Existing law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development, through its Office of Migrant Services, to assist in the development, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or operation of migrant farm labor centers, as provided. Existing law authorizes the Director of Housing and Community Development to contract with specified local public and private entities, including school districts and housing authorities, for the procurement or construction of housing or shelter and to obtain specified services, including education, for migratory agricultural workers. Existing law authorizes a migrant farm labor center subject to these contracts to be operated for an extended period prior to or beyond the standard 180-day period, but not to exceed 275 days in any calendar year, if certain conditions are satisfied.

This bill would require the department, by January 1, 2026, to engage and solicit feedback from specified stakeholders on the definition of migratory agricultural worker for the purposes of updating the definition. The bill would also require the department to develop, and by July 1, 2027, submit to specified legislative committees, a report that analyzes the feasibility and impact of transitioning housing units at Office of Migrant Services centers to year-round availability. The bill would require the report to include specified criteria, including, among other things, the quantity of housing units at each center. The bill would require the department, by December 31, 2028, and following the completion of the report, to coordinate with the Department of General Services and the Department of Food and Agriculture to identify available excess sites in proximity to migrant farm labor centers and prioritize those locations for the development of permanent farmworker housing. The bill would prescribe various requirements on the department, including that the department conduct an annual inspection of each migrant farm labor center to determine whether health, safety, and infrastructure standards are properly met. The bill would also prescribe various requirements on entities operating a migrant farm labor center, including that the entities ensure that each housing unit complies with all applicable local health and safety laws and prescreen Office of Migrant Services program applicants for eligibility in farmworker-restricted units on properties funded by the Joe Serna, Jr. Farmworker Housing Grant Program. By imposing additional duties on entities with regard to operating a farm labor center, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

This bill would make related findings and declarations.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Existing law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development, through its Office of Migrant Services, to assist in the development, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or operation of migrant farm labor centers, as provided. Existing law authorizes the Director of Housing and Community Development to contract with specified local public and private entities, including school districts and housing authorities, for the procurement or construction of housing or shelter and to obtain specified services, including education, for migratory agricultural workers. Existing law authorizes a migrant farm labor center subject to these contracts to be operated for an extended period prior to or beyond the standard 180-day period, but not to exceed 275 days in any calendar year, if certain conditions are satisfied.

This bill would require the department, by January 1, 2026, to engage and solicit feedback from specified stakeholders on the definition of migratory agricultural worker for the purposes of updating the definition. The bill would also require the department to develop, and by July 1, 2027, submit to specified legislative committees, a report that analyzes the feasibility and impact of transitioning housing units at Office of Migrant Services centers to year-round availability. The bill would require the report to include specified criteria, including, among other things, the quantity of housing units at each center. The bill would require the department, by December 31, 2028, and following the completion of the report, to coordinate with the Department of General Services and the Department of Food and Agriculture to identify available excess sites in proximity to migrant farm labor centers and prioritize those locations for the development of permanent farmworker housing. The bill would prescribe various requirements on the department, including that the department conduct an annual inspection of each migrant farm labor center to determine whether health, safety, and infrastructure standards are properly met. The bill would also prescribe various requirements on entities operating a migrant farm labor center, including that the entities ensure that each housing unit complies with all applicable local health and safety laws and prescreen Office of Migrant Services program applicants for eligibility in farmworker-restricted units on properties funded by the Joe Serna, Jr. Farmworker Housing Grant Program. By imposing additional duties on entities with regard to operating a farm labor center, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

This bill would make related findings and declarations.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Existing law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development, through its Office of Migrant Services, to assist in the development, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or operation of migrant farm labor centers, as provided. Existing law authorizes the Director of Housing and Community Development to contract with specified local public and private entities, including school districts and housing authorities, for the procurement or construction of housing or shelter and to obtain specified services, including education, for migratory agricultural workers. Existing law authorizes a migrant farm labor center subject to these contracts to be operated for an extended period prior to or beyond the standard 180-day period, but not to exceed 275 days in any calendar year, if certain conditions are satisfied.

This bill would make related findings and declarations.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Existing law, the Farm Labor Center Law, authorizes a housing authority to acquire, own, operate, construct, reconstruct, repair, replace, maintain, and dispose of a farm labor center, as defined, due to the need to assemble, domicile, and house persons and families engaged in agricultural work. Existing law also authorizes a housing authority to arrange and contract for the furnishing of services, privileges, works, or facilities for or in connection with its farm labor center, as specified. Existing law prohibits a housing authority that operates a farm labor center from limiting an agricultural workers housing unit occupancy period to less than 270 days if the Director of Agriculture certifies that there are seasonal crops that would keep those workers in the immediate area for that period of time.

Existing law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development, through its Office of Migrant Services, to assist in the development, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or operation of migrant farm labor centers, as provided. Existing law authorizes the Director of Housing and Community Development to contract with specified local public and private entities, including school districts and housing authorities, for the procurement or construction of housing or shelter and to obtain specified services, including education, for migratory agricultural workers. Existing law authorizes a migrant farm labor center subject to these contracts to be operated for an extended period prior to or beyond the standard 180-day period, but not to exceed 275 days in any calendar year, if certain conditions are satisfied.

This bill instead would require all housing units at farm labor centers operated by a housing authority to be made available year round for occupancy by migratory agricultural workers by January 1, 2031, and would require migrant farm labor centers subject to the above-described contracts with the department to be operated year round by January 1, 2031. In this regard, the bill would require the department to develop and implement a 6-year transition plan based on reports that the bill would require migrant farm labor centers to send to the department by July 1, 2025. The bill would also impose various requirements and prohibitions on housing authorities operation of housing units at the entity operating a migrant farm labor centers, center, including requirements related to ensuring the health and safety of the occupants and a prohibition on requiring migratory agricultural workers with schoolage children to move out of their housing during the childs school year or in a time or manner that is disruptive to the childs academic year. By imposing additional restrictions on a housing authority with regard to operating a farm labor center, this bill would impose a state-mandated localprogram. local program. This bill would require the department to conduct an annual inspection of each farm labor center to determine whether health, safety, and infrastructure standards are properly met.

This bill would prohibit rent of a migrant farm labor center assisted by the Office of Migrant Services from exceeding the average daily per unit per-unit operating cost of the center.

This bill would define migratory agricultural worker for purposes of the Farm Labor Center Law and the above-described provisions of the bill and the existing law provisions governing the departments assistance with regard to migrant farm labor centers.

This bill would apply its provisions described above to a contract entered into, amended, or extended on or after January 1, 2025.

Existing law requires the department to make the Office of Migrant Services centers available for rent by persons or families experiencing economic hardships or rendered homeless or at risk of becoming homeless as a result of a drought for which the Governor declared a state of emergency on January 17, 2014.

This bill would repeal those provisions.

This bill would make related findings and declarations.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Existing law, the Farm Labor Center Law, authorizes a housing authority to acquire, own, operate, construct, reconstruct, repair, replace, maintain, and dispose of a farm labor center, as defined, due to the need to assemble, domicile, and house persons and families engaged in agricultural work. Existing law also authorizes a housing authority to arrange and contract for the furnishing of services, privileges, works, or facilities for or in connection with its farm labor center, as specified. Existing law prohibits a housing authority that operates a farm labor center from limiting an agricultural workers housing unit occupancy period to less than 270 days if the Director of Agriculture certifies that there are seasonal crops that would keep those workers in the immediate area for that period of time.

This bill instead would require all housing units at farm labor centers operated by a housing authorities authority to be made available for occupancy year-round year round for occupancy by migratory farmworkers agricultural workers by January 1, 2031, pursuant to and would require migrant farm labor centers subject to the above-described contracts with the department to be operated year round by January 1, 2031. In this regard, the bill would require the department to develop and implement a 6-year transition plan to be developed and implemented by the Department of Housing and Community Development based on reports required to be submitted by that the bill would require migrant farm labor centers. centers to send to the department by July 1, 2025. The bill would also impose various requirements and prohibitions on housing authorities, authorities operation of housing units at farm labor centers, including developing community outreach that provides information regarding year-round housing accessibility. requirements related to ensuring the health and safety of the occupants and a prohibition on requiring migratory agricultural workers with schoolage children to move out of their housing during the childs school year or in a time or manner that is disruptive to the childs academic year. By imposing additional restrictions on a housing authority with regard to operating a farm labor center, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

This program. This bill would require the department to conduct an annual inspection of each farm labor center to determine whether health, safety, and infrastructure standards are properly met.

This bill would remove the 275-day limitation on the operating period, the above-described petition requirement, and the conditions for operating the migrant farm labor center for an extended period. Instead, the bill would require migrant farm labor centers to be operated year-round. The bill would also prohibit rents from being increased above the rents charged during the year-round occupancy period and would prohibit rent during that period rent of a migrant farm labor center assisted by the Office of Migrant Services from exceeding the average daily per unit operating cost of the center. The bill would also create various rights for migrant farmworkers, including that they will not lose their residency based on leaving the housing center to travel. The bill would modify related findings and declarations.

This bill would define migratory agricultural worker and migratory farmworker for purposes of the Farm Labor Center Law and the above-described provisions governing the departments assistance with regard to migrant farm labor centers.

This bill would apply its provisions described above to a contract entered into, amended, or extended on or after January 1, 2025.

Existing law requires the department to make the Office of Migrant Services centers available for rent by persons or families experiencing economic hardships or rendered homeless or at risk of becoming homeless as a result of a drought for which the Governor declared a state of emergency on January 17, 2014.

This bill would repeal those provisions.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Existing law, the Farm Labor Center Law, authorizes a housing authority to acquire, own, operate, construct, reconstruct, repair, replace, maintain, and dispose of a farm labor center, as defined, due to the need to assemble, domicile, and house persons and families engaged in agricultural work. Existing law also authorizes a housing authority to arrange and contract for the furnishing of services, privileges, works, or facilities for or in connection with its farm labor center, as specified. Existing law prohibits a housing authority that operates a farm labor center from limiting an agricultural workers housing unit occupancy period to less than 270 days if the Director of Agriculture certifies that there are seasonal crops that would keep those workers in the immediate area for that period of time.

This bill instead would prohibit the housing authority from limiting the occupancy period, unless approved by the Department of Housing and Community Development. require all housing units at farm labor centers operated by housing authorities to be made available for occupancy year-round by migratory farmworkers by January 1, 2031, pursuant to a 6-year transition plan to be developed and implemented by the Department of Housing and Community Development based on reports required to be submitted by farm labor centers. The bill would also impose various requirements and prohibitions on housing authorities, including developing community outreach that provides information regarding year-round housing accessibility. By imposing additional restrictions on a housing authority with regard to operating a farm labor center, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

Existing law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development, through its Office of Migrant Services, to assist in the development, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or operation of migrant farm labor centers, as provided. Existing law authorizes the Director of Housing and Community Development to contract with specified local public and private entities, including school districts and housing authorities, for the procurement or construction of housing or shelter and to obtain specified services, including education, for migratory agricultural workers. Existing law authorizes a migrant farm labor center subject to these contracts to be operated for an extended period prior to or beyond the standard 180-day period, but not to exceed 275 days in any calendar year, if certain conditions are satisfied. Those conditions include households representing 25% of the units signing a specified petition to the local entity, and the department approving the extension after considering certain factors. Those considerations include, among others, whether there are competing demands for the use of the centers facilities, and whether there is adequate documentation of a need for residents of the center to continue work in the area.

This bill would remove the 275-day limitation on the operating period, and would remove the above-described petition requirement. The bill would also remove the above-specified factors from the departments considerations in approving the extension. requirement, and the conditions for operating the migrant farm labor center for an extended period. Instead, the bill would require migrant farm labor centers to be operated year-round. The bill would also prohibit rents from being increased above the rents charged during the year-round occupancy period and would prohibit rent during that period from exceeding the average daily operating cost of the center. The bill would also create various rights for migrant farmworkers, including that they will not lose their residency based on leaving the housing center to travel. The bill would modify related findings and declarations.

This bill would define migratory agricultural worker and migratory farmworker for purposes of the Farm Labor Center Law and the above-described provisions governing the departments assistance with regard to migrant farm labor centers.

This bill would apply its provisions described above to a contract entered into, amended, or extended on or after January 1, 2025.

Existing law requires the department to make the Office of Migrant Services centers available for rent by persons or families experiencing economic hardships or rendered homeless or at risk of becoming homeless as a result of a drought for which the Governor declared a state of emergency on January 17, 2014.

This bill would repeal those provisions.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Existing law, the Farm Labor Center Law, authorizes a housing authority to acquire, own, operate, construct, reconstruct, repair, replace, maintain, and dispose of a farm labor center, as defined, due to the need to assemble, domicile, and house persons and families engaged in agricultural work. Existing law also authorizes a housing authority to arrange and contract for the furnishing of services, privileges, works, or facilities for or in connection with its farm labor center, as specified. Existing law prohibits a housing authority that operates a farm labor center from limiting an agricultural workers housing unit occupancy period to less than 270 days if the Director of Agriculture certifies that there are seasonal crops that would keep those workers in the immediate area for that period of time.

This bill instead would prohibit the housing authority from limiting the occupancy period, unless approved by the Department of Housing and Community Development. By imposing additional restrictions on a housing authority with regard to operating a farm labor center, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

Existing law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development, through its Office of Migrant Services, to assist in the development, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or operation of migrant farm labor centers, as provided. Existing law authorizes the Director of Housing and Community Development to contract with specified local public and private entities, including school districts and housing authorities, for the procurement or construction of housing or shelter and to obtain specified services, including education, for migratory agricultural workers. Existing law authorizes a migrant farm labor center subject to these contracts to be operated for an extended period prior to or beyond the standard 180-day period, but not to exceed 275 days in any calendar year, if certain conditions are satisfied. Those conditions include households representing 25% of the units signing a specified petition to the local entity, and the department approving the extension after considering certain factors. Those considerations include, among others, whether there are competing demands for the use of the centers facilities, and whether there is adequate documentation of a need for residents of the center to continue work in the area.

This bill would remove the 275-day limitation on the operating period, and would remove the above-described petition requirement. The bill would also remove the above-specified factors from the departments considerations in approving the extension. The bill would modify related findings and declarations.

This bill would define migratory agricultural worker and migratory farmworker for purposes of the Farm Labor Center Law and the above-described provisions governing the departments assistance with regard to migrant farm labor centers.

This bill would apply its provisions described above to a contract entered into, amended, or extended on or after January 1, 2025.

Existing law requires the department to make the Office of Migrant Services centers available for rent by persons or families experiencing economic hardships or rendered homeless or at risk of becoming homeless as a result of a drought for which the Governor declared a state of emergency on January 17, 2014.

This bill would repeal those provisions.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS

CSA1 Bill Id:AB 2240

Author:(Arambula)

As Amended Ver:August 23, 2024

Majority vote

SUMMARY

1. Requires the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), by January 1, 2026, to engage and solicit feedback from specified stakeholders on the definition of "migratory agricultural worker" for the purposes of updating the definition.
2. Requires HCD, by January 1, 2027, to submit a report to the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee and the Senate Housing Committee and publish the report on its web site, which analyzes the feasibility and impact of transitioning housing units at Office of Migrant Services (OMS) centers to year round availability. The report shall include:
3. The quantity of housing units at each center that could be made available year-round without any rehabilitation or improvements;
4. The quantity of housing units at each center that require upgrades to be made available year-round, as specified;
5. A description of the order in which units may be renovated and a plan to ensure that no center shuts down more than 30% of units during the regular operating season;
6. Information about the regional K–12 schools' academic calendars to assist with planning upgrades during academic breaks necessary;
7. Information on the infrastructure that serves the OMS centers, including wastewater systems, water systems, stormwater systems, drainage systems, electrical systems, and gas or propane systems. Information shall include the current capacity of the systems and cost estimates to expand the infrastructure to allow for year-round housing;
8. Assessment of the initial capital needed to convert centers to year-round housing, the amount of OMS operating and capital subsidy for each center based on an 180-day occupancy period, the amount of OMS ongoing operating and capital subsidy for each center needed to operate year round, and the identification of impediments to converting a center to year-round housing;
9. Demographic information about migrant farmworker families served through the OMS centers;
10. Identification of assessments that document the demand for migrant and year-round farmworker housing;
11. Fiscal impacts, including rent increases, and other impacts to migrant farmworkers and their families from converting the OMS centers to year-round housing and strategies to reduce negative impacts, including other housing solutions;
12. Current and projected housing needs for migrant farmworkers and their families surrounding each center; and
13. Analysis and identification of alternative solutions to addressing farmworker housing beyond conversion of OMS centers to year-round farmworker housing.
14. Requires HCD, following the completion of the report in 2) to coordinate with the Department of General Services (DGS) and the Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to identify available excess sites in proximity to the OMS centers and prioritize locations for the development of permanent farmworker housing on those sites.
15. Requires any entity operating an OMS center to ensure each housing unit complies with all applicable local health and safety laws, as specified.
16. Requires HCD to complete an annual inspection of each OMS center.
17. Prohibits the entity operating an OMS center from conditioning residency on the willingness of a potential tenant to occupy a unit year round or preference year-round residents over residents wishing to rent a unit for any length of stay less than one year.
18. Provides that a migratory farmworker, including the immediate family and dependents residing in the same housing unit, with at least one schoolage child, may be exempted from the requirement to have resided outside a 50-mile radius of the OMS center for the purposes of eligibility to reside in an OMS housing unit.
19. Requires a migratory farmworker who has entered into a prior residential tenancy agreement for housing at a migrant farm labor center to be eligible for an interview pass for an available unit upon returning to that center for housing following a break in occupancy. Wherever feasible, a migrant farm labor center shall offer to a migratory farmworker the option to return to the same unit in which they previously resided.
20. Requires an entity operating an OMS center to prescreen applicants for eligibility to reside in a property funded by Joe Serna Jr. Farmworker Housing Grant (Serna projects) funds. Provides that HCD may prioritize admission in Serna projects for eligible migrant farmworkers that occupy a housing unit within the preceding 36 months at an OMS center.

Senate Amendments

1. Delete requirements that OMS centers operate year round, as specified.
2. Require HCD to develop a report, by July 1, 2027, reviewing the definition of "migratory agricultural farmworker" and analyzes the feasibility and impact of transitioning OMS units to year round availability
3. Require HCD to identify excess sits in proximity to OMS centers and prioritize those locations for permanent farmworker housing projects.
4. Provide that a migratory worker with at least school-age child may be exempted from the 50-mile rule for purposes of occupancy in an OMS center.
5. Require an OMS center to pre-screen applicants for eligibility in a permanent housing unit funded by the Joe Serna Jr. Farmworker Housing Program (Serna Program) and authorizes HCD to prioritize migrant farmworkers in those projects

COMMENTS

OMS: Since the 1960s, HCD has administered OMS to provide affordable housing to migrant farmworkers. HCD owns farmworker labor centers and contracts with local housing authorities and counties to operate the centers. Counties, housing authorities, and grower associations typically provide land for centers as an in-kind contribution. Child daycare and after-school support services are often available. Tenants are charged a subsidized, affordable daily rent. HCD contracts annually with local operating agencies and provides grants for OMS center operation, paid from the state General Fund and from OMS rental income. There are currently 24 migrant farm labor centers that operate in 15 counties in California that typically house approximately 7,000 farmworkers a year.

Historically, occupancy of OMS centers has been limited to six months, generally between May/April to October/November to accommodate migrant workers who have travelled to California for the growing season and then returned to their country of origin. To live there, individuals must meet an income requirement, prove they work in agriculture and live at least 50 miles away for three months after the season ends. However, that policy has been changed by the Legislature over the last few years.

