AB 617

Bill Subjects

Abstract

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.