California Payment of State Income Tax by Undocumented Workers (2012)

From Ballotpedia

Create a five-year program to encourage undocumented workers to pay state income taxes.
Direct the Governor of California to request that federal authorities not spend resources to apprehend, detain, or deport participants, or to prosecute their employers.
Define eligible participants as those undocumented taxpayers who have filed California tax returns for the most recent year, have been California residents since January 1, 2008, consent to background checks, speak or are learning English, and are not felons, suspected terrorists, public charges, or public employees.
Maintain the confidentiality of information gathered from participants.
Complying with the terms of the initiative, if it is passed, will not provide citizenship or amnesty.

Felipe Fuentes and John Cruz, the initiative's sponsors, refer to it as the "California Opportunity and Prosperity Act."

Ballot language

See also: Ballot titles, summaries and fiscal statements for California's 2012 ballot propositions

Ballot title:

Undocumented Immigrants. State Income Taxes. Initiative Statute.

Official summary:

"Creates a five-year program to encourage undocumented workers to pay state income taxes. Directs Governor to request that federal authorities not spend resources to apprehend, detain, or deport participants, or to prosecute their employers. Defines eligible participants as those undocumented taxpayers who have filed California tax returns for the most recent year, have been California residents since January 1, 2008, consent to background checks, speak or are learning English, and are not felons, suspected terrorists, public charges, or public employees. Maintains confidentiality of information gathered from participants. Does not provide citizenship or amnesty."

Fiscal impact estimate:

"Unknown net change in annual state tax revenues through 2017-18, but probably without a significant impact on overall General Fund revenues. Annual state administrative costs through 2017-18 in the hundreds of thousands or low millions of dollars, supported by required participant fees."

Path to the ballot

See also: California signature requirements

Felipe Fuentes and John Cruz submitted a letter requesting a ballot title on December 2, 2011.
The ballot title and ballot summary were issued by the Attorney General of California's office on February 2, 2012.
504,760 valid signatures are required for qualification purposes.
The 150-day circulation deadline for #11-0089 is July 2, 2012.
However, to qualify for the November 6, 2012 ballot, signatures must be submitted earlier than the initiative's 150-day deadline. If the number of signatures submitted is such that the full-check verification method must be deployed, the signatures would have had to be turned in by March 2, 2012. For the random sampling method, signatures would have to be submitted by late April.