In response to concerns that school-aged children living in migrant centers were not able to complete the school year because of the 50-mile rule, SB 850 (Committee on Budget), Chapter 48, Statues of 2018, allowed migratory agricultural workers with school-aged children to reside within a 50-mile radius of a migrant farm labor center on a year-round basis. Up to 50% of the units in a migrant farm labor centers could be made available to these families. The remaining units were reserved for migratory agricultural workers who require round-trip travel exceeding 100 miles per day, which results in the migratory agricultural worker being unable to return to the workers' chosen place of residence within the same day of labor. The exemption to the 50-mile year sunset on January 1, 2024. This bill would eliminate the requirement that a migratory farmworker live 50 miles away from the farmworker center at least three months out of the year.

Under the current standard OMS centers remain open for 180 days out of the year, with the option to stay open 270 days with approval from HCD. This bill would eliminate the option for a farmworker center to limit occupancy of units for agricultural workers to less than 270 days. As a result, units in a center could be provided year round to farmworkers and their families. There is not a requirement for centers to set-aside any units for farmworkers who may choose to live temporarily in a farmworker center and travel back to their country to origin for part of the year.

Farmworkers: According to investigative reporting completed by the Sacramento Bee, the number of migrant California farmworkers has decreased significantly over time. U.S. Department of Labor data shows about 92% of California farmworkers were settled in the state from 2019-2020. The Sacramento Bee interviewed farmworkers living in centers and found that more than 80% of the farmworkers surveyed said they would stay if their units were available year-round. Only 8% of California's farmworkers were migrants in fiscal years 2019 and 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

The state lacks enough affordable housing for farmworkers and their families. AB 1654 (R. Rivas), Chapter 638, Statutes of 2022, requires the state to complete a statewide study of farmworker housing conditions, needs, and solutions to inform a comprehensive strategy for meeting the housing needs of the state's farmworkers. This includes an analysis of the needs of migrant farmworkers. The strategy is due by January 1, 2026.

This bill would require HCD, by January 1, 2026, to engage and solicit feedback from specified stakeholders on the definition of "migratory agricultural worker" for the purposes of updating the definition. The bill would also require HCD, by July 1, 2027, to develop, and submit to specified committees, a report that analyzes the feasibility and impact of transitioning housing units at OMS centers to year-round availability. The report must include specified criteria, including, among other things, the quantity of housing units at each center. The bill would require HCD by December 31, 2028, and following the completion of the report, to coordinate with DGS and CDFA to identify available excess sites in proximity to OMS Centers and prioritize those locations for the development of permanent farmworker housing. The bill would also prescribe various requirements on entities operating an OMS center, including that the entities prescreen OMS center program applicants for eligibility in farmworker-restricted units on properties funded by the Serna Program at HCD.

According to the Author

"Farmworkers should be treated with dignity and respect reflective of the essential contribution they make to California's agricultural economy and local communities. AB 2240 ensures that farmworkers and their families are not separated because of outdated policies and that their children's education is not interrupted.

Before modern migratory farmworker housing centers were established, many lived in overcrowded, substandard motel rooms, makeshift shacks, or near orchards and streams without plumbing or safety. In response, in 1965 California provided migrant farmworkers and their families with affordable, seasonal rental housing from April to November. 

Today, however, the majority of farmworkers are no longer migratory single men but instead are settled with families. Despite this change, farmworkers still must reside outside of a 50-mile radius of a center for a minimum of three months in order to qualify for migratory farmworker housing. This is devastating to children whose school years do not align with these closures and to families who are required to separate as a condition of residency."

Arguments in Support

According to the sponsor, the Food Empowerment Program, "over the years, farm worker demographics have shifted. The majority of farm workers are no longer migratory single men but rather are settled with families. In 2020 only 8 percent of the state's farmworker population identified as migrants. As more families establish themselves generationally and contribute to the communities in which they reside, migratory farm worker housing programs must evolve to serve this new paradigm."

Arguments in Opposition

None on file.

FISCAL COMMENTS

According to the Assembly Committee on Appropriations:

1. Estimated ongoing General Fund (GF) costs of between $500,000 and $1.2 million annually, phased in over six years, to HCD for increased staffing to administer the OMS program for year-round housing. Specific tasks include redesigning the OMS program, adopting regulations and updating operating manuals, forms and standard agreements for year-round housing. Additionally, HCD expects an increase in the monitoring and management of the OMS migrant farm labor centers (OMS centers), including additional on-site visits. HCD also indicates it would need to renegotiate leases for the 24 OMS centers for year-round housing, and in some cases, negotiate or purchase water rights to operate year-round housing at the centers.
2. Estimated ongoing GF allocation of up to approximately $4 million annually by January 1, 2031, in addition to the current $5.6 million appropriation, for OMS centers to operate year-round housing. On average, the centers are occupied 58% of the year for seasonal housing. This additional allocation would cover costs for year-round on-site staffing at the migrant centers, utility costs, increase in occupancy of the centers, and associated deferred maintenance projects.
3. Estimated one-time GF costs over several years of an unknown amount for building assessments, engineering designs, and capital improvements to the 24 OMS centers. HCD indicates necessary tasks include adding heat and other upgrades to "winterize" the units, and water well and wastewater treatment upgrades to accommodate year-round occupancy.

According to the Legislative Analyst's Office, the General Fund faces a structural deficit in the tens of billions of dollars over the next several fiscal years. 

VOTES:

ASM HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: 7-0-2

YES: Ward, Grayson, Kalra, Lee, Quirk-Silva, Reyes, Wilson

ABS, ABST OR NV: Joe Patterson, Sanchez

ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 11-2-2

YES: Wicks, Arambula, Bryan, Calderon, Wendy Carrillo, Mike Fong, Grayson, Haney, Hart, Pellerin, Villapudua

NO: Dixon, Jim Patterson

ABS, ABST OR NV: Sanchez, Ta

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 59-6-15

YES: Addis, Aguiar-Curry, Alanis, Alvarez, Arambula, Bains, Bauer-Kahan, Bennett, Berman, Boerner, Bonta, Bryan, Calderon, Juan Carrillo, Wendy Carrillo, Connolly, Mike Fong, Garcia, Gipson, Grayson, Haney, Hart, Irwin, Jackson, Jones-Sawyer, Kalra, Lee, Low, Lowenthal, Maienschein, McCarty, McKinnor, Muratsuchi, Stephanie Nguyen, Ortega, Pacheco, Papan, Pellerin, Petrie-Norris, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Rendon, Reyes, Rodriguez, Blanca Rubio, Santiago, Schiavo, Soria, Ting, Valencia, Villapudua, Waldron, Ward, Weber, Wicks, Wilson, Wood, Zbur, Robert Rivas

NO: Davies, Dixon, Essayli, Flora, Gallagher, Sanchez

ABS, ABST OR NV: Cervantes, Chen, Megan Dahle, Vince Fong, Friedman, Gabriel, Holden, Hoover, Lackey, Mathis, Jim Patterson, Joe Patterson, Luz Rivas, Ta, Wallis

SENATE FLOOR: 31-8-1

YES: Allen, Archuleta, Ashby, Atkins, Becker, Blakespear, Bradford, Caballero, Cortese, Dodd, Durazo, Eggman, Glazer, Gonzalez, Hurtado, Laird, Limón, McGuire, Menjivar, Min, Newman, Padilla, Portantino, Roth, Rubio, Skinner, Smallwood-Cuevas, Stern, Umberg, Wahab, Wiener

NO: Alvarado-Gil, Dahle, Grove, Jones, Nguyen, Niello, Seyarto, Wilk

ABS, ABST OR NV: Ochoa Bogh

UPDATED

VERSION: August 23, 2024

CONSULTANT: Lisa Engel / H. & C.D. / (916) 319-2085 FN: 0004847

 THIRD READING  

Bill No: AB 2240

Author: Arambula (D), et al.

Amended: 8/23/24 in Senate

Vote: 21

SENATE HOUSING COMMITTEE: 8-2, 6/24/24

AYES: Skinner, Blakespear, Caballero, Cortese, Menjivar, Padilla, Umberg, Wahab

NOES: Ochoa Bogh, Seyarto

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 4-3, 8/15/24

AYES: Caballero, Ashby, Becker, Bradford

NOES: Jones, Seyarto, Wahab

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 59-6, 5/21/24 - See last page for vote

SUBJECT: Farm labor centers: migratory agricultural workers

SOURCE: Center for Farmworker Families
Food Empowerment Project

Human Agenda
La Cooperativa Campesina De California
Sacramento State Center on Race, Immigration, and Social Justice

DIGEST:

This bill requires all housing units at Office of Migrant Services (OMS) farm labor centers (OMS centers) to be made available for occupancy year-round by migratory farmworkers by January 1, 2031, pursuant to a 6-year transition plan to be developed and implemented by the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) based on reports submitted by farm labor centers.

Senate Floor Amendments of 8/23/24 narrow the bill; instead of requiring OMS centers to operate year round, as specified, the bill (1) requires HCD to develop a report, by July 1, 2027, reviewing the definition of “migratory agricultural farmworker” and analyzes the feasibility and impact of transitioning OMS units to year round availability; (2) requires HCD to identify excess sits in proximity to OMS centers and prioritize those locations for permanent farmworker housing projects; (3) provides that a migratory worker with at least school-age child may be exempted from the 50-mile rule for purposes of occupancy in an OMS center; and (4) requires an OMS center to pre-screen applicants for eligibility in a permanent housing unit funded by the Joe Serna Jr. Farmworker Housing Program (Serna Program) and authorizes HCD to prioritize migrant farmworkers in those projects.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Defines a “migratory agricultural worker" to mean an individual who:
   1. During the current or preceding calendar year, derived at least 50% of their total annual household earned income from agricultural employment or can produce current evidence of a current job offer in agricultural employment; and
   2. Performs, has performed, or will perform such agricultural labor during the current or preceding calendar year under conditions which require round trip travel exceeding 100 miles per day such that they were unable to return to their chosen place of residence within the same day of labor; and
   3. Has resided together with their immediate family outside a 50-mile radius of the migrant center for at least 3 months out of the preceding six month period.
2. Defines a “farm labor center” (hereinafter referred to as OMS centers) to mean any farm labor center (or any part thereof) owned or acquired by a housing authority in the State.
3. Requires a housing authority to admit to occupancy in an OMS center only single persons and families whose principal source of income is derived from agricultural work without regard to whether or not they have low incomes. “Agricultural work” means work performed on a farm or in the handling, packing, processing, freezing, canning, or shipping of agricultural produce of the immediate area.
4. Allows an OMS center to operate for an extended period prior to or beyond the standard 180-day period after approval by HCD, provided that all of the following conditions are satisfied:
5. No additional subsidies provided by HCD are used for the operation or administration of the migrant farm center during the extended occupancy period, except to the extent that state funds are appropriated or authorized for the purpose of funding all or part of the cost of subsidizing extended occupancy periods;
6. Rents are not to be increased above the rents charged during the standard 180-day occupancy period unless HCD finds that an increase is necessary to cover the difference between reasonable operating costs necessary to keep the center open during the extended occupancy period and the amount of state funds available pursuant to paragraph 1) and any contributions from agricultural employers or other federal, local, or private sources. These contributions shall not be used to reduce the amount of state funds that otherwise would be made available to the center to subsidize rents during an extended occupancy period; and
7. In no event shall the rent during the extended occupancy period exceed the average daily operating cost of the OMS center, less any subsidy funds available pursuant to paragraph a) or b).  With respect to an extended occupancy beyond the standard 180-day period, households representing at least 25% of the units in the center shall have indicated their desire and intention to remain in residency by signing a petition to the local entity to keep the center open for an extended period at rents that are the same or higher than rents during the regular period of occupancy.
8. Requires HCD, prior to approving or denying an early opening or an extension of occupancy of an OMS center or an extension and establishing the rents for the extended occupancy period, to take into consideration all of the following factors:
9. The structural and physical condition of the OMS center, including water and sewer pond capacity and the capacity and willingness of the local entity to operate the OMS center during the extended occupancy period;
10. Whether local approvals are required, and whether there are competing demands for the use of the OMS center’s facilities;
11. Whether there is adequate documentation that there is a need for residents of the OMS center to continue work in the area, as confirmed by the local entity;
12. The climate during the extended occupancy period;
13. The amount of subsidy funds available that can be allocated to each center to subsidize rents below the operating costs and the cost of operating each center during the extended occupancy period;
14. The extended occupancy period is deemed necessary for the health and safety of the migrant farmworkers and their families; and
15. Other relevant factors affecting the migrant farmworkers and their families and the operation of the OMS centers.
16. Provides that the standard occupancy period combined with any extended occupancy period for an OMS center shall not exceed a cumulative operating period of 275 days in any calendar year.
17. Requires HCD, no later than January 1, 2026, to develop a comprehensive strategy to substantially improve policy, funding, and implementation of farmworker housing production in California to adequately address the size and scope of the problems identified in the study, including amendments to the California Statewide Housing Plan.

This bill:

1. Requires HCD, by January 1, 2026, to engage and solicit feedback from specified stakeholders on the definition of “migratory agricultural worker” for the purposes of updating the definition.
2. Requires HCD, by January 1, 2027, to submit a report to the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee and the Senate Housing Committee and publish the report on its web site, that analyzes the feasibility and impact of transitioning housing units at OMS centers to year round availability. The report shall include:
3. The quantity of housing units at each center that could be made available year-round without any rehabilitation or improvements.
4. The quantity of housing units at each center that require upgrades to be made available year-round, as specified.
5. A description of the order in which units may be renovated and a plan to ensure that no center shuts down more than 30% of units during the regular operating season.
6. Information about the regional K–12 schools’ academic calendars to assist with planning upgrades during academic breaks necessary.
7. Information on the infrastructure that serves the OMS centers, including wastewater systems, water systems, stormwater systems, drainage systems, electrical systems, and gas or propane systems. Information shall include the current capacity of the systems and cost estimates to expand the infrastructure to allow for year-round housing.
8. Assessment of the initial capital needed to convert centers to year-round housing, the amount of OMS operating and capital subsidy for each center based on an 180-day occupancy period, the amount of OMS ongoing operating and capital subsidy for each center needed to operate year round, and the identification of impediments to converting a center to year-round housing.
9. Demographic information about migrant farmworker families served through the OMS centers.
10. Identification of assessments that document the demand for migrant and year-round farmworker housing.
11. Fiscal impacts, including rent increases, and other impacts to migrant farmworkers and their families from converting the OMS centers to year-round housing and strategies to reduce negative impacts, including other housing solutions.
12. Current and projected housing needs for migrant farmworkers and their families surrounding each center.
13. Analysis and identification of alternative solutions to addressing farmworker housing beyond conversion of OMS centers to year-round farmworker housing.
14. Requires HCD, following the completion of the report in 2) to coordinate with the Department of General Services (DGS) and the Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to identify available excess sites in proximity to the OMS centers and prioritize locations for the development of permanent farmworker housing on those sites.
15. Requires any entity operating an OMS center to ensure each housing unit complies with all applicable local health and safety laws, as specified.
16. Requires HCD to complete an annual inspection of each OMS center.
17. Prohibits the entity operating an OMS center from conditioning residency on the willingness of a potential tenant to occupy a unit year round or preference year-round residents over residents wishing to rent a unit for any length of stay less than one year.
18. Provides that a migratory farmworker, including the immediate family and dependents residing in the same housing unit, with at least one schoolage child, may be exempted from the requirement to have resided outside a 50-mile radius of the OMS center for the purposes of eligibility to reside in an OMS housing unit.
19. Requires a migratory farmworker who has entered into a prior residential tenancy agreement for housing at a migrant farm labor center to be eligible for an interview pass for an available unit upon returning to that center for housing following a break in occupancy. Wherever feasible, a migrant farm labor center shall offer to a migratory farmworker the option to return to the same unit in which they previously resided.
20. Requires an entity operating an OMS center to prescreen applicants for eligibility to reside in a property funded by Joe Serna Jr. Farmworker Housing Grant (Serna projects) funds (see Comment 1 below). Provides that HCD may prioritize admission in Serna projects for eligible migrant farmworkers that occupy a housing unit within the preceding 36 months at an OMS center.

Background

1. Farmworkers. The state lacks enough affordable housing for farmworkers and their families. AB 1654 (R. Rivas, Chapter 638, Statutes of 2022), requires the state to complete a statewide study of farmworker housing conditions, needs, and solutions to inform a comprehensive strategy for meeting the housing needs of the state’s farmworkers. This includes an analysis of the needs of migrant farmworkers. The strategy is due by January 1, 2026.
2. OMS. Since the 1960s, HCD has administered OMS to provide affordable housing to migrant farmworkers. HCD owns farmworker labor centers and contracts with local housing authorities and counties to operate the centers. Counties, housing authorities, and grower associations typically provide land for centers as an in-kind contribution. Child daycare and after-school support services are often available. Tenants are charged a subsidized, affordable daily rent. HCD contracts annually with local operating agencies and provides grants for OMS center operation, paid from the state General Fund and from OMS rental income. There are currently 24 migrant farm labor centers that operate in 15 counties in California that typically house approximately 7,000 farmworkers a year.

Historically, occupancy of OMS centers has been limited to six months, generally between May/April to October/November to accommodate migrant workers who have travelled to California for the growing season and then returned to their country of origin. To live there, individuals must meet an income requirement, prove they work in agriculture, and live at least 50 miles away for three months after the season ends. However, that policy has been changed by the Legislature over the last few years.

In response to concerns that school-aged children living in migrant centers were not able to complete the school year because of the 50-mile rule, SB 850 (Committee on Budget, Chapter 48, Statutes of 2018), allowed migratory agricultural workers with school-aged children to reside within a 50-mile radius of a migrant farm labor center on a year-round basis. Up to 50% of the units in a migrant farm labor centers could be made available to these families. The remaining units were reserved for migratory agricultural workers who require round-trip travel exceeding 100 miles per day, which results in the migratory agricultural worker being unable to return to the workers’ chosen place of residence within the same day of labor. The exemption to the 50-mile year sunset on January 1, 2024. This bill eliminates the requirement that a migratory farmworker live 50 miles away from the farmworker center at least three months out of the year.

Under the current standard OMS centers remain open for 180 days out of the year, with the option to stay open 270 days with approval from HCD. This bill eliminates the option for a farmworker center to limit occupancy of units for agricultural workers to less than 270 days. As a result, units in a center could be provided year round to farmworkers and their families. There is not a requirement for centers to set-aside any units for farmworkers who may choose to live temporarily in a farmworker center and travel back to their country to origin for part of the year.

According to demographic data that HCD collects from migrant farmworkers at OMS centers, 66% of residents come from Mexico, 12% from Arizona, 4% from Texas. Seventeen percent come from California. In 2022, approximately 77% of residents reported they owned their own primary residences and 23% were renters. According to a 2022 study from the Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration, which compiled demographic information between 2015-2019, 13% of the farmworkers in California are “migrants” that travelled more than 75 miles to obtain a farm job. According to the author, additional US Department of Labor data shows about 92% of California farmworkers were settled in the state from 2019-2020.

