SB 12, as amended on 02/27/2025, Gonzalez (D). State government: Immigrant and Refugee Affairs Agency: Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs.
Existing law designates 8 agencies in state government and requires the secretary of an agency to be generally responsible
March 6, 2025
Golden State Republican Women
Janet Price, President
Submitted by the GSRW Legislative Analyst Committee
Valerie Evans, Lou Ann Flaherty and Elaine Freeman,
IMMIGRANT AND REFUGE AFFAIRS
(line outs and blue amendments shown for clarity)
SB 12, as amended on 02/27/2025, Gonzalez (D). State government: Immigrant and Refugee Affairs Agency: Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs.
Existing law designates 8 agencies in state government and requires the secretary of an agency to be generally responsible for the sound fiscal management of each department, office, or other unit within the agency. Existing law further requires the secretary of an agency to, among other duties, continually seek to improve the organization structure, the operating policies, and the management information systems of each department, office, or other unit.
This bill would establish the Immigrant and Refugee Affairs Agency as an agency within state government, to be headed by a secretary who is appointed by the Governor and subject to Senate confirmation. The bill would specify that the purpose of the agency is to reduce obstacles and enhance immigrant integration, as defined, enhance, and reduce obstacles to, immigrant inclusion into the social, cultural, economic, and civic life of the state. The The bill would authorize the secretary to, among other things, assist other state agencies in evaluating their programs for accessibility and effectiveness in providing services to immigrants and refugees and recommending policy and budget mechanisms for meeting immigrant and refugee inclusion.
This bill would establish the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs within the agency. agency, under the direction of the Statewide Director of Immigrant and Refugee Inclusion. The bill would declare the intent to incorporate existing and future programs created to assist immigrants and refugees into the office.
The bill would transfer to the office the property of any other office, agency, or department that relates to functions transferred to the office by these provisions and would transfer the unencumbered balance of any appropriation and any other funds that are available for use in connection with any function transferred to the office. The bill would also concerning immigrant and refugee affairs. The bill would require every officer and employee who is performing a function at another office, agency, or department that is transferred to the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs to also be transferred to the office, and would provide that every officer and employee who is serving in the state civil service, as provided, and service who is transferred to the office, office shall retain the status their status, position, and rights. rights, except as specified. The bill would create the Immigrant and Refugee Integration Inclusion Fund within the State Treasury, and would make the moneys available in the fund available to the office upon appropriation by the Legislature. The bill would transfer to the office any unencumbered balance of any appropriation or other funds that were available for use in connection with any function transferred to the office.
This bill would establish the duties and responsibilities of the agency and the office which includes, among other duties, establishing a permanent structure within the state to serve immigrants and refugees, assisting other state agencies in evaluating their programs for accessibility and effectiveness in providing services to immigrants and refugees, and recommending policy and budget mechanisms for meeting immigrant and refugee integration goals. The bill would limit interagency sharing of information, would prohibit sharing of personal information of immigrants and refugees outside of the agency, and would prohibit use of agency resources to directly or indirectly participate or assist in immigration enforcement activity.
Existing law establishes the Statewide Director of Immigrant Integration and requires the director serve as the statewide lead for the planning and coordination of immigrant services and policies in California.
Existing law requires, among other things, that the director develop a comprehensive statewide report on programs and services that serve immigrants, develop an online clearinghouse of immigrant services, resources, and programs, and monitor the implementation of statewide laws and regulations that serve immigrants.
This bill would recast those provisions to rename the director as the Statewide Director of Immigrant and Refugee Integration. Inclusion and would require the director to, among other things, develop a mission statement, strategic plan, and matrix of success for the office, and to report to the Legislature biannually on successes and challenges in meeting immigrant and refugee inclusion goals. The bill would require the director director, by January 1, 2027, to report to the Governor and the Legislature on programs and services that serve immigrants and refugees by January 1, 2026, and require the director to provide and on a statewide plan for better implementation and coordination of immigrant and refugee assistance policies and programs. The bill would require the director to monitor statewide laws and regulations that serve refugees, in addition to immigrants.
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 sounds very expensive! Taxpayer dollars?)
Hearing: Mar 11 @ 9:30 am in 1021 O Street, Room 1200
WATER
AB 430, as introduced, Alanis (Republican), February 5, 2025. State Water Resources Control Board: emergency regulations.
An act to amend Section 1058.5 of the Water Code, relating to water. May be heard in committee March 8.
Existing law provides that an emergency regulation adopted by the State Water Resources Control Board following a Governor’s proclamation of a state of emergency based on drought conditions, for which the board makes specified findings, may remain in effect for up to one year, as provided, and may be renewed if the board determines that specified conditions relating to precipitation are still in effect.
