State & Local Update: May 27, 2014
See below for this week’s update from the State & Local department for bills in California and North Carolina.
California
S.B. 1005, which provides Medi-Cal to illegal aliens and creates a health insurance exchange to provide subsidized insurance plans to illegal aliens, had a hearing on Friday in the Senate Appropriations Committee and is being held under submission in that committee.
Held under submission is an action taken by a committee when a bill is heard in committee and there is an indication that the author and the committee members want to work on or discuss the bill further, but there is no motion for the bill to progress out of committee. This does not preclude the bill from being set for another hearing.
S.B. 1210, which creates a program to provide state administered student loans to illegal aliens, passed the Senate Appropriations Committee on Friday by a vote of 5-2. These loans are capped at $4,000 per year per illegal alien student, and no illegal alien may borrow more than $20,000 total. These loans have a ten-year repayment period.
S.B. 1159, which provides business and professional licenses to illegal aliens, has been referred to Assembly Committee on Business, Professions, & Consumer Protection, but the hearing date has not been set yet. It previously passed the state senate in the beginning of May. S.B. 1159 allows an individual tax id number (ITIN) to be used for proof of identity in lieu of a Social Security Number. S.B. 1159 applies to all occupations that require a license in California.
A.B. 2345, expands eligibility to Cal-Works, a short-term cash assistance program, and California Food Assistance Program to any alien who is lawfully present, was heard in the Assembly Appropriations committee on Friday and is also being held under submission. Current law only provides eligibility for legal permanent residents. This expansion would encompass DACA recipients.
A.B. 2014, requires the Franchise Tax Board to advertise the availability of filing an income tax return using an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) and provides that it is unlawful for any government employee to reveal the identity of any person who has filed an ITIN absent a court order. A.B. 2014 requires the governor to request to the President of the United States to direct ICE to not expend resources within the interior of California to apprehend, detain, or remove any person who has filed a California state income tax return, is currently being held under submission by the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
North Carolina
H.B. 1184 would repeal the exemption added last year to the state’s E-Verify law for temporary employees and in its place adds a temporary waiver limited to farm workers who work for less than nine months. Requires an employer seeking this waiver to demonstrate to the Department of Labor that he has made a “good faith effort to hire employees that are citizen and have valid work authorization,” and adds a penalty for false statements.
This bill was introduced on May 21, passed its first reading the following day and has been referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.