Comments

1. Permanent farmworker housing programs. There are two main state programs that fund permanent housing projects specifically for farmworkers: Joe Serna, Jr. Farmworker Housing Program, and the low income housing tax credit (LIHTC) program.
   1. Serna Program. Administered by HCD, this program funds fund new construction, rehabilitation, and acquisition of owner-occupied and rental units for agricultural workers, with a priority for lower income households. Financial assistance is available as deferred-payment loans for multifamily housing new construction or rehabilitation and grants for single-family new construction or owner-occupied rehabilitation programs. The FWHG program supports development projects involving multiple home ownership units, including single-family subdivisions, for lower-income agricultural employees and their families, and programs that assist lower-income agricultural employees and their families to become or remain homeowners. According to HCD, over the last five years, Serna has funded 56 new farmworker projects with 3,577 new units. Many of these projects are in the same counties as the OMS centers.
   2. LIHTC (Farmworker housing set-aside). Within the LIHTC program, there is a set-aside of $500,000 a year for farmworker housing projects. Until 2018, relatively few funds from the set aside were awarded to farmworker housing projects. AB 571 (E. Garcia, Chapter 372, Statutes of 2019) made significant reforms to encourage developers constructing farmworker housing to apply for specified federal credits by increasing the value of the state credits that would accompany those credits.
2. Land use incentives for farmworker housing. In addition to funding the construction of farmworker units through state programs, the Legislature has sought to make local land use approvals more streamlined for these projects. The Employee Housing Act (EHA) permits privately owned and operated employee housing (typically farmworkers) to be constructed by-right (i.e. ministerially, or without discretionary review by a local jurisdiction). In 2019, the Legislature passed AB 1783 (R. Rivas, Chapter 866), which created a new streamlined, ministerial approval process for agricultural employee housing, that is not dormitory style housing, on land zoned for agricultural uses.
3. Analysis of OMS center occupants. This bill would require HCD , by January 1, 2026, to engage and solicit feedback from specified stakeholders on the definition of “migratory agricultural worker” for the purposes of updating the definition. The bill would also require HCD, by July 1, 2027, to develop, and submit to specified committees, a report that analyzes the feasibility and impact of transitioning housing units at OMS centers to year-round availability. The report must include specified criteria, including, among other things, the quantity of housing units at each center. The bill would require HCD by December 31, 2028, and following the completion of the report, to coordinate with DGS and CDFA to identify available excess sites in proximity to OMS Centers and prioritize those locations for the development of permanent farmworker housing.

The bill would also prescribe various requirements on entities operating an OMS center, including that the entities prescreen OMS center program applicants for eligibility in farmworker-restricted units on properties funded by the Serna Program at HCD.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes

According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

• HCD estimates ongoing administrative costs in the range of $500,000 and $1.2 million annually for increased department staff needs to administer the OMS program, and to develop and implement the six-year plan to establish and maintain year round housing. Specific tasks include coordinating with OMS operators, redesigning the OMS program, adopting regulations and updating operating manuals, forms and standard agreements for year-round housing. Additionally, HCD expects an increase in the monitoring and management of the OMS centers, including additional on-site visits and inspections. HCD also indicates it would need to renegotiate leases for the 24 OMS centers for year round housing, and in some cases, negotiate or purchase water rights to operate year-round housing at the centers. (General Fund)
• Ongoing increased state costs of approximately $4 million annually to operate 24 OMS centers on a year round basis. HCD notes that OMS centers are supported by an annual appropriation of approximately $5.6 million at a 58% occupancy rate for seasonal housing. HCD assumes extending the occupancy period to year round would increase occupancy by 42%, and require a commensurate amount of additional funding to support year round operations, including on-site staffing, utility costs, and associated deferred maintenance projects. (General Fund)
• Unknown, significant one-time costs, potentially in the tens of millions of dollars for HCD to conduct building assessments, engineering designs, and capital improvements to the 24 OMS centers in accordance with health, safety, and habitability standards, including the addition of heating and other upgrades to “winterize” the units, as well as water, well, and wastewater treatment upgrades to accommodate year-round occupancy. (General Fund)
• Unknown state-mandated local costs for certain housing authorities to operate an OMS center on a year round basis, to ensure that all units meet specified health, safety, and habitability standards, and report specified information to HCD on each OMS center, among other things. These local costs would not be state reimbursable because public housing authorities are not eligible claimants under the specified statutory and constitutional provisions regarding state reimbursement for new programs and higher levels of service imposed upon local agencies.

SUPPORT: (Verified 8/27/24)

Alianza Sacramento
American Muslim Voice Foundation
Amigos De Guadalupe Center for Justice and Empowerment
Asian Law Alliance
Bay Area-system Change Not Climate Change
Benito Juarez Foundation
California Environmental Justice Coalition
California Human Development
California YIMBY
Californians for Pesticide Reform
Center for Employment and Training
Cleanearth4kids.org
County of Yolo
East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice
Jewish Voice for Peace-South Bay
Líderes Campesinas
Madera Coalition for Community Justice
Marin Veg
North Bay Jobs With Justice
Poor People’s Campaign
Proteus
Puente De LA Costa Sur
Sacramento Area Black Caucus
Sacramento Environmental Justice Coalition
San Francisco Bay Area National Association of Hispanic Nurses
Siren: Services Immigrant Rights and Education Network
Vision Y Compromiso
West Berkeley Alliance for Clean Air and Safe Jobs
Women's Empowerment

8 Individuals

OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/28/24)

None received

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, “Farmworkers should be treated with dignity and respect reflective of the essential contribution they make to California’s agricultural economy and local communities. AB 2240 ensures that farmworkers and their families are not separated because of outdated policies and that their children’s education is not interrupted. Before modern migratory farmworker housing centers were established, many lived in overcrowded, substandard motel rooms, makeshift shacks, or near orchards and streams without plumbing or safety. In response, in 1965 California provided migrant farmworkers and their families with affordable, seasonal rental housing from April to November.  Today, however, the majority of farmworkers are no longer migratory single men but instead are settled with families. Despite this change, farmworkers still must reside outside of a 50-mile radius of a center for a minimum of three months in order to qualify for migratory farmworker housing. This is devastating to children whose school years do not align with these closures and to families who are required to separate as a condition of residency.”

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 59-6, 5/21/24

AYES: Addis, Aguiar-Curry, Alanis, Alvarez, Arambula, Bains, Bauer-Kahan, Bennett, Berman, Boerner, Bonta, Bryan, Calderon, Juan Carrillo, Wendy Carrillo, Connolly, Mike Fong, Garcia, Gipson, Grayson, Haney, Hart, Irwin, Jackson, Jones-Sawyer, Kalra, Lee, Low, Lowenthal, Maienschein, McCarty, McKinnor, Muratsuchi, Stephanie Nguyen, Ortega, Pacheco, Papan, Pellerin, Petrie-Norris, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Rendon, Reyes, Rodriguez, Blanca Rubio, Santiago, Schiavo, Soria, Ting, Valencia, Villapudua, Waldron, Ward, Weber, Wicks, Wilson, Wood, Zbur, Robert Rivas

NOES: Davies, Dixon, Essayli, Flora, Gallagher, Sanchez

NO VOTE RECORDED: Cervantes, Chen, Megan Dahle, Vince Fong, Friedman, Gabriel, Holden, Hoover, Lackey, Mathis, Jim Patterson, Joe Patterson, Luz Rivas, Ta, Wallis

Prepared by: Alison Hughes / HOUSING / (916) 651-4124

8/28/24 10:04:48

**** END ****

 THIRD READING  

Bill No: AB 2240

Author: Arambula (D), et al.

Amended: 8/23/24 in Senate

Vote: 21

SENATE HOUSING COMMITTEE: 8-2, 6/24/24

AYES: Skinner, Blakespear, Caballero, Cortese, Menjivar, Padilla, Umberg, Wahab

NOES: Ochoa Bogh, Seyarto

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 4-3, 8/15/24

AYES: Caballero, Ashby, Becker, Bradford

NOES: Jones, Seyarto, Wahab

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 59-6, 5/21/24 - See last page for vote

SUBJECT: Farm labor centers: migratory agricultural workers

SOURCE: Center for Farmworker Families
Food Empowerment Project

Human Agenda
La Cooperativa Campesina De California
Sacramento State Center on Race, Immigration, and Social Justice

DIGEST:

This bill requires all housing units at Office of Migrant Services (OMS) farm labor centers (OMS centers) to be made available for occupancy year-round by migratory farmworkers by January 1, 2031, pursuant to a 6-year transition plan to be developed and implemented by the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) based on reports submitted by farm labor centers.

Senate Floor Amendments of 8/23/24 narrow the bill; instead of requiring OMS centers to operate year round, as specified, the bill (1) requires HCD to develop a report, by July 1, 2027, reviewing the definition of “migratory agricultural farmworker” and analyzes the feasibility and impact of transitioning OMS units to year round availability; (2) requires HCD to identify excess sits in proximity to OMS centers and prioritize those locations for permanent farmworker housing projects; (3) provides that a migratory worker with at least school-age child may be exempted from the 50-mile rule for purposes of occupancy in an OMS center; and (4) requires an OMS center to pre-screen applicants for eligibility in a permanent housing unit funded by the Joe Serna Jr. Farmworker Housing Program (Serna Program) and authorizes HCD to prioritize migrant farmworkers in those projects.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Defines a “migratory agricultural worker" to mean an individual who:
   1. During the current or preceding calendar year, derived at least 50% of their total annual household earned income from agricultural employment or can produce current evidence of a current job offer in agricultural employment; and
   2. Performs, has performed, or will perform such agricultural labor during the current or preceding calendar year under conditions which require round trip travel exceeding 100 miles per day such that they were unable to return to their chosen place of residence within the same day of labor; and
   3. Has resided together with their immediate family outside a 50-mile radius of the migrant center for at least 3 months out of the preceding six month period.
2. Defines a “farm labor center” (hereinafter referred to as OMS centers) to mean any farm labor center (or any part thereof) owned or acquired by a housing authority in the State.
3. Requires a housing authority to admit to occupancy in an OMS center only single persons and families whose principal source of income is derived from agricultural work without regard to whether or not they have low incomes. “Agricultural work” means work performed on a farm or in the handling, packing, processing, freezing, canning, or shipping of agricultural produce of the immediate area.
4. Allows an OMS center to operate for an extended period prior to or beyond the standard 180-day period after approval by HCD, provided that all of the following conditions are satisfied:
5. No additional subsidies provided by HCD are used for the operation or administration of the migrant farm center during the extended occupancy period, except to the extent that state funds are appropriated or authorized for the purpose of funding all or part of the cost of subsidizing extended occupancy periods;
6. Rents are not to be increased above the rents charged during the standard 180-day occupancy period unless HCD finds that an increase is necessary to cover the difference between reasonable operating costs necessary to keep the center open during the extended occupancy period and the amount of state funds available pursuant to paragraph 1) and any contributions from agricultural employers or other federal, local, or private sources. These contributions shall not be used to reduce the amount of state funds that otherwise would be made available to the center to subsidize rents during an extended occupancy period; and
7. In no event shall the rent during the extended occupancy period exceed the average daily operating cost of the OMS center, less any subsidy funds available pursuant to paragraph a) or b).  With respect to an extended occupancy beyond the standard 180-day period, households representing at least 25% of the units in the center shall have indicated their desire and intention to remain in residency by signing a petition to the local entity to keep the center open for an extended period at rents that are the same or higher than rents during the regular period of occupancy.
8. Requires HCD, prior to approving or denying an early opening or an extension of occupancy of an OMS center or an extension and establishing the rents for the extended occupancy period, to take into consideration all of the following factors:
9. The structural and physical condition of the OMS center, including water and sewer pond capacity and the capacity and willingness of the local entity to operate the OMS center during the extended occupancy period;
10. Whether local approvals are required, and whether there are competing demands for the use of the OMS center’s facilities;
11. Whether there is adequate documentation that there is a need for residents of the OMS center to continue work in the area, as confirmed by the local entity;
12. The climate during the extended occupancy period;
13. The amount of subsidy funds available that can be allocated to each center to subsidize rents below the operating costs and the cost of operating each center during the extended occupancy period;
14. The extended occupancy period is deemed necessary for the health and safety of the migrant farmworkers and their families; and
15. Other relevant factors affecting the migrant farmworkers and their families and the operation of the OMS centers.
16. Provides that the standard occupancy period combined with any extended occupancy period for an OMS center shall not exceed a cumulative operating period of 275 days in any calendar year.
17. Requires HCD, no later than January 1, 2026, to develop a comprehensive strategy to substantially improve policy, funding, and implementation of farmworker housing production in California to adequately address the size and scope of the problems identified in the study, including amendments to the California Statewide Housing Plan.

This bill:

1. Requires HCD, by January 1, 2026, to engage and solicit feedback from specified stakeholders on the definition of “migratory agricultural worker” for the purposes of updating the definition.
2. Requires HCD, by January 1, 2027, to submit a report to the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee and the Senate Housing Committee and publish the report on its web site, that analyzes the feasibility and impact of transitioning housing units at OMS centers to year round availability. The report shall include:
3. The quantity of housing units at each center that could be made available year-round without any rehabilitation or improvements.
4. The quantity of housing units at each center that require upgrades to be made available year-round, as specified.
5. A description of the order in which units may be renovated and a plan to ensure that no center shuts down more than 30% of units during the regular operating season.
6. Information about the regional K–12 schools’ academic calendars to assist with planning upgrades during academic breaks necessary.
7. Information on the infrastructure that serves the OMS centers, including wastewater systems, water systems, stormwater systems, drainage systems, electrical systems, and gas or propane systems. Information shall include the current capacity of the systems and cost estimates to expand the infrastructure to allow for year-round housing.
8. Assessment of the initial capital needed to convert centers to year-round housing, the amount of OMS operating and capital subsidy for each center based on an 180-day occupancy period, the amount of OMS ongoing operating and capital subsidy for each center needed to operate year round, and the identification of impediments to converting a center to year-round housing.
9. Demographic information about migrant farmworker families served through the OMS centers.
10. Identification of assessments that document the demand for migrant and year-round farmworker housing.
11. Fiscal impacts, including rent increases, and other impacts to migrant farmworkers and their families from converting the OMS centers to year-round housing and strategies to reduce negative impacts, including other housing solutions.
12. Current and projected housing needs for migrant farmworkers and their families surrounding each center.
13. Analysis and identification of alternative solutions to addressing farmworker housing beyond conversion of OMS centers to year-round farmworker housing.
14. Requires HCD, following the completion of the report in 2) to coordinate with the Department of General Services (DGS) and the Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to identify available excess sites in proximity to the OMS centers and prioritize locations for the development of permanent farmworker housing on those sites.
15. Requires any entity operating an OMS center to ensure each housing unit complies with all applicable local health and safety laws, as specified.
16. Requires HCD to complete an annual inspection of each OMS center.
17. Prohibits the entity operating an OMS center from conditioning residency on the willingness of a potential tenant to occupy a unit year round or preference year-round residents over residents wishing to rent a unit for any length of stay less than one year.
18. Provides that a migratory farmworker, including the immediate family and dependents residing in the same housing unit, with at least one schoolage child, may be exempted from the requirement to have resided outside a 50-mile radius of the OMS center for the purposes of eligibility to reside in an OMS housing unit.
19. Requires a migratory farmworker who has entered into a prior residential tenancy agreement for housing at a migrant farm labor center to be eligible for an interview pass for an available unit upon returning to that center for housing following a break in occupancy. Wherever feasible, a migrant farm labor center shall offer to a migratory farmworker the option to return to the same unit in which they previously resided.
20. Requires an entity operating an OMS center to prescreen applicants for eligibility to reside in a property funded by Joe Serna Jr. Farmworker Housing Grant (Serna projects) funds (see Comment 1 below). Provides that HCD may prioritize admission in Serna projects for eligible migrant farmworkers that occupy a housing unit within the preceding 36 months at an OMS center.

Background

1. Farmworkers. The state lacks enough affordable housing for farmworkers and their families. AB 1654 (R. Rivas, Chapter 638, Statutes of 2022), requires the state to complete a statewide study of farmworker housing conditions, needs, and solutions to inform a comprehensive strategy for meeting the housing needs of the state’s farmworkers. This includes an analysis of the needs of migrant farmworkers. The strategy is due by January 1, 2026.
2. OMS. Since the 1960s, HCD has administered OMS to provide affordable housing to migrant farmworkers. HCD owns farmworker labor centers and contracts with local housing authorities and counties to operate the centers. Counties, housing authorities, and grower associations typically provide land for centers as an in-kind contribution. Child daycare and after-school support services are often available. Tenants are charged a subsidized, affordable daily rent. HCD contracts annually with local operating agencies and provides grants for OMS center operation, paid from the state General Fund and from OMS rental income. There are currently 24 migrant farm labor centers that operate in 15 counties in California that typically house approximately 7,000 farmworkers a year.

Historically, occupancy of OMS centers has been limited to six months, generally between May/April to October/November to accommodate migrant workers who have travelled to California for the growing season and then returned to their country of origin. To live there, individuals must meet an income requirement, prove they work in agriculture, and live at least 50 miles away for three months after the season ends. However, that policy has been changed by the Legislature over the last few years.

In response to concerns that school-aged children living in migrant centers were not able to complete the school year because of the 50-mile rule, SB 850 (Committee on Budget, Chapter 48, Statutes of 2018), allowed migratory agricultural workers with school-aged children to reside within a 50-mile radius of a migrant farm labor center on a year-round basis. Up to 50% of the units in a migrant farm labor centers could be made available to these families. The remaining units were reserved for migratory agricultural workers who require round-trip travel exceeding 100 miles per day, which results in the migratory agricultural worker being unable to return to the workers’ chosen place of residence within the same day of labor. The exemption to the 50-mile year sunset on January 1, 2024. This bill eliminates the requirement that a migratory farmworker live 50 miles away from the farmworker center at least three months out of the year.

Under the current standard OMS centers remain open for 180 days out of the year, with the option to stay open 270 days with approval from HCD. This bill eliminates the option for a farmworker center to limit occupancy of units for agricultural workers to less than 270 days. As a result, units in a center could be provided year round to farmworkers and their families. There is not a requirement for centers to set-aside any units for farmworkers who may choose to live temporarily in a farmworker center and travel back to their country to origin for part of the year.

According to demographic data that HCD collects from migrant farmworkers at OMS centers, 66% of residents come from Mexico, 12% from Arizona, 4% from Texas. Seventeen percent come from California. In 2022, approximately 77% of residents reported they owned their own primary residences and 23% were renters. According to a 2022 study from the Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration, which compiled demographic information between 2015-2019, 13% of the farmworkers in California are “migrants” that travelled more than 75 miles to obtain a farm job. According to the author, additional US Department of Labor data shows about 92% of California farmworkers were settled in the state from 2019-2020.

Comments

1. Permanent farmworker housing programs. There are two main state programs that fund permanent housing projects specifically for farmworkers: Joe Serna, Jr. Farmworker Housing Program, and the low income housing tax credit (LIHTC) program.
   1. Serna Program. Administered by HCD, this program funds fund new construction, rehabilitation, and acquisition of owner-occupied and rental units for agricultural workers, with a priority for lower income households. Financial assistance is available as deferred-payment loans for multifamily housing new construction or rehabilitation and grants for single-family new construction or owner-occupied rehabilitation programs. The FWHG program supports development projects involving multiple home ownership units, including single-family subdivisions, for lower-income agricultural employees and their families, and programs that assist lower-income agricultural employees and their families to become or remain homeowners. According to HCD, over the last five years, Serna has funded 56 new farmworker projects with 3,577 new units. Many of these projects are in the same counties as the OMS centers.
   2. LIHTC (Farmworker housing set-aside). Within the LIHTC program, there is a set-aside of $500,000 a year for farmworker housing projects. Until 2018, relatively few funds from the set aside were awarded to farmworker housing projects. AB 571 (E. Garcia, Chapter 372, Statutes of 2019) made significant reforms to encourage developers constructing farmworker housing to apply for specified federal credits by increasing the value of the state credits that would accompany those credits.
2. Land use incentives for farmworker housing. In addition to funding the construction of farmworker units through state programs, the Legislature has sought to make local land use approvals more streamlined for these projects. The Employee Housing Act (EHA) permits privately owned and operated employee housing (typically farmworkers) to be constructed by-right (i.e. ministerially, or without discretionary review by a local jurisdiction). In 2019, the Legislature passed AB 1783 (R. Rivas, Chapter 866), which created a new streamlined, ministerial approval process for agricultural employee housing, that is not dormitory style housing, on land zoned for agricultural uses.
3. Analysis of OMS center occupants. This bill would require HCD , by January 1, 2026, to engage and solicit feedback from specified stakeholders on the definition of “migratory agricultural worker” for the purposes of updating the definition. The bill would also require HCD, by July 1, 2027, to develop, and submit to specified committees, a report that analyzes the feasibility and impact of transitioning housing units at OMS centers to year-round availability. The report must include specified criteria, including, among other things, the quantity of housing units at each center. The bill would require HCD by December 31, 2028, and following the completion of the report, to coordinate with DGS and CDFA to identify available excess sites in proximity to OMS Centers and prioritize those locations for the development of permanent farmworker housing.

