the State Department of Social Services as related to those services.