Over the weekend, California Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 1159, which authorizes agencies to accept tax identification numbers (TIN) in lieu of social security numbers (SSN) from individuals applying for professional licensure, and prohibits the denial of licensure applications based on citizenship status or immigration status.
Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of various professions and vocations by boards within the Department of Consumer Affairs, among other licensing bodies. Existing law requires those licensing bodies to require a licensee, at the time of issuance of the license, to provide its federal employer identification number if the licensee is a partnership, or his or her social security number for all other licensees. Existing law requires those licensing bodies to report to the Franchise Tax Board any licensee who fails to provide the federal employer identification number or social security number, and subjects the licensee to a penalty for failing to provide the information after notification, as specified.
This bill, no later than January 1, 2016, would require those licensing bodies to require an applicant to provide either an individual tax identification number or social security number if the applicant is an individual. The bill would require the licensing bodies to report to the Franchise Tax Board, and subject a licensee to a penalty, for failure to provide that information, as described above. The bill would prohibit, except as specified, any entity within the department from denying licensure to an applicant based on his or her citizenship status or immigration status. The bill would require every board within the department to implement regulatory and procedural changes necessary to implement these provisions no later than January 1, 2016, and would authorize implementation at any time prior to that date. The bill would make other conforming changes.
Gov. Brown also signed two other immigration bills: SB 1159, which authorizes the creation of the California DREAM Loan Program; and, SB 873, which authorizes the funding of nonprofit organizations to provide legal services to unaccompanied minors.