The bill would also prescribe various requirements on entities operating an OMS center, including that the entities prescreen OMS center program applicants for eligibility in farmworker-restricted units on properties funded by the Serna Program at HCD.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes

According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

• HCD estimates ongoing administrative costs in the range of $500,000 and $1.2 million annually for increased department staff needs to administer the OMS program, and to develop and implement the six-year plan to establish and maintain year round housing. Specific tasks include coordinating with OMS operators, redesigning the OMS program, adopting regulations and updating operating manuals, forms and standard agreements for year-round housing. Additionally, HCD expects an increase in the monitoring and management of the OMS centers, including additional on-site visits and inspections. HCD also indicates it would need to renegotiate leases for the 24 OMS centers for year round housing, and in some cases, negotiate or purchase water rights to operate year-round housing at the centers. (General Fund)
• Ongoing increased state costs of approximately $4 million annually to operate 24 OMS centers on a year round basis. HCD notes that OMS centers are supported by an annual appropriation of approximately $5.6 million at a 58% occupancy rate for seasonal housing. HCD assumes extending the occupancy period to year round would increase occupancy by 42%, and require a commensurate amount of additional funding to support year round operations, including on-site staffing, utility costs, and associated deferred maintenance projects. (General Fund)
• Unknown, significant one-time costs, potentially in the tens of millions of dollars for HCD to conduct building assessments, engineering designs, and capital improvements to the 24 OMS centers in accordance with health, safety, and habitability standards, including the addition of heating and other upgrades to “winterize” the units, as well as water, well, and wastewater treatment upgrades to accommodate year-round occupancy. (General Fund)
• Unknown state-mandated local costs for certain housing authorities to operate an OMS center on a year round basis, to ensure that all units meet specified health, safety, and habitability standards, and report specified information to HCD on each OMS center, among other things. These local costs would not be state reimbursable because public housing authorities are not eligible claimants under the specified statutory and constitutional provisions regarding state reimbursement for new programs and higher levels of service imposed upon local agencies.

SUPPORT: (Verified 8/15/24)

Alianza Sacramento
American Muslim Voice Foundation
Amigos De Guadalupe Center for Justice and Empowerment
Asian Law Alliance
Bay Area-system Change Not Climate Change
Benito Juarez Foundation
California Environmental Justice Coalition
California Human Development
California YIMBY
Californians for Pesticide Reform
Center for Employment and Training
Cleanearth4kids.org
County of Yolo
East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice
Jewish Voice for Peace-South Bay
Líderes Campesinas
Madera Coalition for Community Justice
Marin Veg
North Bay Jobs With Justice
Poor People’s Campaign
Proteus
Puente De LA Costa Sur
Sacramento Area Black Caucus
Sacramento Environmental Justice Coalition
San Francisco Bay Area National Association of Hispanic Nurses
Siren: Services Immigrant Rights and Education Network
Vision Y Compromiso
West Berkeley Alliance for Clean Air and Safe Jobs
Women's Empowerment

8 Individuals

OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/15/24)

California Coalition for Rural Housing
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
Leadership Counsel for Justice & Accountability
Western Center on Law & Poverty

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, “Farmworkers should be treated with dignity and respect reflective of the essential contribution they make to California’s agricultural economy and local communities. AB 2240 ensures that farmworkers and their families are not separated because of outdated policies and that their children’s education is not interrupted. Before modern migratory farmworker housing centers were established, many lived in overcrowded, substandard motel rooms, makeshift shacks, or near orchards and streams without plumbing or safety. In response, in 1965 California provided migrant farmworkers and their families with affordable, seasonal rental housing from April to November.  Today, however, the majority of farmworkers are no longer migratory single men but instead are settled with families. Despite this change, farmworkers still must reside outside of a 50-mile radius of a center for a minimum of three months in order to qualify for migratory farmworker housing. This is devastating to children whose school years do not align with these closures and to families who are required to separate as a condition of residency.”

ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: The California Coalition for Rural Housing, the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, the Leadership Counsel for Justice & Accountability, and the Western Center on Law & Poverty state in their opposition letter to a prior version of the bill, “Our experience is supported by the available data that indicates that as much as 13% of farmworkers are migrants.  While that may be a small proportion of the workforce, it still represents between 30,000 and 60,000 workers based on various estimates of the overall farmworker population…. [This bill] would effectively eliminate the migrant housing program in California, leaving our migrant farmworker clients without any source of affordable housing that they can access while working temporarily in an area….It is simply not possible for an OMS center to serve as both temporary and permanent housing at the same time.”  They suggest the following amendments:  (1) give priority in permanent affordable housing units (Joe Serna Jr. Program units) for migrant farmworkers wishing to secure long-term housing; (2) direct HCD to evaluate both the number of days each center is open and to establish opening and closing dates that better correspond to the school year; and (3) study the question of how best to meet the needs of both migrant and non-migrant households. 

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 59-6, 5/21/24

AYES: Addis, Aguiar-Curry, Alanis, Alvarez, Arambula, Bains, Bauer-Kahan, Bennett, Berman, Boerner, Bonta, Bryan, Calderon, Juan Carrillo, Wendy Carrillo, Connolly, Mike Fong, Garcia, Gipson, Grayson, Haney, Hart, Irwin, Jackson, Jones-Sawyer, Kalra, Lee, Low, Lowenthal, Maienschein, McCarty, McKinnor, Muratsuchi, Stephanie Nguyen, Ortega, Pacheco, Papan, Pellerin, Petrie-Norris, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Rendon, Reyes, Rodriguez, Blanca Rubio, Santiago, Schiavo, Soria, Ting, Valencia, Villapudua, Waldron, Ward, Weber, Wicks, Wilson, Wood, Zbur, Robert Rivas

NOES: Davies, Dixon, Essayli, Flora, Gallagher, Sanchez

NO VOTE RECORDED: Cervantes, Chen, Megan Dahle, Vince Fong, Friedman, Gabriel, Holden, Hoover, Lackey, Mathis, Jim Patterson, Joe Patterson, Luz Rivas, Ta, Wallis

Prepared by: Alison Hughes / HOUSING / (916) 651-4124

8/26/24 11:53:16

**** END ****

 THIRD READING  

Bill No: AB 2240

Author: Arambula (D), et al.

Amended: 7/2/24 in Senate

Vote: 21

SENATE HOUSING COMMITTEE: 8-2, 6/24/24

AYES: Skinner, Blakespear, Caballero, Cortese, Menjivar, Padilla, Umberg, Wahab

NOES: Ochoa Bogh, Seyarto

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 4-3, 8/15/24

AYES: Caballero, Ashby, Becker, Bradford

NOES: Jones, Seyarto, Wahab

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 59-6, 5/21/24 - See last page for vote

SUBJECT: Farm labor centers: migratory agricultural workers

SOURCE: Center for Farmworker Families
Food Empowerment Project

Human Agenda
La Cooperativa Campesina De California
Sacramento State Center on Race, Immigration, and Social Justice

DIGEST:

This bill requires all housing units at Office of Migrant Services (OMS) farm labor centers (OMS centers) to be made available for occupancy year-round by migratory farmworkers by January 1, 2031, pursuant to a 6-year transition plan to be developed and implemented by the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) based on reports submitted by farm labor centers.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Defines a “migratory agricultural worker" to mean an individual who:
   1. During the current or preceding calendar year, derived at least 50% of their total annual household earned income from agricultural employment or can produce current evidence of a current job offer in agricultural employment; and
   2. Performs, has performed, or will perform such agricultural labor during the current or preceding calendar year under conditions which require round trip travel exceeding 100 miles per day such that they were unable to return to their chosen place of residence within the same day of labor; and
   3. Has resided together with their immediate family outside a 50-mile radius of the migrant center for at least 3 months out of the preceding 6 month period.
2. Defines a “farm labor center” (hereinafter referred to as OMS centers) to mean any farm labor center (or any part thereof) owned or acquired by a housing authority in the State.
3. Requires a housing authority to admit to occupancy in an OMS center only single persons and families whose principal source of income is derived from agricultural work without regard to whether or not they have low incomes. “Agricultural work” means work performed on a farm or in the handling, packing, processing, freezing, canning, or shipping of agricultural produce of the immediate area.
4. Prohibits a housing authority operating a OMS center to limit occupancy of units for agricultural workers to less than 270 days if the Director of Agriculture certifies that there are seasonal crops that would keep such workers in the immediate area for such time.
5. Allows an OMS center to operate for an extended period prior to or beyond the standard 180-day period after approval by HCD, provided that all of the following conditions are satisfied:
6. No additional subsidies provided by HCD are used for the operation or administration of the migrant farm center during the extended occupancy period, except to the extent that state funds are appropriated or authorized for the purpose of funding all or part of the cost of subsidizing extended occupancy periods;
7. Rents are not to be increased above the rents charged during the standard 180-day occupancy period unless HCD finds that an increase is necessary to cover the difference between reasonable operating costs necessary to keep the center open during the extended occupancy period and the amount of state funds available pursuant to paragraph 1) and any contributions from agricultural employers or other federal, local, or private sources. These contributions shall not be used to reduce the amount of state funds that otherwise would be made available to the center to subsidize rents during an extended occupancy period; and
8. In no event shall the rent during the extended occupancy period exceed the average daily operating cost of the OMS center, less any subsidy funds available pursuant to paragraph a) or b).  With respect to an extended occupancy beyond the standard 180-day period, households representing at least 25% of the units in the center shall have indicated their desire and intention to remain in residency by signing a petition to the local entity to keep the center open for an extended period at rents that are the same or higher than rents during the regular period of occupancy.
9. Requires HCD, prior to approving or denying an early opening or an extension of occupancy of an OMS center or an extension and establishing the rents for the extended occupancy period, to take into consideration all of the following factors:
10. The structural and physical condition of the OMS center, including water and sewer pond capacity and the capacity and willingness of the local entity to operate the OMS center during the extended occupancy period;
11. Whether local approvals are required, and whether there are competing demands for the use of the OMS center’s facilities;
12. Whether there is adequate documentation that there is a need for residents of the OMS center to continue work in the area, as confirmed by the local entity;
13. The climate during the extended occupancy period;
14. The amount of subsidy funds available that can be allocated to each center to subsidize rents below the operating costs and the cost of operating each center during the extended occupancy period;
15. The extended occupancy period is deemed necessary for the health and safety of the migrant farmworkers and their families; and
16. Other relevant factors affecting the migrant farmworkers and their families and the operation of the OMS centers.
17. Provides that the standard occupancy period combined with any extended occupancy period for an OMS center shall not exceed a cumulative operating period of 275 days in any calendar year.
18. Requires HCD, no later than January 1, 2026, to develop a comprehensive strategy to substantially improve policy, funding, and implementation of farmworker housing production in California to adequately address the size and scope of the problems identified in the study, including amendments to the California Statewide Housing Plan.

This bill:

1. Expands the definition of “migratory agricultural farmworker” means an individual who made a qualifying move in the preceding 36 months and, after the qualifying move, meets either of the following conditions:
2. Engaged in new temporary or seasonal employment or personal subsistence in agriculture, including, but not limited to, dairy work or the initial processing of raw agricultural products.
3. Actively sought new temporary or seasonal employment or personal subsistence in agriculture and has a recent history of moves for temporary or seasonal agricultural employment.
4. Defines “qualifying move” as a move that is due to economic necessity and either of the following:
   1. From one residence to another residence that is at least 20 miles away.
   2. From one school district to another school district.
5. Deletes provisions that housing authorities operate an OMS center for no more than 270 days.
6. Provides that all OMS centers operated by a housing authority shall be made available year round for occupancy by migratory agricultural workers by January 1, 2031. Additionally OMS centers shall reserve a sufficient number of units to accommodate those migratory agricultural workers who wish to reside at an OMS center for any period of time less than one year.
7. Requires all OMS centers to comply with all applicable health and safety laws and is habitable, as specified, and require HCD to conduct annual inspections.
8. Prohibits an OMS center from requiring a migratory agricultural worker with a school-age child to move out of their housing during the child’s school year or in a time or manner that is disruptive to the child’s academic year.
9. Requires that a migratory agricultural worker who has entered into a prior residential tenancy agreement for housing at an OMS center to have the right of first refusal of an available unit upon returning to that OMS center for housing following a break in occupancy.
10. Prohibits a migratory agricultural worker from losing their residency if they leave for travel and are paying rent.
11. Requires OMS center to be operated year round by January 1, 2031. Prohibits rents form being increased above the rents charged during the year round period and shall not exceed the daily operating cost of the center.
12. Requires HCD to develop and implement a six-year transitional plan to make all housing centers available year round.
13. Requires each OMS center to send to HCD a report with the following information by January 1, 2025, which shall be aggregated by HCD and sent to the relevant policy committees in the legislature by January 1, 2026:
    
    1. The quantity of housing units at each center with each housing unit individual identified that could made available immediately.
    2. The quantity of housing units at each center with each housing unit individually identified, that requires upgrades to be made available year round, including a description of upgrades needed by unit at each center that includes a scope of work and costs estimates.
    3. A description of the order in which units will be renovated. The upgrade plan shall ensure that no center shuts down more than 30% of the units at any given time by scheduling them to be renovated. To the extent possible, upgrades shall occur when school is not in session.
    4. Information about the regional K-12 schools necessary to determine how long migrant farm labor center housing units may remain open during the six-year plan implementation.

Background

1. Farmworkers. The state lacks enough affordable housing for farmworkers and their families. AB 1654 (R. Rivas, Chapter 638, Statutes of 2022), requires the state to complete a statewide study of farmworker housing conditions, needs, and solutions to inform a comprehensive strategy for meeting the housing needs of the state’s farmworkers. This includes an analysis of the needs of migrant farmworkers. The strategy is due by January 1, 2026.
2. OMS. Since the 1960s, HCD has administered OMS to provide affordable housing to migrant farmworkers. HCD owns farmworker labor centers and contracts with local housing authorities and counties to operate the centers. Counties, housing authorities, and grower associations typically provide land for centers as an in-kind contribution. Child daycare and after-school support services are often available. Tenants are charged a subsidized, affordable daily rent. HCD contracts annually with local operating agencies and provides grants for OMS center operation, paid from the state General Fund and from OMS rental income. There are currently 24 migrant farm labor centers that operate in 15 counties in California that typically house approximately 7,000 farmworkers a year.

Historically, occupancy of OMS centers has been limited to six months, generally between May/April to October/November to accommodate migrant workers who have travelled to California for the growing season and then returned to their country of origin. To live there, individuals must meet an income requirement, prove they work in agriculture, and live at least 50 miles away for three months after the season ends. However, that policy has been changed by the Legislature over the last few years.

In response to concerns that school-aged children living in migrant centers were not able to complete the school year because of the 50-mile rule, SB 850 (Committee on Budget, Chapter 48, Statutes of 2018), allowed migratory agricultural workers with school-aged children to reside within a 50-mile radius of a migrant farm labor center on a year-round basis. Up to 50% of the units in a migrant farm labor centers could be made available to these families. The remaining units were reserved for migratory agricultural workers who require round-trip travel exceeding 100 miles per day, which results in the migratory agricultural worker being unable to return to the workers’ chosen place of residence within the same day of labor. The exemption to the 50-mile year sunset on January 1, 2024. This bill would eliminate the requirement that a migratory farmworker live 50 miles away from the farmworker center at least three months out of the year.

Under the current standard OMS centers remain open for 180 days out of the year, with the option to stay open 270 days with approval from HCD. This bill would eliminate the option for a farmworker center to limit occupancy of units for agricultural workers to less than 270 days. As a result, units in a center could be provided year round to farmworkers and their families. There is not a requirement for centers to set-aside any units for farmworkers who may choose to live temporarily in a farmworker center and travel back to their country to origin for part of the year.

According to demographic data that HCD collects from migrant farmworkers at OMS centers, 66% of residents come from Mexico, 12% from Arizona, 4% from Texas. Seventeen percent come from California. In 2022, approximately 77% of residents reported they owned their own primary residences and 23% were renters. According to a 2022 study from the Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration, which compiled demographic information between 2015-2019, 13% of the farmworkers in California are “migrants” that travelled more than 75 miles to obtain a farm job. According to the author, additional US Department of Labor data shows about 92% of California farmworkers were settled in the state from 2019-2020.

Comments

1. Permanent farmworker housing programs. There are two main state programs that fund permanent housing projects specifically for farmworkers: Joe Serna, Jr. Farmworker Housing Program, and the low income housing tax credit (LIHTC) program.
   1. Joe Serna Jr., Farmworker Housing Program. Administered by HCD, this program funds fund new construction, rehabilitation, and acquisition of owner-occupied and rental units for agricultural workers, with a priority for lower income households. Financial assistance is available as deferred-payment loans for multifamily housing new construction or rehabilitation and grants for single-family new construction or owner-occupied rehabilitation programs. The FWHG program supports development projects involving multiple home ownership units, including single-family subdivisions, for lower-income agricultural employees and their families, and programs that assist lower-income agricultural employees and their families to become or remain homeowners. According to HCD, over the last five years, Serna has funded 56 new farmworker projects with 3,577 new units. Many of these projects are in the same counties as the OMS centers.
   2. LIHTC (Farmworker housing set-aside). Within the LIHTC program, there is a set-aside of $500,000 a year for farmworker housing projects. Until 2018, relatively few funds from the set aside were awarded to farmworker housing projects. AB 571 (E. Garcia, Chapter 372, Statutes of 2019) made significant reforms to encourage developers constructing farmworker housing to apply for specified federal credits by increasing the value of the state credits that would accompany those credits.
2. Land use incentives for farmworker housing. In addition to funding the construction of farmworker units through state programs, the Legislature has sought to make local land use approvals more streamlined for these projects. The Employee Housing Act (EHA) permits privately owned and operated employee housing (typically farmworkers) to be constructed by-right (i.e. ministerially, or without discretionary review by a local jurisdiction). In 2019, the Legislature passed AB 1783 (R. Rivas, Chapter 866), which created a new streamlined, ministerial approval process for agricultural employee housing, that is not dormitory style housing, on land zoned for agricultural uses.
3. This bill. This bill would fundamentally change the OMS centers to be permanent housing from housing intended to be occupied only part of the year, eliminating the requirement for a farmworker to establish they are migrating each year. Specifically, it would require all units at OMS centers to be available year round by migratory farmworkers (now defined to mean a person who moved more than 20 miles away or from one school district to another within the last 36 months and either is engaged in specified temporary or seasonal agricultural work or sought specified temporary or seasonal agricultural work and has a recent history of moves for that employment). In order to achieve this transition, all OMS centers must submit specified information to HCD by January 1, 2025, and HCD must aggregate this information and present it to the Legislature by January 1, 2026.

