Latest news with #AB1066
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Newsom's $25 million legal aid should bar undocumented criminals. Codify it
Democrats in Sacramento just lost a messaging battle with Republicans who lack the numbers to pass legislation on their own. By killing a GOP proposal to codify language that bans undocumented criminals from accessing $25 million in legal aid, Democrats will now rightfully get hammered over an issue that could have easily been fixed. Last Thursday, the Assembly Human Services Committee axed AB 1066 by Assemblymember Leticia Castillo, R-Corona. It was Castillo, a freshman lawmaker Democrats – including Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, D-Hollister – say Castillo's legislation was unnecessary. They say a Letter to the Journal, which is Sacramento jargon for formal communication between legislators on the intent of bills, was sufficient to ban undocumented criminals from legal services. Republicans argue the letter isn't the law. But that's not what Gov. Gavin Newsom stated in February, when he signed companion bills to protect undocumented residents from the Trump administration's attack on that community. Responding to concerns that undocumented immigrants could benefit from the stroke of his pen, Newsom invited legislators to make it clear that none could. 'To the extent further clarification is necessary, I encourage the Legislature to pass subsequent legislation,' Newsom said when he signed Senate Bills 1 and 2, which allocates $50 million overall – half toward legal services for immigrants and other vulnerable Californians and the other half to the state Department of Justice to cover court costs. Castillo took him up on it, to no avail, 'I'm deeply disappointed that AB 1066 was killed in committee,' Castillo told The Bee Editorial Board. 'This was a straightforward effort to ensure that taxpayer dollars are not used to provide immigration legal services to individuals convicted of violent or serious crimes, including drug traffickers, attempted murderers, and those in possession of child pornography.' Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, during a March visit to Fresno, told The Editorial Board that dollars in the bill are committed to support organizations that provide pro bono services to the undocumented and others. 'It wasn't, as Republicans have suggested, our intent to defend violent criminals.' Our problem: There is no reason immigrants with criminal records should benefit from California's desire to protect among the roughly 1.8 million undocumented immigrants who contribute to the economy of California with their labor. That is why a Republican effort to codify the barring of undocumented residents with criminal records from that legal aid should have received serious consideration. 'I absolutely plan to bring this bill back,' said Castillo, who said the Letter to the Journal does not carry the force of law. 'The people of California want accountability, not loopholes that reward criminal behavior. I'll continue fighting to protect public safety and ensure our laws reflect that priority. Given that California depends on 850,000 agricultural workers in a $60 billion industry and given that a 2024 UC Davis study found that half of those workers are undocumented (some estimates say that number is as high as 75 percent), this issue transcends partisan politics. To our detriment as a nation, immigration is fought as a binary choice. It's not. In agriculture and other labor sectors, California has an economic interest in undocumented workers whose labor is needed. But California also has an interest in public safety. We agree with Democrats that $25 million in legal aid to protect valuable workers is the right choice for California. But we believe Gov. Newsom should keep his word: 'None of the funding in this bill is intended to be used for immigration-related legal services for noncitizens convicted of serious or violent felonies.' Codify that language, governor. 'We 100% support the arrest and prosecution of the people that are hurting our own community,' said Fresno County Supervisor Luis Chávez at a January press conference. 'But what we're asking (Customs and Border Protection), what we're asking our federal authorities, is to be cognizant so that they don't have collateral damage; so that you don't pick up the mom and dad that are going to work in the food processing plant or a packing house.' Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, said at the same conference that he supports 'getting bad people off the streets.' 'But mass deportation reflects a different notion, and breaking families up is not the American way,' Costa said. Meanwhile, Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford, said in a January statement that 'we can all agree known criminals should be expelled from the United States, but it is crucial that future (deportation) operations are communicated clearly to avoid causing any further alarm among our farmworkers.'
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Grove bill would credit farmers for overtime pay
State Sen. Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, has proposed a solution to the challenges farmers face adjusting to a state overtime law that has raised their costs while effectively reducing their workers' earnings. Her Senate Bill 628 would create a payroll tax credit to cover the difference between farmworkers' regular hourly wages and the overtime rate they receive since 2016's Assembly Bill 1066 phased in overtime provisions that have long been common in most other industries. The bill Grove introduced last month was co-sponsored by the California Association of Winegrape Growers and the California Farm Bureau, both of which said in a news release the legislation would benefit growers and farmworkers alike. "If legislators genuinely want to increase take-home pay for farmworkers, growers are going to need support from Sacramento to make it possible," President Natalie Collins of the winegrape growers group said in last week's release. Grove said the provisions of AB 1066 have been hard on laborers who need more hours of work as well as growers trying to get their product to market. 'S.B. 628 is a commonsense solution that ensures farmworkers have more opportunities to earn, while providing relief to our agricultural businesses who sustain the world's food chain supply,' Grove said in the release. While farmworker advocates say the change was long overdue, farmers and some laborers have complained that AB 1066 has brought about a sharp reduction in hours worked in Kern County agriculture. Laborers who were accustomed to working six days per week often work only five now because farmers say they don't have the ability to pass on the added costs. A 2023 study out of the University of California, Berkeley found farmworkers worked a combined 15,000 to 45,000 fewer hours in 2019 and 2020 while making between $6 million and $9 million less per week than if AB 1066 were not in place. Farmworker advocates disputed the study's conclusions, saying other factors may be at play, such as employment of more laborers. They faulted the report for including no information on how workers felt about receiving equal treatment as workers in other industries, and said global warming may be the actual cause of any decline in work hours. Last week's news release announcing SB 628's introduction noted two U.S. states have similar tax credits. It said Oregon offers a refundable personal or corporate income tax credit for employers based on how much overtime they pay ag workers through 2028. New York's credit extends to 2028. The farm bureau called Grove's proposal an investment in food security, rural communities and long-term sustainability of farming in California. It emphasized that, besides helping agricultural producers, SB 628 would give "a real and richly deserved boost in take-home pay for farm employees."