This bill would require the board, before the 2nd renewal of any emergency regulation or upon its repeal, to conduct a comprehensive economic study assessing the impacts of the regulation, as specified. The bill would require the board to make the study publicly available on its internet website no later than 30 days before the date of the subsequent renewal, or one year from the date of the repeal of the emergency regulation.
SB 90, as introduced, Seyarto (Republican), January 29, 2025. Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024: grants: improvements to public evacuation routes: mobile rigid water storage.
The Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024, approved by the voters as Proposition 4 at the November 5, 2024, statewide general election, authorized the issuance of bonds in the amount of $10,000,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance projects for safe drinking water, drought, flood, and water resilience, wildfire and forest resilience, coastal resilience, extreme heat mitigation, biodiversity and nature-based climate solutions, climate-smart, sustainable, and resilient farms, ranches, and working lands, park creation and outdoor access, and clean air programs.
The act makes $135,000,000 available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the Office of Emergency Services for a wildfire mitigation grant program to provide, among other things, loans, direct assistance, and matching funds for projects that prevent wildfires, increase resilience, maintain existing wildfire risk reduction projects, reduce the risk of wildfires to communities, or increase home or community hardening.
The act provides that eligible projects include, but are not limited to, grants to local agencies, state agencies, joint powers authorities, tribes, resource conservation districts, fire safe councils, and nonprofit organizations for structure hardening of critical community infrastructure, wildfire smoke mitigation, evacuation centers, including community clean air centers, structure hardening projects that reduce the risk of wildfire for entire neighborhoods and communities, water delivery system improvements for fire suppression purposes for communities in very high or high fire hazard areas, wildfire buffers, and incentives to remove structures that significantly increase hazard risk.
This bill would include in the list of eligible projects grants to the above-mentioned entities for improvements to public evacuation routes in very high and high fire hazard severity zones, mobile rigid dip tanks, as defined, to support firefighting efforts, prepositioned mobile rigid water storage, as defined, and improvements to the response and effectiveness of fire engines and helicopters.
Hearing: Mar 11 @ 9:30 am in 1021 O Street, Room 1200
FIREARMS
AB 584, as introduced, Hadwick (Republican), February 12, 2025. Firearms dealers and manufacturers: secure facilities.
Existing law defines a secure facility, for purposes of requirements for firearms dealers to store firearms when the dealer is not open for business, as a building that, among other requirements, has perimeter doorways with specified characteristics, including that the doorway is a windowless or windowed steel security door equipped with both a dead bolt and a doorknob lock, as specified, or a metal grate that is padlocked and affixed to the licensee’s premises, as specified.
Existing law defines a secure facility, for purposes of requirements for firearms manufacturers to store manufactured firearms and barrels, as a facility that has perimeter doorways with additional specified characteristics, including that the doorway has hinges and hasps attached to doors by welding, riveting, or bolting with nuts on the inside of the door or that are installed so that they cannot be removed when the doors are closed and locked.
Under existing law, failure to comply with these requirements is grounds for the forfeiture or revocation of a license or the imposition of a civil fine, as specified.
This bill would expand the definition of a secure facility for the entities described above to allow a doorway with a windowed or windowless steel door that is equipped with panic hardware that operates a multipoint lock that bolts into the interior frame of the door, as specified.
HOUSING
AB 36, as introduced, 02/03/2025 Soria (D). Housing elements: prohousing designation.
Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, requires a city or county to adopt a general plan for land use development within their boundaries that includes, among other things, a housing element. The law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to determine whether the housing element is in substantial compliance with specified provisions of the law.
Existing law requires HCD to designate jurisdictions as prohousing pursuant to emergency regulations adopted by HCD and to report those designations to the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation. Existing law specifies that these emergency regulations will remain in effect until HCD promulgates permanent prohousing regulations.
The bill would prohibit HCD from requiring jurisdictions with populations less than 100,000 persons to renew their prohousing designation before the next housing element cycle.
What is this all about? This is the way for the State to further control local land use decisions.
PEACE OFFICER AND FIREFIGHTER IMPERSONATORS
SB264, as introduced, 02/14/2025, (Valladares & Perez (R): Impersonation of a peace officer or firefighter during a state of emergency or local emergency.
Existing law, the California Emergency Services Act, authorizes the Governor to proclaim a state of emergency as defined, under specified circumstances. Existing law makes it a misdemeanor to impersonate a peace officer or an officer or member of the fire department or the office of the State Fire Marshal.
This bill would make impersonating a peace officer or an officer or member of a fire department or the Office of the State Fire Marshal during a state of emergency or local emergency punishable as either a misdemeanor or a felony. By increasing the punishment of a crime, this bill would impose a state mandated local program.
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