This bill would require HCD to redesign the OMS program, including adopting regulations and updating operating manuals, forms and standard agreements for year-round housing; renegotiate leases for the 24 OMS centers for year-round housing; and in some cases, negotiate or purchase water rights to operate year-round housing at the centers.  Additionally, HCD indicates it will need to undergo necessary tasks to meet minimum health and safety standards, including but not limited to adding heat and other upgrades to “winterize” the units, and water well and wastewater treatment upgrades to accommodate year-round occupancy.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes

According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

• HCD estimates ongoing administrative costs in the range of $500,000 and $1.2 million annually for increased department staff needs to administer the OMS program, and to develop and implement the six-year plan to establish and maintain year round housing. Specific tasks include coordinating with OMS operators, redesigning the OMS program, adopting regulations and updating operating manuals, forms and standard agreements for year-round housing. Additionally, HCD expects an increase in the monitoring and management of the OMS centers, including additional on-site visits and inspections. HCD also indicates it would need to renegotiate leases for the 24 OMS centers for year round housing, and in some cases, negotiate or purchase water rights to operate year-round housing at the centers. (General Fund)
• Ongoing increased state costs of approximately $4 million annually to operate 24 OMS centers on a year round basis. HCD notes that OMS centers are supported by an annual appropriation of approximately $5.6 million at a 58% occupancy rate for seasonal housing. HCD assumes extending the occupancy period to year round would increase occupancy by 42%, and require a commensurate amount of additional funding to support year round operations, including on-site staffing, utility costs, and associated deferred maintenance projects. (General Fund)
• Unknown, significant one-time costs, potentially in the tens of millions of dollars for HCD to conduct building assessments, engineering designs, and capital improvements to the 24 OMS centers in accordance with health, safety, and habitability standards, including the addition of heating and other upgrades to “winterize” the units, as well as water, well, and wastewater treatment upgrades to accommodate year-round occupancy. (General Fund)
• Unknown state-mandated local costs for certain housing authorities to operate an OMS center on a year round basis, to ensure that all units meet specified health, safety, and habitability standards, and report specified information to HCD on each OMS center, among other things. These local costs would not be state reimbursable because public housing authorities are not eligible claimants under the specified statutory and constitutional provisions regarding state reimbursement for new programs and higher levels of service imposed upon local agencies.

SUPPORT: (Verified 8/15/24)

Alianza Sacramento
American Muslim Voice Foundation
Amigos De Guadalupe Center for Justice and Empowerment
Asian Law Alliance
Bay Area-system Change Not Climate Change
Benito Juarez Foundation
California Environmental Justice Coalition
California Human Development
California YIMBY
Californians for Pesticide Reform
Center for Employment and Training
Cleanearth4kids.org
County of Yolo
East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice
Jewish Voice for Peace-South Bay
Líderes Campesinas
Madera Coalition for Community Justice
Marin Veg
North Bay Jobs With Justice
Poor People’s Campaign
Proteus
Puente De LA Costa Sur
Sacramento Area Black Caucus
Sacramento Environmental Justice Coalition
San Francisco Bay Area National Association of Hispanic Nurses
Siren: Services Immigrant Rights and Education Network
Vision Y Compromiso
West Berkeley Alliance for Clean Air and Safe Jobs
Women's Empowerment

8 individuals

OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/15/24)

California Coalition for Rural Housing
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
Leadership Counsel for Justice & Accountability
Western Center on Law & Poverty

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, “Farmworkers should be treated with dignity and respect reflective of the essential contribution they make to California’s agricultural economy and local communities. AB 2240 ensures that farmworkers and their families are not separated because of outdated policies and that their children’s education is not interrupted. Before modern migratory farmworker housing centers were established, many lived in overcrowded, substandard motel rooms, makeshift shacks, or near orchards and streams without plumbing or safety. In response, in 1965 California provided migrant farmworkers and their families with affordable, seasonal rental housing from April to November.  Today, however, the majority of farmworkers are no longer migratory single men but instead are settled with families. Despite this change, farmworkers still must reside outside of a 50-mile radius of a center for a minimum of three months in order to qualify for migratory farmworker housing. This is devastating to children whose school years do not align with these closures and to families who are required to separate as a condition of residency.”

ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: The California Coalition for Rural Housing, the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, the Leadership Counsel for Justice & Accountability, and the Western Center on Law & Poverty state, “Our experience is supported by the available data that indicates that as much as 13% of farmworkers are migrants.  While that may be a small proportion of the workforce, it still represents between 30,000 and 60,000 workers based on various estimates of the overall farmworker population…. [This bill] would effectively eliminate the migrant housing program in California, leaving our migrant farmworker clients without any source of affordable housing that they can access while working temporarily in an area….It is simply not possible for an OMS center to serve as both temporary and permanent housing at the same time.”  They suggest the following amendments:  (1) give priority in permanent affordable housing units (Joe Serna Jr. Program units) for migrant farmworkers wishing to secure long-term housing; (2) direct HCD to evaluate both the number of days each center is open and to establish opening and closing dates that better correspond to the school year; and (3) study the question of how best to meet the needs of both migrant and non-migrant households. 

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 59-6, 5/21/24

AYES: Addis, Aguiar-Curry, Alanis, Alvarez, Arambula, Bains, Bauer-Kahan, Bennett, Berman, Boerner, Bonta, Bryan, Calderon, Juan Carrillo, Wendy Carrillo, Connolly, Mike Fong, Garcia, Gipson, Grayson, Haney, Hart, Irwin, Jackson, Jones-Sawyer, Kalra, Lee, Low, Lowenthal, Maienschein, McCarty, McKinnor, Muratsuchi, Stephanie Nguyen, Ortega, Pacheco, Papan, Pellerin, Petrie-Norris, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Rendon, Reyes, Rodriguez, Blanca Rubio, Santiago, Schiavo, Soria, Ting, Valencia, Villapudua, Waldron, Ward, Weber, Wicks, Wilson, Wood, Zbur, Robert Rivas

NOES: Davies, Dixon, Essayli, Flora, Gallagher, Sanchez

NO VOTE RECORDED: Cervantes, Chen, Megan Dahle, Vince Fong, Friedman, Gabriel, Holden, Hoover, Lackey, Mathis, Jim Patterson, Joe Patterson, Luz Rivas, Ta, Wallis

Prepared by: Alison Hughes / HOUSING / (916) 651-4124

8/22/24 9:11:52

**** END ****

 THIRD READING  

Bill No: AB 2240

Author: Arambula (D), et al.

Amended: 7/2/24 in Senate

Vote: 21

SENATE HOUSING COMMITTEE: 8-2, 6/24/24

AYES: Skinner, Blakespear, Caballero, Cortese, Menjivar, Padilla, Umberg, Wahab

NOES: Ochoa Bogh, Seyarto

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 4-3, 8/15/24

AYES: Caballero, Ashby, Becker, Bradford

NOES: Jones, Seyarto, Wahab

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 59-6, 5/21/24 - See last page for vote

SUBJECT: Farm labor centers: migratory agricultural workers

SOURCE: Center for Farmworker Families
Food Empowerment Project

Human Agenda
La Cooperativa Campesina De California
Sacramento State Center on Race, Immigration, and Social Justice

DIGEST:

This bill requires all housing units at Office of Migrant Services (OMS) farm labor centers (OMS centers) to be made available for occupancy year-round by migratory farmworkers by January 1, 2031, pursuant to a 6-year transition plan to be developed and implemented by the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) based on reports submitted by farm labor centers.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Defines a “migratory agricultural worker" to mean an individual who:
   1. During the current or preceding calendar year, derived at least 50% of their total annual household earned income from agricultural employment or can produce current evidence of a current job offer in agricultural employment; and
   2. Performs, has performed, or will perform such agricultural labor during the current or preceding calendar year under conditions which require round trip travel exceeding 100 miles per day such that they were unable to return to their chosen place of residence within the same day of labor; and
   3. Has resided together with their immediate family outside a 50-mile radius of the migrant center for at least 3 months out of the preceding 6 month period.
2. Defines a “farm labor center” (hereinafter referred to as OMS centers) to mean any farm labor center (or any part thereof) owned or acquired by a housing authority in the State.
3. Requires a housing authority to admit to occupancy in an OMS center only single persons and families whose principal source of income is derived from agricultural work without regard to whether or not they have low incomes. “Agricultural work” means work performed on a farm or in the handling, packing, processing, freezing, canning, or shipping of agricultural produce of the immediate area.
4. Prohibits a housing authority operating a OMS center to limit occupancy of units for agricultural workers to less than 270 days if the Director of Agriculture certifies that there are seasonal crops that would keep such workers in the immediate area for such time.
5. Allows an OMS center to operate for an extended period prior to or beyond the standard 180-day period after approval by HCD, provided that all of the following conditions are satisfied:
6. No additional subsidies provided by HCD are used for the operation or administration of the migrant farm center during the extended occupancy period, except to the extent that state funds are appropriated or authorized for the purpose of funding all or part of the cost of subsidizing extended occupancy periods;
7. Rents are not to be increased above the rents charged during the standard 180-day occupancy period unless HCD finds that an increase is necessary to cover the difference between reasonable operating costs necessary to keep the center open during the extended occupancy period and the amount of state funds available pursuant to paragraph 1) and any contributions from agricultural employers or other federal, local, or private sources. These contributions shall not be used to reduce the amount of state funds that otherwise would be made available to the center to subsidize rents during an extended occupancy period; and
8. In no event shall the rent during the extended occupancy period exceed the average daily operating cost of the OMS center, less any subsidy funds available pursuant to paragraph a) or b).  With respect to an extended occupancy beyond the standard 180-day period, households representing at least 25% of the units in the center shall have indicated their desire and intention to remain in residency by signing a petition to the local entity to keep the center open for an extended period at rents that are the same or higher than rents during the regular period of occupancy.
9. Requires HCD, prior to approving or denying an early opening or an extension of occupancy of an OMS center or an extension and establishing the rents for the extended occupancy period, to take into consideration all of the following factors:
10. The structural and physical condition of the OMS center, including water and sewer pond capacity and the capacity and willingness of the local entity to operate the OMS center during the extended occupancy period;
11. Whether local approvals are required, and whether there are competing demands for the use of the OMS center’s facilities;
12. Whether there is adequate documentation that there is a need for residents of the OMS center to continue work in the area, as confirmed by the local entity;
13. The climate during the extended occupancy period;
14. The amount of subsidy funds available that can be allocated to each center to subsidize rents below the operating costs and the cost of operating each center during the extended occupancy period;
15. The extended occupancy period is deemed necessary for the health and safety of the migrant farmworkers and their families; and
16. Other relevant factors affecting the migrant farmworkers and their families and the operation of the OMS centers.
17. Provides that the standard occupancy period combined with any extended occupancy period for an OMS center shall not exceed a cumulative operating period of 275 days in any calendar year.
18. Requires HCD, no later than January 1, 2026, to develop a comprehensive strategy to substantially improve policy, funding, and implementation of farmworker housing production in California to adequately address the size and scope of the problems identified in the study, including amendments to the California Statewide Housing Plan.

This bill:

1. Expands the definition of “migratory agricultural farmworker” means an individual who made a qualifying move in the preceding 36 months and, after the qualifying move, meets either of the following conditions:
2. Engaged in new temporary or seasonal employment or personal subsistence in agriculture, including, but not limited to, dairy work or the initial processing of raw agricultural products.
3. Actively sought new temporary or seasonal employment or personal subsistence in agriculture and has a recent history of moves for temporary or seasonal agricultural employment.
4. Defines “qualifying move” as a move that is due to economic necessity and either of the following:
   1. From one residence to another residence that is at least 20 miles away.
   2. From one school district to another school district.
5. Deletes provisions that housing authorities operate an OMS center for no more than 270 days.
6. Provides that all OMS centers operated by a housing authority shall be made available year round for occupancy by migratory agricultural workers by January 1, 2031. Additionally OMS centers shall reserve a sufficient number of units to accommodate those migratory agricultural workers who wish to reside at an OMS center for any period of time less than one year.
7. Requires all OMS centers to comply with all applicable health and safety laws and is habitable, as specified, and require HCD to conduct annual inspections.
8. Prohibits an OMS center from requiring a migratory agricultural worker with a school-age child to move out of their housing during the child’s school year or in a time or manner that is disruptive to the child’s academic year.
9. Requires that a migratory agricultural worker who has entered into a prior residential tenancy agreement for housing at an OMS center to have the right of first refusal of an available unit upon returning to that OMS center for housing following a break in occupancy.
10. Prohibits a migratory agricultural worker from losing their residency if they leave for travel and are paying rent.
11. Requires OMS center to be operated year round by January 1, 2031. Prohibits rents form being increased above the rents charged during the year round period and shall not exceed the daily operating cost of the center.
12. Requires HCD to develop and implement a six-year transitional plan to make all housing centers available year round.
13. Requires each OMS center to send to HCD a report with the following information by January 1, 2025, which shall be aggregated by HCD and sent to the relevant policy committees in the legislature by January 1, 2026:
    
    1. The quantity of housing units at each center with each housing unit individual identified that could made available immediately.
    2. The quantity of housing units at each center with each housing unit individually identified, that requires upgrades to be made available year round, including a description of upgrades needed by unit at each center that includes a scope of work and costs estimates.
    3. A description of the order in which units will be renovated. The upgrade plan shall ensure that no center shuts down more than 30% of the units at any given time by scheduling them to be renovated. To the extent possible, upgrades shall occur when school is not in session.
    4. Information about the regional K-12 schools necessary to determine how long migrant farm labor center housing units may remain open during the six-year plan implementation.

Background

1. Farmworkers. The state lacks enough affordable housing for farmworkers and their families. AB 1654 (R. Rivas, Chapter 638, Statutes of 2022), requires the state to complete a statewide study of farmworker housing conditions, needs, and solutions to inform a comprehensive strategy for meeting the housing needs of the state’s farmworkers. This includes an analysis of the needs of migrant farmworkers. The strategy is due by January 1, 2026.
2. OMS. Since the 1960s, HCD has administered OMS to provide affordable housing to migrant farmworkers. HCD owns farmworker labor centers and contracts with local housing authorities and counties to operate the centers. Counties, housing authorities, and grower associations typically provide land for centers as an in-kind contribution. Child daycare and after-school support services are often available. Tenants are charged a subsidized, affordable daily rent. HCD contracts annually with local operating agencies and provides grants for OMS center operation, paid from the state General Fund and from OMS rental income. There are currently 24 migrant farm labor centers that operate in 15 counties in California that typically house approximately 7,000 farmworkers a year.

Historically, occupancy of OMS centers has been limited to six months, generally between May/April to October/November to accommodate migrant workers who have travelled to California for the growing season and then returned to their country of origin. To live there, individuals must meet an income requirement, prove they work in agriculture, and live at least 50 miles away for three months after the season ends. However, that policy has been changed by the Legislature over the last few years.

In response to concerns that school-aged children living in migrant centers were not able to complete the school year because of the 50-mile rule, SB 850 (Committee on Budget, Chapter 48, Statutes of 2018), allowed migratory agricultural workers with school-aged children to reside within a 50-mile radius of a migrant farm labor center on a year-round basis. Up to 50% of the units in a migrant farm labor centers could be made available to these families. The remaining units were reserved for migratory agricultural workers who require round-trip travel exceeding 100 miles per day, which results in the migratory agricultural worker being unable to return to the workers’ chosen place of residence within the same day of labor. The exemption to the 50-mile year sunset on January 1, 2024. This bill would eliminate the requirement that a migratory farmworker live 50 miles away from the farmworker center at least three months out of the year.

Under the current standard OMS centers remain open for 180 days out of the year, with the option to stay open 270 days with approval from HCD. This bill would eliminate the option for a farmworker center to limit occupancy of units for agricultural workers to less than 270 days. As a result, units in a center could be provided year round to farmworkers and their families. There is not a requirement for centers to set-aside any units for farmworkers who may choose to live temporarily in a farmworker center and travel back to their country to origin for part of the year.

According to demographic data that HCD collects from migrant farmworkers at OMS centers, 66% of residents come from Mexico, 12% from Arizona, 4% from Texas. Seventeen percent come from California. In 2022, approximately 77% of residents reported they owned their own primary residences and 23% were renters. According to a 2022 study from the Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration, which compiled demographic information between 2015-2019, 13% of the farmworkers in California are “migrants” that travelled more than 75 miles to obtain a farm job. According to the author, additional US Department of Labor data shows about 92% of California farmworkers were settled in the state from 2019-2020.

Comments

1. Permanent farmworker housing programs. There are two main state programs that fund permanent housing projects specifically for farmworkers: Joe Serna, Jr. Farmworker Housing Program, and the low income housing tax credit (LIHTC) program.
   1. Joe Serna Jr., Farmworker Housing Program. Administered by HCD, this program funds fund new construction, rehabilitation, and acquisition of owner-occupied and rental units for agricultural workers, with a priority for lower income households. Financial assistance is available as deferred-payment loans for multifamily housing new construction or rehabilitation and grants for single-family new construction or owner-occupied rehabilitation programs. The FWHG program supports development projects involving multiple home ownership units, including single-family subdivisions, for lower-income agricultural employees and their families, and programs that assist lower-income agricultural employees and their families to become or remain homeowners. According to HCD, over the last five years, Serna has funded 56 new farmworker projects with 3,577 new units. Many of these projects are in the same counties as the OMS centers.
   2. LIHTC (Farmworker housing set-aside). Within the LIHTC program, there is a set-aside of $500,000 a year for farmworker housing projects. Until 2018, relatively few funds from the set aside were awarded to farmworker housing projects. AB 571 (E. Garcia, Chapter 372, Statutes of 2019) made significant reforms to encourage developers constructing farmworker housing to apply for specified federal credits by increasing the value of the state credits that would accompany those credits.
2. Land use incentives for farmworker housing. In addition to funding the construction of farmworker units through state programs, the Legislature has sought to make local land use approvals more streamlined for these projects. The Employee Housing Act (EHA) permits privately owned and operated employee housing (typically farmworkers) to be constructed by-right (i.e. ministerially, or without discretionary review by a local jurisdiction). In 2019, the Legislature passed AB 1783 (R. Rivas, Chapter 866), which created a new streamlined, ministerial approval process for agricultural employee housing, that is not dormitory style housing, on land zoned for agricultural uses.
3. This bill. This bill would fundamentally change the OMS centers to be permanent housing from housing intended to be occupied only part of the year, eliminating the requirement for a farmworker to establish they are migrating each year. Specifically, it would require all units at OMS centers to be available year round by migratory farmworkers (now defined to mean a person who moved more than 20 miles away or from one school district to another within the last 36 months and either is engaged in specified temporary or seasonal agricultural work or sought specified temporary or seasonal agricultural work and has a recent history of moves for that employment). In order to achieve this transition, all OMS centers must submit specified information to HCD by January 1, 2025, and HCD must aggregate this information and present it to the Legislature by January 1, 2026.

This bill would require HCD to redesign the OMS program, including adopting regulations and updating operating manuals, forms and standard agreements for year-round housing; renegotiate leases for the 24 OMS centers for year-round housing; and in some cases, negotiate or purchase water rights to operate year-round housing at the centers.  Additionally, HCD indicates it will need to undergo necessary tasks to meet minimum health and safety standards, including but not limited to adding heat and other upgrades to “winterize” the units, and water well and wastewater treatment upgrades to accommodate year-round occupancy.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes

According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

• HCD estimates ongoing administrative costs in the range of $500,000 and $1.2 million annually for increased department staff needs to administer the OMS program, and to develop and implement the six-year plan to establish and maintain year round housing. Specific tasks include coordinating with OMS operators, redesigning the OMS program, adopting regulations and updating operating manuals, forms and standard agreements for year-round housing. Additionally, HCD expects an increase in the monitoring and management of the OMS centers, including additional on-site visits and inspections. HCD also indicates it would need to renegotiate leases for the 24 OMS centers for year round housing, and in some cases, negotiate or purchase water rights to operate year-round housing at the centers. (General Fund)
• Ongoing increased state costs of approximately $4 million annually to operate 24 OMS centers on a year round basis. HCD notes that OMS centers are supported by an annual appropriation of approximately $5.6 million at a 58% occupancy rate for seasonal housing. HCD assumes extending the occupancy period to year round would increase occupancy by 42%, and require a commensurate amount of additional funding to support year round operations, including on-site staffing, utility costs, and associated deferred maintenance projects. (General Fund)
• Unknown, significant one-time costs, potentially in the tens of millions of dollars for HCD to conduct building assessments, engineering designs, and capital improvements to the 24 OMS centers in accordance with health, safety, and habitability standards, including the addition of heating and other upgrades to “winterize” the units, as well as water, well, and wastewater treatment upgrades to accommodate year-round occupancy. (General Fund)
• Unknown state-mandated local costs for certain housing authorities to operate an OMS center on a year round basis, to ensure that all units meet specified health, safety, and habitability standards, and report specified information to HCD on each OMS center, among other things. These local costs would not be state reimbursable because public housing authorities are not eligible claimants under the specified statutory and constitutional provisions regarding state reimbursement for new programs and higher levels of service imposed upon local agencies.

