Via OC Register:

Subsidized health care, discrimination ban, Office of New Americans and more: Lawmakers want to further protect immigrants

The same California legislators who helped get undocumented residents drivers licenses unveiled a package Tuesday of 10 bills that would also provide them with subsidized health care and other benefits, including protection from fraud and discrimination.

Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles, said the flurry of bills “unequivocally state California’s commitment to immigrants.”

During a news conference in Sacramento, de León and others switched between English and Spanish to tout the proposed laws they said mark a “historic moment” for the state.

One proposal was floated last year: a bill by Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens, that would extend Medi-Cal health care coverage to all Californians, regardless of their immigration status.

The original tab for that proposal was $1.3 billion. A spokesman for Lara said Tuesday the cost could be $200 million to $400 million less if the federal government grants waivers to undocumented immigrants who want to purchase private health insurance through the state’s health care exchange.

De León could not say how the state would pay for the extended health care program.

Other bills recently introduced and announced Tuesday would:

• Ban businesses from discriminating against residents based on their immigration status, citizenship or language.

• Create an Office of New Americans in the governor’s office to coordinate efforts on immigration relief, naturalization services and civic engagement efforts.

• Protect Californians from immigration attorneys and consultants who demand advance payment for services and require that clients be provided a toll-free number they can call to report them to the State Bar of California in cases of fraud.

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