SUPPORT: (Verified 8/15/24)

Alianza Sacramento
American Muslim Voice Foundation
Amigos De Guadalupe Center for Justice and Empowerment
Asian Law Alliance
Bay Area-system Change Not Climate Change
Benito Juarez Foundation
California Environmental Justice Coalition
California Human Development
California YIMBY
Californians for Pesticide Reform
Center for Employment and Training
Cleanearth4kids.org
County of Yolo
East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice
Jewish Voice for Peace-South Bay
Líderes Campesinas
Madera Coalition for Community Justice
Marin Veg
North Bay Jobs With Justice
Poor People’s Campaign
Proteus
Puente De LA Costa Sur
Sacramento Area Black Caucus
Sacramento Environmental Justice Coalition
San Francisco Bay Area National Association of Hispanic Nurses
Siren: Services Immigrant Rights and Education Network
Vision Y Compromiso
West Berkeley Alliance for Clean Air and Safe Jobs
Women's Empowerment

8 individuals

OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/15/24)

California Coalition for Rural Housing
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
Leadership Counsel for Justice & Accountability
Western Center on Law & Poverty

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, “Farmworkers should be treated with dignity and respect reflective of the essential contribution they make to California’s agricultural economy and local communities. AB 2240 ensures that farmworkers and their families are not separated because of outdated policies and that their children’s education is not interrupted. Before modern migratory farmworker housing centers were established, many lived in overcrowded, substandard motel rooms, makeshift shacks, or near orchards and streams without plumbing or safety. In response, in 1965 California provided migrant farmworkers and their families with affordable, seasonal rental housing from April to November.  Today, however, the majority of farmworkers are no longer migratory single men but instead are settled with families. Despite this change, farmworkers still must reside outside of a 50-mile radius of a center for a minimum of three months in order to qualify for migratory farmworker housing. This is devastating to children whose school years do not align with these closures and to families who are required to separate as a condition of residency.”

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 59-6, 5/21/24

AYES: Addis, Aguiar-Curry, Alanis, Alvarez, Arambula, Bains, Bauer-Kahan, Bennett, Berman, Boerner, Bonta, Bryan, Calderon, Juan Carrillo, Wendy Carrillo, Connolly, Mike Fong, Garcia, Gipson, Grayson, Haney, Hart, Irwin, Jackson, Jones-Sawyer, Kalra, Lee, Low, Lowenthal, Maienschein, McCarty, McKinnor, Muratsuchi, Stephanie Nguyen, Ortega, Pacheco, Papan, Pellerin, Petrie-Norris, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Rendon, Reyes, Rodriguez, Blanca Rubio, Santiago, Schiavo, Soria, Ting, Valencia, Villapudua, Waldron, Ward, Weber, Wicks, Wilson, Wood, Zbur, Robert Rivas

NOES: Davies, Dixon, Essayli, Flora, Gallagher, Sanchez

NO VOTE RECORDED: Cervantes, Chen, Megan Dahle, Vince Fong, Friedman, Gabriel, Holden, Hoover, Lackey, Mathis, Jim Patterson, Joe Patterson, Luz Rivas, Ta, Wallis

Prepared by: Alison Hughes / HOUSING / (916) 651-4124

8/18/24 9:07:28

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SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Senator Anna Caballero, Chair

2023 - 2024 Regular Session

AB 2240 (Arambula) - Farm labor centers: migratory agricultural workers

Bill Summary:

AB 2240 would require all housing units at Office of Migrant Services migrant farmworker labor centers (OMS centers) to be made available for occupancy year-round by migratory farmworkers by January 1, 2031. The bill would also require the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to develop and implement a six-year transition plan based on reports provided by OMS centers, as specified.

Fiscal Impact:

• HCD estimates ongoing administrative costs in the range of $500,000 and $1.2 million annually for increased department staff needs to administer the OMS program, and to develop and implement the six-year plan to establish and maintain year round housing. Specific tasks include coordinating with OMS operators, redesigning the OMS program, adopting regulations and updating operating manuals, forms and standard agreements for year-round housing. Additionally, HCD expects an increase in the monitoring and management of the OMS centers, including additional on-site visits and inspections. HCD also indicates it would need to renegotiate leases for the 24 OMS centers for year round housing, and in some cases, negotiate or purchase water rights to operate year-round housing at the centers. (General Fund)
  
• Ongoing increased state costs of approximately $4 million annually to operate 24 OMS centers on a year round basis. HCD notes that OMS centers are supported by an annual appropriation of approximately $5.6 million at a 58% occupancy rate for seasonal housing. HCD assumes extending the occupancy period to year round would increase occupancy by 42%, and require a commensurate amount of additional funding to support year round operations, including on-site staffing, utility costs, and associated deferred maintenance projects. (General Fund)
  
• Unknown, significant one-time costs, potentially in the tens of millions of dollars for HCD to conduct building assessments, engineering designs, and capital improvements to the 24 OMS centers in accordance with health, safety, and habitability standards, including the addition of heating and other upgrades to “winterize” the units, as well as water, well, and wastewater treatment upgrades to accommodate year-round occupancy. (General Fund)
  
• Unknown state-mandated local costs for certain housing authorities to operate an OMS center on a year round basis, to ensure that all units meet specified health, safety, and habitability standards, and report specified information to HCD on each OMS center, among other things. These local costs would not be state reimbursable because public housing authorities are not eligible claimants under the specified statutory and constitutional provisions regarding state reimbursement for new programs and higher levels of service imposed upon local agencies. See Staff Comments.

Background:

Existing law requires HCD, through its Office of Migrant Services (OMS), to assist in the development, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, and operation of migrant farm labor centers, which provide subsidized farmworker rental housing during the peak harvesting season (typically between May and November). HCD contracts with local operating agencies, including housing authorities and counties, for the operation of farmworker centers and provision of specified services, such as education and childcare, for farmworker tenants and their family members. Occupancy in the 24 OMS migrant farmworker centers is generally limited to 180 days, but existing law authorizes HCD to approve extended occupancy periods of up to 275 days in a calendar year under specified conditions, including provisions that limit state subsidies for operations and administration and prohibits rent increases above those charged during the standard 180-day occupancy period, except as specified. HCD provides grants for OMS center operation, paid from the General Fund and OMS rental income. OMS centers currently receive approximately $5.6 million in General Fund support annually.

Historically, occupancy of OMS centers has been limited to six months, generally between April and November to accommodate migrant workers who travel to California for the growing season. To live at a center, individuals must meet an income requirement, prove they work in agriculture and live at least 50 miles away for three months after the season ends. In response to concerns that school-aged children living in migrant centers were not able to complete the school year because of the 50-mile rule, SB 850 (Budget Committee), Chap. 48/2018, allowed migratory agricultural workers with school-aged children to reside within a 50-mile radius of an OMS center on a year-round basis. Up to 50% of the units in an OMS center could be made available to these families, while the remaining units were reserved for migratory agricultural workers who require round-trip travel exceeding 100 miles per day. The exemption to the 50-mile rule sunset on January 1, 2024.

SB 850 also codified the definition of a “migratory agricultural worker” as an individual who meets all of the following criteria:

• Derived at least 50% of their total annual income from agricultural employment during the current or preceding calendar year, or can produce evident of a current job offer in agricultural employment.
• Performs, has performed, or will perform such agricultural labor during the current or preceding calendar year under conditions which require round trip travel exceeding 100 miles per day such that they were unable to return to their chosen place of residence within the same day of labor.
• Has resided together with their immediate family outside a 50-mile radius of the migrant center for at least 3 months out of the preceding 6 month period.

Proposed Law:

AB 2240 would do the following:

• Define a “migratory agricultural farmworker” to mean an individual who made a qualifying move (from one residence to another at least 20 miles away or from one school district to another), and after the move either engaged in or sought new temporary or seasonal employment or personal subsistence in agriculture, and has a recent history of moves for temporary or seasonal agricultural employment.
• Require HCD to develop and implement a six-year transitional plan to make all housing centers available year round, as follows:
  • Require each OMS center to report the following information to HCD by July 1, 2025:
    • The quantity of housing units at each center with each housing unit individual identified that could made available immediately.
    • The quantity of housing units at each center with each housing unit individually identified, that requires upgrades to be made available year round, including a description of upgrades needed by unit at each center that includes a scope of work and costs estimates.
    • A description of the order in which units will be renovated. The upgrade plan shall ensure that no center shuts down more than 30% of the units at any given time by scheduling them to be renovated. To the extent possible, upgrades shall occur when school is not in session.
    • Information about the regional K-12 schools necessary to determine how long migrant farm labor center housing units may remain open during the six-year plan implementation.
  • Require HCD, by January 1, 2026, to aggregate and analyze all reports received from OMS centers, and submit a plan to the Legislature to achieve the 2031 housing goal of operating year round, based on the OMS center reports, as specified.
  • Require HCD to make the plan available on its website.
• Specify that the bill’s requirements only apply to a contract entered into, amended, or extended on or after January 1, 2025 for the operation of an OMS center.
• Delete current provisions regarding specified requirements and occupancy period limits for OMS centers, and instead require an OMS center to be operated year round by January 1, 2031, and prohibit rents form exceeding the daily operating cost of the center.
• Require an entity operating an OMS center to reserve a sufficient number of units to accommodate those migratory agricultural workers who wish to reside at an OMS center for any period of time less than one year.
• Require all HCD and OMS center communications to migratory agricultural workers to be delivered in culturally and linguistically appropriate means, as specified.
• Require an entity operating an OMS center to ensure that each housing unit complies with local health and safety laws and is habitable, as specified.
• Require HCD to conduct annual inspections of each OMS center to determine whether health, safety, and infrastructure standards are properly met.
• Prohibit an entity operating an OMS center from conditioning residency on willingness of a tenant to occupy a unit year round, or preference year round residents over those wishing to rent a unit for less than one year.
• Prohibit an OMS operator from requiring a migratory agricultural worker with a school age child to move out of their housing during the child’s school year or in a time or manner disruptive to the child’s academic year.
• Provide a migratory agricultural worker who has entered into a prior residential tenancy agreement for housing at an OMS center with the right of first refusal of an available unit upon returning to that OMS center for housing following a break in occupancy. Wherever feasible, an OMS center must offer a migratory agricultural worker the option to return to the same unit in which they previously resided.
• Prohibit an OMS center operator from renting a housing unit to a person who is not a migratory agricultural worker, except for the families and dependents of those workers.

Related Legislation:

AB 1654 (R.Rivas), Chap. 638/2022, required HCD to commission a study of farmworker housing conditions, needs, and solutions, which would inform a comprehensive strategy by January 1, 2026 to substantially improve policy, funding, and implementation of farmworker housing production to adequately address the problems identified in the study.

SB 850 (Budget Committee), Chap. 48/2018, allowed immediate family members of a migratory agricultural worker to reside within a 50-mile radius of a migrant farm labor center on a year-round basis. The bill also codified the definition of a migrant farmworker, and allowed, until January 1, 2024, operators of migrant farm labor centers to provide up to 50% of the units for non-migrant agricultural workers with school-age children enrolled in the local school district.

AB 317 (Aguiar-Curry), Chap. 469/2017, required HCD to administer a new fund to assist in the financing, maintenance, and operation of the Napa County Housing Authority’s Farmworker Centers for year-round use by farm labor employees.

Staff Comments:

As noted above, housing authorities that operate OMS centers would incur additional costs to operate an OMS center on a year round basis, to ensure that all units meet specified health, safety, and habitability standards, and report specified information to HCD on each OMS center. Staff notes that these costs would not be state-reimbursable as the Commission on State Mandates (COSM) has previously ruled that housing authorities are not claimants eligible to seek reimbursement from the state for a new program or higher level of service pursuant to article XIII B, section 6 of the CA Constitution, because they are not subject to the taxing and spending limitations of article XIII A and B of the Constitution. (See COSM Case No.: 12-TC-03 Housing Successor Agency Statement of Decision, Adopted May 30, 2014)

-- END --

SENATE COMMITTEE ON HOUSING

Senator Nancy Skinner, Chair

2023 - 2024 Regular

Bill No: AB 2240 Hearing Date: 6/24/2024

SUBJECT: Farm labor centers: migratory agricultural workers

DIGEST: This bill requires all housing units at Office of Migrant Services (OMS) farm labor centers (OMS centers) to be made available for occupancy year-round by migratory farmworkers by January 1, 2031, pursuant to a 6-year transition plan to be developed and implemented by the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) based on reports submitted by farm labor centers.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Defines a “migratory agricultural worker" to mean an individual who:
   1. During the current or preceding calendar year, derived at least 50% of their total annual household earned income from agricultural employment or can produce current evidence of a current job offer in agricultural employment; and
   2. Performs, has performed, or will perform such agricultural labor during the current or preceding calendar year under conditions which require round trip travel exceeding 100 miles per day such that they were unable to return to their chosen place of residence within the same day of labor; and
   3. Has resided together with their immediate family outside a 50-mile radius of the migrant center for at least 3 months out of the preceding 6 month period.
2. Defines a “farm labor center” (hereinafter referred to as OMS centers) to mean any farm labor center (or any part thereof) owned or acquired by a housing authority in the State.
3. Requires a housing authority to admit to occupancy in an OMS center only single persons and families whose principal source of income is derived from agricultural work without regard to whether or not they have low incomes. “Agricultural work” means work performed on a farm or in the handling, packing, processing, freezing, canning, or shipping of agricultural produce of the immediate area.
4. Prohibits a housing authority operating a OMS center to limit occupancy of units for agricultural workers to less than 270 days if the Director of Agriculture certifies that there are seasonal crops that would keep such workers in the immediate area for such time.
5. Allows an OMS center to operate for an extended period prior to or beyond the standard 180-day period after approval by HCD, provided that all of the following conditions are satisfied:
6. No additional subsidies provided by HCD are used for the operation or administration of the migrant farm center during the extended occupancy period, except to the extent that state funds are appropriated or authorized for the purpose of funding all or part of the cost of subsidizing extended occupancy periods;
7. Rents are not to be increased above the rents charged during the standard 180-day occupancy period unless HCD finds that an increase is necessary to cover the difference between reasonable operating costs necessary to keep the center open during the extended occupancy period and the amount of state funds available pursuant to paragraph 1) and any contributions from agricultural employers or other federal, local, or private sources. These contributions shall not be used to reduce the amount of state funds that otherwise would be made available to the center to subsidize rents during an extended occupancy period; and
8. In no event shall the rent during the extended occupancy period exceed the average daily operating cost of the OMS center, less any subsidy funds available pursuant to paragraph a) or b).  With respect to an extended occupancy beyond the standard 180-day period, households representing at least 25% of the units in the center shall have indicated their desire and intention to remain in residency by signing a petition to the local entity to keep the center open for an extended period at rents that are the same or higher than rents during the regular period of occupancy.
9. Requires HCD, prior to approving or denying an early opening or an extension of occupancy of an OMS center or an extension and establishing the rents for the extended occupancy period, to take into consideration all of the following factors:
10. The structural and physical condition of the OMS center, including water and sewer pond capacity and the capacity and willingness of the local entity to operate the OMS center during the extended occupancy period;
11. Whether local approvals are required, and whether there are competing demands for the use of the OMS center’s facilities;
12. Whether there is adequate documentation that there is a need for residents of the OMS center to continue work in the area, as confirmed by the local entity;
13. The climate during the extended occupancy period;
14. The amount of subsidy funds available that can be allocated to each center to subsidize rents below the operating costs and the cost of operating each center during the extended occupancy period;
15. The extended occupancy period is deemed necessary for the health and safety of the migrant farmworkers and their families; and
16. Other relevant factors affecting the migrant farmworkers and their families and the operation of the OMS centers.
17. Provides that the standard occupancy period combined with any extended occupancy period for an OMS center shall not exceed a cumulative operating period of 275 days in any calendar year.
18. Requires HCD, no later than January 1, 2026, to develop a comprehensive strategy to substantially improve policy, funding, and implementation of farmworker housing production in California to adequately address the size and scope of the problems identified in the study, including amendments to the California Statewide Housing Plan.

This bill:

1. Expands the definition of “migratory agricultural farmworker” to mean a person who meets any of the following conditions:
   
   1. During the current or preceding calendar year, derived at least 50 percent of their total annual household earned income from agricultural employment.
   2. Can produce current evidence of a current job offer in agricultural employment.
   3. Is absent from a permanent place of residence for any length of time during the current or preceding calendar year for the purpose of seeking or performing remunerated employment in agricultural work.
2. Deletes provisions that housing authorities operate an OMS center for no more than 270 days.
3. Provides that all OMS centers operated by a housing authority shall be made available year round for occupancy by migratory agricultural workers by January 1, 2031. Additionally OMS centers shall reserve a sufficient number of units to accommodate those migratory agricultural workers who wish to reside at an OMS center for any period of time less than one year.
4. Requires all OMS centers to comply with all applicable health and safety laws and is habitable, as specified, and require HCD to conduct annual inspections.
5. Prohibits an OMS center from requiring a migratory agricultural worker with a school-age child to move out of their housing during the child’s school year or in a time or manner that is disruptive to the child’s academic year.
6. Requires that a migratory agricultural worker who has entered into a prior residential tenancy agreement for housing at an OMS center to have the right of first refusal of an available unit upon returning to that OMS center for housing following a break in occupancy.
7. Prohibits a migratory agricultural worker from losing their residency if they leave for travel and are paying rent.
8. Requires OMS center to be operated year round by January 1, 2031. Prohibits rents form being increased above the rents charged during the year round period and shall not exceed the daily operating cost of the center.
9. Requires HCD to develop and implement a six-year transitional plan to make all housing centers available year round.
10. Requires each OMS center to send to HCD a report with the following information by January 1, 2025, which shall be aggregated by HCD and sent to the relevant policy committees in the legislature by January 1, 2026:
    
    1. The quantity of housing units at each center with each housing unit individual identified that could made available immediately.
    2. The quantity of housing units at each center with each housing unit individually identified, that requires upgrades to be made available year round, including a description of upgrades needed by unit at each center that includes a scope of work and costs estimates.
    3. A description of the order in which units will be renovated. The upgrade plan shall ensure that no center shuts down more than 30% of the units at any given time by scheduling them to be renovated. To the extent possible, upgrades shall occur when school is not in session.
    4. Information about the regional K-12 schools necessary to determine how long migrant farm labor center housing units may remain open during the six-year plan implementation.

COMMENTS:

1. Author’s statement. “Farmworkers should be treated with dignity and respect reflective of the essential contribution they make to California’s agricultural economy and local communities. AB 2240 ensures that farmworkers and their families are not separated because of outdated policies and that their children’s education is not interrupted.

Before modern migratory farmworker housing centers were established, many lived in overcrowded, substandard motel rooms, makeshift shacks, or near orchards and streams without plumbing or safety. In response, in 1965 California provided migrant farmworkers and their families with affordable, seasonal rental housing from April to November. 

Today, however, the majority of farmworkers are no longer migratory single men but instead are settled with families. Despite this change, farmworkers still must reside outside of a 50-mile radius of a center for a minimum of three months in order to qualify for migratory farmworker housing. This is devastating to children whose school years do not align with these closures and to families who are required to separate as a condition of residency.”

1. Farmworkers. The state lacks enough affordable housing for farmworkers and their families. AB 1654 (R. Rivas, Chapter 638, Statutes of 2022), requires the state to complete a statewide study of farmworker housing conditions, needs, and solutions to inform a comprehensive strategy for meeting the housing needs of the state’s farmworkers. This includes an analysis of the needs of migrant farmworkers. The strategy is due by January 1, 2026.
2. OMS. Since the 1960s, HCD has administered OMS to provide affordable housing to migrant farmworkers. HCD owns farmworker labor centers and contracts with local housing authorities and counties to operate the centers. Counties, housing authorities, and grower associations typically provide land for centers as an in-kind contribution. Child daycare and after-school support services are often available. Tenants are charged a subsidized, affordable daily rent. HCD contracts annually with local operating agencies and provides grants for OMS center operation, paid from the state General Fund and from OMS rental income. There are currently 24 migrant farm labor centers that operate in 15 counties in California that typically house approximately 7,000 farmworkers a year.

Historically, occupancy of OMS centers has been limited to six months, generally between May/April to October/November to accommodate migrant workers who have travelled to California for the growing season and then returned to their country of origin. To live there, individuals must meet an income requirement, prove they work in agriculture, and live at least 50 miles away for three months after the season ends. However, that policy has been changed by the Legislature over the last few years.

In response to concerns that school-aged children living in migrant centers were not able to complete the school year because of the 50-mile rule, SB 850 (Committee on Budget, Chapter 48, Statues of 2018), allowed migratory agricultural workers with school-aged children to reside within a 50-mile radius of a migrant farm labor center on a year-round basis. Up to 50% of the units in a migrant farm labor centers could be made available to these families. The remaining units were reserved for migratory agricultural workers who require round-trip travel exceeding 100 miles per day, which results in the migratory agricultural worker being unable to return to the workers’ chosen place of residence within the same day of labor. The exemption to the 50-mile year sunset on January 1, 2024. This bill would eliminate the requirement that a migratory farmworker live 50 miles away from the farmworker center at least three months out of the year.

Under the current standard OMS centers remain open for 180 days out of the year, with the option to stay open 270 days with approval from HCD. This bill would eliminate the option for a farmworker center to limit occupancy of units for agricultural workers to less than 270 days. As a result, units in a center could be provided year round to farmworkers and their families. There is not a requirement for centers to set-aside any units for farmworkers who may choose to live temporarily in a farmworker center and travel back to their country to origin for part of the year.

According to demographic data that HCD collects from migrant farmworkers at OMS centers, 66% of residents come from Mexico, 12% from Arizona, 4% from Texas. Seventeen percent come from California. In 2022, approximately 77% of residents reported they owned their own primary residences and 23% were renters. According to a 2022 study from the Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration, which compiled demographic information between 2015-2019, 13% of the farmworkers in California are “migrants” that travelled more than 75 miles to obtain a farm job. According to the author, additional US Department of Labor data shows about 92% of California farmworkers were settled in the state from 2019-2020.

According to investigative reporting completed by the Sacramento Bee, the number of migrant California farmworkers has decreased significantly over time. The Sacramento Bee interviewed farmworkers living in centers and found that more than 80% of the farmworkers surveyed said they would stay if their units were available year-round. Although the number of farmworkers who migrate each year for the growing season has declined, housing is still necessary for those workers.

1. Permanent farmworker housing programs. There are two main state programs that fund permanent housing projects specifically for farmworkers: Joe Serna, Jr. Farmworker Housing Program, and the low income housing tax credit (LIHTC) program.
   1. Joe Serna Jr., Farmworker Housing Program. Administered by HCD, this program funds fund new construction, rehabilitation, and acquisition of owner-occupied and rental units for agricultural workers, with a priority for lower income households. Financial assistance is available as deferred-payment loans for multifamily housing new construction or rehabilitation and grants for single-family new construction or owner-occupied rehabilitation programs. The FWHG program supports development projects involving multiple home ownership units, including single-family subdivisions, for lower-income agricultural employees and their families, and programs that assist lower-income agricultural employees and their families to become or remain homeowners. According to HCD, over the last five years, Serna has funded 56 new farmworker projects with 3,577 new units. Many of these projects are in the same counties as the OMS centers.
   2. LIHTC (Farmworker housing set-aside). In 1987, the legislature authorized a state LIHTC program to augment the federal tax credit program. State tax credits can only be awarded to projects that also receive federal LIHTCs, except for farmworker housing projects, which can receive state credits without federal credits. Within the LIHTC program, there is a set-aside of $500,000 a year for farmworker housing projects. Until 2018, relatively few funds from the set aside were awarded to farmworker housing projects. AB 571 (E. Garcia, Chapter 372, Statutes of 2019) made significant reforms to encourage developers constructing farmworker housing to apply for specified federal credits by increasing the value of the state credits that would accompany those credits.
2. Land use incentives for farmworker housing. In addition to funding the construction of farmworker units through state programs, the Legislature has sought to make local land use approvals more streamlined for these projects. The Employee Housing Act (EHA) was enacted for the benefit of persons in privately owned and operated employee housing (typically farmworkers) to assure their health, safety, and general welfare, and to provide them a decent living environment. HCD’s Employee Housing Program adopts and enforces statewide regulations for the construction, maintenance, use, and occupancy of privately owned and operated employee facilities providing housing.

The EHA permits the housing to be constructed by-right (i.e. ministerially, or without discretionary review by a local jurisdiction) so long as the housing is in a rural area, the housing accommodations or property are not maintained in connection with any work or workplace, the housing accommodations or property are provided by someone other than an agricultural employer, and the housing accommodations or property are used by five or more agricultural employees of any agricultural employer or employers for permanent or temporary residency. Employee housing may not contain more than 36 beds in a group quarters or 12 units or spaces designed for single family.

In 2019, the Legislature passed AB 1783 (R. Rivas, Chapter 866), which created a new streamlined, ministerial approval process for agricultural employee housing, that is not dormitory style housing, on land zoned for agricultural uses. That approval process was similar to the EHA, except that the developments are not allowed in environmentally unsafe or sensitive areas, provides that the developments must be eligible for state funding; the developments do not contain dormitory-style housing; and eligible developments are subject to specified written, objective development standards.

1. This bill. This bill would fundamentally change the OMS centers to be permanent housing from housing intended to be occupied only part of the year, eliminating the requirement for a farmworker to establish they are migrating each year. Specifically, it would require all units at OMS centers to be available year round by migratory farmworkers (now defined broadly to include a person who can show they work in agriculture, can show half their income comes from agricultural employment, or absent from a permanent residence for any length of time during the year and performing agricultural work). In order to achieve this transition, all OMS centers must submit specified information to HCD by January 1, 2025, and HCD must aggregate this information and present it to the Legislature by January 1, 2026.

According to the Assembly Appropriations analysis, this bill would require HCD to redesign the OMS program, including adopting regulations and updating operating manuals, forms and standard agreements for year-round housing; renegotiate leases for the 24 OMS centers for year-round housing; and in some cases, negotiate or purchase water rights to operate year-round housing at the centers.  Additionally, HCD indicates it will need to undergo necessary tasks to meet minimum health and safety standards, including but not limited to adding heat and other upgrades to “winterize” the units, and water well and wastewater treatment upgrades to accommodate year-round occupancy.

1. Opposition. A coalition of organizations representing both migrant and non-migrant farmworkers are opposed to this bill unless amended. “Our experience is supported by the available data that indicates that as much as 13% of farmworkers are migrants. While that may be a small proportion of the workforce, it still represents between 30,000 and 60,000 workers based on various estimates of the overall farmworker population…. [This bill] would effectively eliminate the migrant housing program in California, leaving our migrant farmworker clients without any source of affordable housing that they can access while working temporarily in an area….It is simply not possible for an OMS center to serve as both temporary and permanent housing at the same time.” They suggest the following amendments: (1) give priority in permanent affordable housing units (Joe Serna Jr. Program units) for migrant farmworkers wishing to secure long-term housing; (2) direct HCD to evaluate both the number of days each center is open and to establish opening and closing dates that better correspond to the school year; and (3) study the question of how best to meet the needs of both migrant and non-migrant households.

Related Legislation:

AB 1654 (R. Rivas, Chapter 638, Statutes of 2022) — required HCD to commission a statewide study on the lack of affordable and accessible farmworker housing. HCD will contract with trusted messengers (such as local non-profits) in farmworker communities to conduct this study. HCD will then use that analysis of the barriers, unmet needs, existing housing conditions, and trends in agricultural employment statewide and regionally to improve policy and potentially increase funding for farmworker housing production.

SB 850 (Committee on Budget, Chapter 48, Statues of 2018) — allowed immediate family members of a migratory agricultural worker to reside within a 50-mile radius of a migrant farm labor center on a year-round basis. Codifies the definition of a migrant farmworker, and upon approval by HCD and until January 1, 2024, allows operators of migrant farm labor centers to provide up to 50% of the units in a labor center to be available for non-migrant agricultural workers provided they have school-age children enrolled in the local school district. Requires annual reporting from operators of migrant farmworker housing centers on demographic data for both migrant and non-migrant agricultural workers in the facility.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Fiscal Com.: Local:

POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on Wednesday,

June 19, 2024.)

SUPPORT:

Food Empowerment Project (Sponsor)
Center for Farmworker Families (Co-Sponsor)
Human Agenda (Co-Sponsor)
La Cooperativa Campesina De California (Co-Sponsor)
Sacramento State Center on Race, Immigration, and Social Justice (Co-Sponsor)
Asian Law Alliance
California Human Development
California YIMBY
Center for Employment and Training
Cleanearth4kids.org
County of Yolo
Jewish Voice for Peace-South Bay
Proteus
Vision Y Compromiso

8 Individuals

OPPOSITION:

California Coalition for Rural Housing
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
Leadership Counsel for Justice & Accountability
Western Center on Law & Poverty

-- END --

ASSEMBLY THIRD READING

ATR Bill Id:AB 2240

Author:(Arambula)

As Amended Ver:May 16, 2024

Majority vote

SUMMARY

Require all housing units at Office of Migrant Services (OMS) farm labor centers to be made available for occupancy year-round by migratory farmworkers by January 1, 2031, pursuant to a 6-year transition plan to be developed and implemented by the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) based on reports submitted by farm labor centers. 

Major Provisions

1. Defines "migratory agricultural worker" or "migratory farmworker" to mean a person who meets both of the following conditions:
2. Has either of the following employment statuses:
3. During the current or preceding calendar year, derived at least 50% of their total annual household earned income from agricultural employment; or
4. Can produce current evidence of a current job offer in agricultural employment.
5. Performs, has performed, or will perform agricultural labor during the current or preceding calendar year under conditions that require round-trip travel exceeding 100 miles per day, such that they were unable to return to their chosen place of residence within the same day of labor.
6. Provides that this definition applies to a contract with an OMS provider entered into, amended, or extended on and after January 1, 2025.
7. Provides that for contracts entered into, amended, or extended after January 1, 2025, this bill does the following:
8. Removes the 275-day limitation on the extended operating period of a migrant farm labor center under contract with HCD through its OMS, and modifies the factors HCD may consider in approving an extension.
9. Prohibits a housing authority operating a farm labor center under the Farm Labor Center Law from limiting the period of occupancy of housing units for agricultural workers, unless approved by HCD. The bill accomplishes this by deleting the 270-day occupancy limitation on agricultural worker housing units.
10. Requires all housing units at farm labor centers operated by housing authorities to be year-round occupancy by migratory farmworkers by January 1, 2031.
11. Requires housing authorities to develop community outreach that provides information regarding year-round housing accessibility as specified.
12. Local housing authorities shall maintain heating, cooling, clean water, sewer pond capacity, garbage, and other systems necessary for the safety and viability of the units.
13. Prohibits farm labor centers from conditioning residency on the willingness of a potential tenant to occupy a unit year-round or preference for year round residents over farmworkers.
14. Prohibits farmworkers with school age children from being required to move out of their housing units during the school year.
15. Provides that farmworkers who have entered into a prior residential tenancy agreement for housing at a farm labor centers at any time prior to January 1, 2026 have the right to return to a center for housing regardless of whether or not a unit is available for occupancy year-round.
16. Provides that farmworkers who have been selected for occupancy in a unit operated by a farm labor center after January 1, 2026 shall have a right of first refusal to occupy any available year-round unit.
17. Requires HCD to conduct an annual inspection of each farm labor center to determine whether health, safety and infrastructure standards are properly met.
18. Prohibits a housing authority operating a farm worker labor center with a contract with HCD entered into, amended, or extended, after January 1, 2025 to limit the period of occupancy of housing units for agricultural units, unless approved by the department.
19. Provides that migrant farmworkers under a housing enter contract shall not lose their residency based on leaving the housing center to travel.
20. Provides that whenever possible migrant farmworkers with school aged children shall not be required to move out of housing during the child's school year or in a time or manner that is disruptive to their child's educational success.
21. Requires HCD to develop and implement a six-year transitional plan to establish and maintain year-round housing for migratory farmworkers at migrant farm labor centers. Requires HCD to begin development of the transitional plan on January 1, 2025, which shall remain in effect until January 1, 2031.
22. Requires HCD by January 1, 2026, to develop reporting guidelines for migrant farm labor centers to assist the centers in determining the following:
23. The number of units that could be open year-round immediately, and the number of units available, or in development;
24. The number of units that require upgrades to be open year-round, including upgrades to heating, cooling, clean water, sewer pond capacity, garbage, and other systems necessary for the safety and viability of the units;
25. Any necessary infrastructure development, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or operation of migrant farm labor centers;
26. Any necessary upgrades, estimated costs, and the order in which units will be renovated;
27. Information on the necessity of developing family units, or dormitory-style units, as may be appropriate, in migrant farm labor centers in any county or counties;
28. The number of individual residents, families, school age children, and migrant farmworkers occupying and utilizing the migrant farm labor centers, and the number of years residents have occupied units at the centers;
29. Information on the regional K–12 schools needed to determine the occupation period for units to remain open during the six-year interim period, including the school year calendar, distance from the center, and any other relevant information; and
30. The number of school age children living in the centers.
31. Requires each migrant farm center, by August 31, 2026, to send a report to the department that includes the information in 15).
32. Requires HCD to publish and make available to the public on its internet website all reports submitted by the centers.
33. Requires HCD to aggregate and analyze all reports from all centers submitted pursuant to subdivision (c), and, by March 1, 2027, shall provide a report to the Assembly Committee on Housing and Community Development and the Senate Committee on Housing that does all of the following:
34. Outlines the funding needed each year to achieve the 2031 year-round housing goal;
35. Prioritizes upgrades at units that are the closest to ready for year-round occupancy ;and
36. Incorporates all potential barriers to achieving the 2031 year-round housing goal, including local objections and permitting issues.
37. Requires HCD to publish and make available to the public on its internet website the report created pursuant to 18).
38. Require HCD, upon completion of the transitional plan and upon appropriation by the Legislature, to implement the plan and ensure that the upgrades identified in the plan to all centers are made to meet the 2031 year-round housing goal.

COMMENTS

OMS: Since the 1960s, HCD has administered OMS to provide affordable housing to migrant farmworkers. HCD owns farmworker labor centers and contracts with local housing authorities and counties to operate the centers. Counties, housing authorities, and grower associations typically provide land for centers as an in-kind contribution. Child daycare and after-school support services are often available. Tenants are charged a subsidized, affordable daily rent. HCD contracts annually with local operating agencies and provides grants for OMS center operation, paid from the state General Fund and from OMS rental income. There are currently 24 migrant farm labor centers that operate in 15 counties in California that typically house approximately 7,000 farmworkers a year.

Historically, occupancy of OMS centers has been limited to six months, generally between May/April to October/November to accommodate migrant workers who have travelled to California for the growing season and then returned to their country of origin. To live there, individuals must meet an income requirement, prove they work in agriculture and live at least 50 miles away for three months after the season ends. However, that policy has been changed by the Legislature over the last few years.

In response to concerns that school-aged children living in migrant centers were not able to complete the school year because of the 50-mile rule, SB 850 (Committee on Budget), Chapter 48, Statues of 2018, allowed migratory agricultural workers with school-aged children to reside within a 50-mile radius of a migrant farm labor center on a year-round basis. Up to 50% of the units in a migrant farm labor centers could be made available to these families. The remaining units were reserved for migratory agricultural workers who require round-trip travel exceeding 100 miles per day, which results in the migratory agricultural worker being unable to return to the workers' chosen place of residence within the same day of labor. The exemption to the 50-mile year sunset on January 1, 2024. This bill would eliminate the requirement that a migratory farmworker live 50 miles away from the farmworker center at least three months out of the year.

Under the current standard OMS centers remain open for 180 days out of the year, with the option to stay open 270 days with approval from HCD. This bill would eliminate the option for a farmworker center to limit occupancy of units for agricultural workers to less than 270 days. As a result, units in a center could be provided year round to farmworkers and their families. There is not a requirement for centers to set-aside any units for farmworkers who may choose to live temporarily in a farmworker center and travel back to their country to origin for part of the year.

Farmworkers: According to investigative reporting completed by the Sacramento Bee, the number of migrant California farmworkers has decreased significantly over time. U.S. Department of Labor data shows about 92% of California farmworkers were settled in the state from 2019-2020. The Sacramento Bee interviewed farmworkers living in centers and found that more than 80% of the farmworkers surveyed said they would stay if their units were available year-round. Only 8% of California's farmworkers were migrants in fiscal years 2019 and 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

The state lacks enough affordable housing for farmworkers and their families. AB 1654 (R. Rivas), Chapter 638, Statutes of 2022, requires the state to complete a statewide study of farmworker housing conditions, needs, and solutions to inform a comprehensive strategy for meeting the housing needs of the state's farmworkers. This includes an analysis of the needs of migrant farmworkers. The strategy is due by January 1, 2026.

Although the number of farmworkers who migrate each year for the growing season has declined, housing is still necessary for those workers. As drafted, this bill would change the OMS centers to permanent housing, eliminating the requirement for a farmworker to establish they are migrating each year. HCD would create a 6-year transition plan to make all housing units at farm labor centers available for occupancy year-round by migratory farmworkers by January 1, 2031.

According to the Author

"Farmworkers should be treated with dignity and respect reflective of the essential contribution they make to California's agricultural economy and local communities. AB 2240 ensures that farmworkers and their families are not separated because of outdated policies and that their children's education is not interrupted.

Before modern migratory farmworker housing centers were established, many lived in overcrowded, substandard motel rooms, makeshift shacks, or near orchards and streams without plumbing or safety. In response, in 1965 California provided migrant farmworkers and their families with affordable, seasonal rental housing from April to November. 

Today, however, the majority of farmworkers are no longer migratory single men but instead are settled with families. Despite this change, farmworkers still must reside outside of a 50-mile radius of a center for a minimum of three months in order to qualify for migratory farmworker housing. This is devastating to children whose school years do not align with these closures and to families who are required to separate as a condition of residency."

Arguments in Support

According to the sponsor, the Food Empowerment Program, "over the years, farm worker demographics have shifted. The majority of farm workers are no longer migratory single men but rather are settled with families. In 2020 only 8 percent of the state's farmworker population identified as migrants. As more families establish themselves generationally and contribute to the communities in which they reside, migratory farm worker housing programs must evolve to serve this new paradigm."

Arguments in Opposition

The Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, Western Center on Law and Poverty, California Coalition for Rural Housing, ad Leadership Council for Justice Accountability raise the following consider with the bill, "The first change is that it makes the housing permanent rather than temporary and seasonal by making the units available to be occupied by farmworker families year-round. If this change were to become law, migrant households, who come to the area in the early spring and leave again in the summer or fall, would find all of the units permanently occupied. They would have no opportunity to live in OMS units because the units would be filled by year-round residents. Even if a migrant family did manage to secure a unit, they would have to continue to pay rent on the unit while not living there in order to maintain the unit the following year. The temporary, seasonal nature of the OMS centers, the key feature of the program's objective of providing housing reserved for migrant households, would be eliminated. The second change is that it eliminates the so-called "50 mile rule," the rule that defines which farmworkers are migrant. Like any program with eligibility requirements, the law must define who is eligible to live in OMS centers, which are limited to migrant farmworkers. The law currently does so in a very sensible way: a migrant farmworker is one who, among other factors, has "resided together with his/her immediate family outside a 50 mile radius of the migrant center for at least three months out of the preceding six month period." It is hard to imagine how one would define "migrant' without describing, as this rule does, what it means to migrate during the year for work."

FISCAL COMMENTS

According to the Assembly Committee on Appropriations:

1. Estimated ongoing General Fund (GF) costs of between $500,000 and $1.2 million annually, phased in over six years, to HCD for increased staffing to administer the OMS program for year-round housing. Specific tasks include redesigning the OMS program, adopting regulations and updating operating manuals, forms and standard agreements for year-round housing. Additionally, HCD expects an increase in the monitoring and management of the OMS migrant farm labor centers (OMS centers), including additional on-site visits. HCD also indicates it would need to renegotiate leases for the 24 OMS centers for year-round housing, and in some cases, negotiate or purchase water rights to operate year-round housing at the centers.
2. Estimated ongoing GF allocation of up to approximately $4 million annually by January 1, 2031, in addition to the current $5.6 million appropriation, for OMS centers to operate year-round housing. On average, the centers are occupied 58% of the year for seasonal housing. This additional allocation would cover costs for year-round on-site staffing at the migrant centers, utility costs, increase in occupancy of the centers, and associated deferred maintenance projects.
3. Estimated one-time GF costs over several years of an unknown amount for building assessments, engineering designs, and capital improvements to the 24 OMS centers. HCD indicates necessary tasks include adding heat and other upgrades to "winterize" the units, and water well and wastewater treatment upgrades to accommodate year-round occupancy.

According to the Legislative Analyst's Office, the General Fund faces a structural deficit in the tens of billions of dollars over the next several fiscal years. 

VOTES

ASM HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: 7-0-2

YES: Ward, Grayson, Kalra, Lee, Quirk-Silva, Reyes, Wilson

ABS, ABST OR NV: Joe Patterson, Sanchez

ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 11-2-2

YES: Wicks, Arambula, Bryan, Calderon, Wendy Carrillo, Mike Fong, Grayson, Haney, Hart, Pellerin, Villapudua

NO: Dixon, Jim Patterson

ABS, ABST OR NV: Sanchez, Ta

UPDATED

VERSION: May 16, 2024

CONSULTANT: Lisa Engel / H. & C.D. / (916) 319-2085 FN: 0003411

Date of Hearing: May 1, 2024

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Buffy Wicks, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 2240

Author:(Arambula) – As Introduced Ver:February 8, 2024

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: Yes

SUMMARY:

This bill removes the limitation on the extended operating period of a migrant farm labor center under contract with the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) through its Office of Migrant Services (OMS).

Specifically, this bill:

1. For contracts entered into, amended, or extended after January 1, 2025, this bill does the following:
2. Removes the 275-day limitation on the extended operating period of a migrant farm labor center under contract with HCD through its OMS, and modifies the factors HCD may consider in approving an extension.
3. Prohibits a housing authority operating a farm labor center under the Farm Labor Center Law from limiting the period of occupancy of housing units for agricultural workers, unless approved by HCD. The bill accomplishes this by deleting the 270-day occupancy limitation on agricultural worker housing units.
4. Defines “migratory agricultural worker” or “migratory farmworker” for purposes of this bill to mean a person who meets both of the following conditions:
5. Has either, during the current or preceding calendar year, derived at least 50% of their total annual household earned income from agricultural employment, or can produce current evidence of a current job offer in agricultural employment.
6. Performs, has performed, or will perform agricultural labor during the current or preceding calendar year under conditions that require round-trip travel exceeding 100 miles per day, such that they were unable to return to their chosen place of residence within the same day of labor.

FISCAL EFFECT:

1. Estimated ongoing General Fund (GF) costs of between $500,000 and $1.2 million annually to HCD for increased staffing to administer the OMS program for year-round housing. Specific tasks include redesigning the OMS program, adopting regulations and updating operating manuals, forms and standard agreements for year-round housing. Additionally, HCD expects an increase in the monitoring and management of the OMS migrant farm labor centers (OMS centers), including additional on-site visits. HCD also indicates it would need to renegotiate leases for the 24 OMS centers for year-round housing, and in some cases, negotiate or purchase water rights to operate year-round housing at the centers.  
2. Estimated ongoing GF allocation of approximately $4 million annually, in addition to the current $5.6 million appropriation, for OMS centers to operate year-round housing. On average, the centers are occupied 58% of the year for seasonal housing. This additional allocation would cover costs for year-round on-site staffing at the migrant centers, utility costs, increase in occupancy of the centers, and associated deferred maintenance projects.
3. Estimated one-time GF costs of an unknown amount for building assessments, engineering designs, and capital improvements to the 24 OMS centers. HCD indicates necessary tasks include adding heat and other upgrades to “winterize” the units, and water well and wastewater treatment upgrades to accommodate year-round occupancy.
4. HCD notes it would need additional staffing if housing authorities decided to operate farm labor centers under the Farm Labor Center law in the future. It is HCD’s understanding there are no farm labor centers currently in operation in the state. 

According to the Legislative Analyst’s Office, the General Fund faces a structural deficit in the tens of billions of dollars over the next several fiscal years. 

COMMENTS:

1. Purpose. According to the author:

Before modern migratory farmworker housing centers were established, many [farmworkers] lived in overcrowded, substandard motel rooms, makeshift shacks, or near orchards and streams without plumbing or safety. In response, in 1965 California provided migrant farmworkers and their families with affordable, seasonal rental housing from April to November. Today, however, the majority of farmworkers are no longer migratory single men but instead are settled with families. Despite this change, farmworkers still must reside outside of a 50-mile radius of a center for a minimum of three months in order to qualify for migratory farmworker housing. This is devastating to children whose school years do not align with these closures and to families who are required to separate as a condition of residency.

1. Background. OMS Centers. Since the 1960s, HCD has administered OMS centers to provide affordable housing to migrant farmworkers. HCD contracts annually with local operating agencies (housing authorities and counties) and provides grants for OMS center operation, paid from the state General Fund and from OMS rental income. Tenants are charged a subsidized, affordable daily rent and child daycare and after-school support services are often available. There are 24 migrant farm labor centers that operate in 15 counties in California that typically house approximately 7,000 farmworkers a year.

Historically, occupancy of OMS centers has been limited to six months, generally between April and November to accommodate migrant workers who travel to California for the growing season. To live at a center, individuals must meet an income requirement, prove they work in agriculture and live at least 50 miles away for three months after the season ends.

In response to concerns that school-aged children living in migrant centers were not able to complete the school year because of the 50-mile rule, SB 850 (Committee on Budget), Chapter 48, Statues of 2018, allowed migratory agricultural workers with school-aged children to reside within a 50-mile radius of an OMS center on a year-round basis. Up to 50% of the units in an OMS center could be made available to these families. The remaining units were reserved for migratory agricultural workers who require round-trip travel exceeding 100 miles per day.

The exemption to the 50-mile rule sunset on January 1, 2024. This bill eliminates the requirement that a migratory farmworker live 50 miles away from the OMS center at least three months of the year.

Under current standards OMS centers remain open for 180 days a year, with the option to stay open 275 days with approval from HCD. This bill eliminates the option for an OMS center to limit occupancy of units for agricultural workers to less than 275 days, meaning units in a center may be provided year-round to farmworkers and their families. It is unclear how OMS centers will accommodate migrant farmworkers as a result of this change.

AB 1654 (R. Rivas), Chapter 638, Statutes of 2022, requires the state to complete a statewide study of farmworker housing conditions, needs, and solutions to inform a comprehensive strategy for meeting the housing needs of the state’s farmworkers. This includes an analysis of the needs of migrant farmworkers. The strategy is due by January 1, 2026.

Farm Labor Centers. Separate from OMS migrant farm labor centers, the Farm Labor Center Law authorizes a housing authority to own and operate a farm labor center to house persons and families engaged in agricultural work. Existing law prohibits a housing authority that operates a farm labor center from limiting an agricultural worker’s housing unit occupancy period to less than 270 days if the Director of Agriculture certifies there are seasonal crops that would keep those workers in the immediate area for that period of time. This bill eliminates the 270-day occupancy limitation and the role of the Director of Agriculture, and instead prohibits a housing authority from limiting the occupancy period of agricultural workers unless approved by HCD. It appears there are no farm labor centers currently in operation in the state. 

Analysis Prepared by: Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: April 10, 2024

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Christopher M. Ward, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 2240 (

Author:Arambula) – As Introduced Ver:February 8, 2024

SUBJECT: Farm labor centers: migratory agricultural workers

SUMMARY: Prohibits a housing authority operating a farm worker labor center with a contract with the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) entered into, amended, or extended, after January 1, 2025 to limit the period of occupancy of housing, unless approved by the department. Specifically, this bill:

1. Defines “migratory agricultural worker” or “migratory farmworker” to mean a person who meets both of the following conditions:
2. Has either of the following employment statuses:
3. During the current or preceding calendar year, derived at least 50% of their total annual household earned income from agricultural employment; or
4. Can produce current evidence of a current job offer in agricultural employment.
5. Performs, has performed, or will perform agricultural labor during the current or preceding calendar year under conditions that require round-trip travel exceeding 100 miles per day, such that they were unable to return to their chosen place of residence within the same day of labor.
6. Provides that this definition applies to a contract with an Office of Migrant Services (OMS) provider entered into, amended, or extended on and after January 1, 2025.
7. Prohibits a housing authority operating a farm worker labor center with a contract with HCD entered into, amended, or extended, after January 1, 2025 to limit the period of occupancy of housing units for agricultural units, unless approved by the department.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Defines a “migratory agricultural worker" to mean an individual who:
   1. During the current or preceding calendar year, derived at least 50% of their total annual household earned income from agricultural employment or can produce current evidence of a current job offer in agricultural employment; and
   2. Performs, has performed, or will perform such agricultural labor during the current or preceding calendar year under conditions which require round trip travel exceeding 100 miles per day such that they were unable to return to their chosen place of residence within the same day of labor; and
   3. Has resided together with their immediate family outside a 50 mile radius of the migrant center for at least 3 months out of the preceding 6 month period. (OMS Regulations)
2. Defines a “farm labor center” to mean any farm labor center (or any part thereof) owned or acquired by a housing authority in the State. (Health and Safety Code (HSC) Section 36055)
3. Requires a housing authority to admit to occupancy in a farm labor center only single persons and families whose principal source of income is derived from agricultural work without regard to whether or not they have low incomes. “Agricultural work” means work performed on a farm or in the handling, packing, processing, freezing, canning, or shipping of agricultural produce of the immediate area. (HSC 36062)
4. Prohibits a housing authority operating a farm labor center to limit occupancy of units for agricultural workers to less than 270 days if the Director of Agriculture certifies that there are seasonal crops that would keep such workers in the immediate area for such period of time. (HSC 36069)
5. Allows a migrant farm labor center to operate for an extended period prior to or beyond the standard 180-day period after approval by HCD, provided that all of the following conditions are satisfied:
6. No additional subsidies provided by HCD are used for the operation or administration of the migrant farm center during the extended occupancy period, except to the extent that state funds are appropriated or authorized for the purpose of funding all or part of the cost of subsidizing extended occupancy periods;
7. Rents are not to be increased above the rents charged during the standard 180-day occupancy period unless HCD finds that an increase is necessary to cover the difference between reasonable operating costs necessary to keep the center open during the extended occupancy period and the amount of state funds available pursuant to paragraph 1) and any contributions from agricultural employers or other federal, local, or private sources. These contributions shall not be used to reduce the amount of state funds that otherwise would be made available to the center to subsidize rents during an extended occupancy period; and
8. In no event shall the rent during the extended occupancy period exceed the average daily operating cost of the center, less any subsidy funds available pursuant to paragraph a) or b). With respect to an extended occupancy beyond the standard 180-day period, households representing at least 25% of the units in the center shall have indicated their desire and intention to remain in residency by signing a petition to the local entity to keep the center open for an extended period at rents that are the same or higher than rents during the regular period of occupancy. Each household shall receive a clear bilingual notice describing the extended occupancy options attached to the lease. (HSC 50710.1)
9. Requires HCD, prior to approving or denying an early opening or an extension of occupancy of a migrant farm labor center or an extension and establishing the rents for the extended occupancy period, to take into consideration all of the following factors:
10. The structural and physical condition of the center, including water and sewer pond capacity and the capacity and willingness of the local entity to operate the center during the extended occupancy period;
11. Whether local approvals are required, and whether there are competing demands for the use of the center’s facilities;
12. Whether there is adequate documentation that there is a need for residents of the migrant center to continue work in the area, as confirmed by the local entity;
13. The climate during the extended occupancy period;
14. The amount of subsidy funds available that can be allocated to each center to subsidize rents below the operating costs and the cost of operating each center during the extended occupancy period;
15. The extended occupancy period is deemed necessary for the health and safety of the migrant farmworkers and their families; and
16. Other relevant factors affecting the migrant farmworkers and their families and the operation of the centers. (HSC 36069)
17. Provides that the standard occupancy period combined with any extended occupancy period for a migrant farm center shall not exceed a cumulative operating period of 275 days in any calendar year. (HSC 36069)
18. Requires HCD, no later than January 1, 2026, to develop a comprehensive strategy to substantially improve policy, funding, and implementation of farmworker housing production in California to adequately address the size and scope of the problems identified in the study, including amendments to the California Statewide Housing Plan. (HSC 50408.5)

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.

COMMENTS:

Author’s Statement: According to the author, “Farmworkers should be treated with dignity and respect reflective of the essential contribution they make to California’s agricultural economy and local communities. AB 2240 ensures that farmworkers and their families are not separated because of outdated policies and that their children’s education is not interrupted.

Before modern migratory farmworker housing centers were established, many lived in overcrowded, substandard motel rooms, makeshift shacks, or near orchards and streams without plumbing or safety. In response, in 1965 California provided migrant farmworkers and their families with affordable, seasonal rental housing from April to November. 

Today, however, the majority of farmworkers are no longer migratory single men but instead are settled with families. Despite this change, farmworkers still must reside outside of a 50-mile radius of a center for a minimum of three months in order to qualify for migratory farmworker housing. This is devastating to children whose school years do not align with these closures and to families who are required to separate as a condition of residency.”

OMS: Since the 1960s, HCD has administered OMS to provide affordable housing to migrant farmworkers. HCD owns farmworker labor centers and contracts with local housing authorities and counties to operate the centers. Counties, housing authorities, and grower associations typically provide land for centers as an in-kind contribution. Child daycare and after-school support services are often available. Tenants are charged a subsidized, affordable daily rent. HCD contracts annually with local operating agencies and provides grants for OMS center operation, paid from the state General Fund and from OMS rental income. There are currently 24 migrant farm labor centers that operate in 15 counties in California that typically house approximately 7,000 farmworkers a year.

Historically, occupancy of OMS centers has been limited to six months, generally between May/April to October/November to accommodate migrant workers who have travelled to California for the growing season and then returned to their country of origin. To live there, individuals must meet an income requirement, prove they work in agriculture and live at least 50 miles away for three months after the season ends. However, that policy has been changed by the Legislature over the last few years.

In response to concerns that school-aged children living in migrant centers were not able to complete the school year because of the 50-mile rule, SB 850 (Committee on Budget), Chapter 48, Statues of 2018, allowed migratory agricultural workers with school-aged children to reside within a 50-mile radius of a migrant farm labor center on a year-round basis. Up to 50% of the units in a migrant farm labor centers could be made available to these families. The remaining units were reserved for migratory agricultural workers who require round-trip travel exceeding 100 miles per day, which results in the migratory agricultural worker being unable to return to the workers’ chosen place of residence within the same day of labor. The exemption to the 50-mile year sunset on January 1, 2024. This bill would eliminate the requirement that a migratory farmworker live 50 miles away from the farmworker center at least three months out of the year.

Under the current standard OMS centers remain open for 180 days out of the year, with the option to stay open 270 days with approval from HCD. This bill would eliminate the option for a farmworker center to limit occupancy of units for agricultural workers to less than 270 days. As a result, units in a center could be provided year round to farmworkers and their families. There is not a requirement for centers to set-aside any units for farmworkers who may choose to live temporarily in a farmworker center and travel back to their country to origin for part of the year.

Farmworkers: According to investigative reporting completed by the Sacramento Bee, the number of migrant California farmworkers has decreased significantly over time. U.S. Department of Labor data shows about 92% of California farmworkers were settled in the state from 2019-2020. The Sacramento Bee interviewed farmworkers living in centers and found that more than 80% of the farmworkers surveyed said they would stay if their units were available year-round. Only 8% of California’s farmworkers were migrants in fiscal years 2019 and 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

The state lacks enough affordable housing for farmworkers and their families. AB 1654 (R. Rivas), Chapter 638, Statutes of 2022, requires the state to complete a statewide study of farmworker housing conditions, needs, and solutions to inform a comprehensive strategy for meeting the housing needs of the state’s farmworkers. This includes an analysis of the needs of migrant farmworkers. The strategy is due by January 1, 2026.

Although the number of farmworkers who migrate each year for the growing season has declined, housing is still necessary for those workers. As drafted, this bill would fundamentally change the OMS centers to be permanent housing, eliminating the requirement for a farmworker to establish they are migrating each year. While there is a need for more affordable housing for farmworkers and their families who permanently reside in the state, there is also a need for housing for migrant farmworkers. This bill does not set a policy as to how the OMS centers will accommodate the needs of migrant farmworkers. The committee may wish to consider if this should be incorporated in the design of this program.

Arguments in Support: According to the sponsor, the Food Empowerment Program, “over the years, farm worker demographics have shifted. The majority of farm workers are no longer migratory single men but rather are settled with families. In 2020 only 8 percent of the state’s farmworker population identified as migrants. As more families establish themselves generationally and contribute to the communities in which they reside, migratory farm worker housing programs must evolve to serve this new paradigm.”

Arguments in Opposition: None on file.

Related Legislation:

AB 1654 (R. Rivas), Chapter 638, Statutes of 2022: Requires HCD to commission a statewide study on the lack of affordable and accessible farmworker housing. HCD will contract with trusted messengers (such as local non-profits) in farmworker communities to conduct this study. HCD will then use that analysis of the barriers, unmet needs, existing housing conditions, and trends in agricultural employment statewide and regionally to improve policy and potentially increase funding for farmworker housing production.

SB 850 (Committee on Budget), Chapter 48, Statues of 2018: Allows immediate family members of a migratory agricultural worker to reside within a 50-mile radius of a migrant farm labor center on a year-round basis. Codifies the definition of a migrant farmworker, and upon approval by HCD and until January 1, 2024, allows operators of migrant farm labor centers to provide up to 50 percent of the units in a labor center to be available for non-migrant agricultural workers provided they have school-age children enrolled in the local school district. Requires annual reporting from operators of migrant farmworker housing centers on demographic data for both migrant and non-migrant agricultural workers in the facility.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

Center for Farmworker Families (Sponsor)

Food Empowerment Project (Sponsor)

Human Agenda (Sponsor)

Sacramento State Center on Race, Immigration, and Social Justice (Sponsor)

Alianza

County of Yolo

Lideres Campesinas

Madera Coalition for Community Justice

Puente De LA Costa Sur

San Joaquin County Office of Education Migrant Education

San Joaquin Delta College Chicanx Latine Faculty Taskforce

San Joaquin Delta College Teachers Association

San Jose Peace and Justice Center

The Diversity Matters Club from Valley Christian High School

Individuals - 19

Opposition

None on file.

Analysis Prepared by: Lisa Engel / H. & C.D. / (916) 319-2085