California bill aims to assure access to opportunity
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By NewsTaco
To hear California State Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia tell it, there’s one statistic that paints a telling picture about her state: every year and estimated 270,000 men turn 18 in California. And there’s one goal on her mind associated with that number: to make sure that those young men don’t fall through the cracks.
What she means is that in order for California to best meet the needs of those 270,000 men they should have access to jobs, training and education. It’s easily said, but much of the work to get those things done lies in the details, the seemingly little things that can delay a young man’s dreams or stop him in his tracks.
This is where Garcia’s Assembly Bill 82 comes into play.
The bill, introduced in January of this year, would make sure that all male California residents have the opportunity to get student loans or apply for jobs with the federal government. The problem in the past has been that many California men lost those opportunities because they were unaware of a federal law that affected their decisions for the future.
It seems like a minor detail, but it’s critically important.
[pullquote][tweet_dis]Federal law requires that all men living in the United States register with the Selective Service when they turn 18.[/tweet_dis][/pullquote]Federal law requires that all men living in the United States register with the Selective Service when they turn 18, but they have through age 25 to do so. At 26 year’s old – it’s too late – a man can never go back and register. This sets up a series of hurdles that will follow these men throughout their lives. If they don’t register, they will almost certainly loose eligibility for federal student loans and grants, access to job training and certification programs, and all federal government jobs and many municipal jobs within the state.
The core of the problem is that many forget to register or, some young men don’t know about the law. So assemblywoman Garcia’s idea is to register them automatically when they get their driver’s licenses. “It would create a one-stop shop,” the Assemblywoman said, “to make sure that males have an increased access to FASFA , training programs, and Federal jobs and other municipal jobs. This bill will help constituents throughout the state and make sure that they do not lose out on these benefits. If they fail to register by the age of 26, they’ve almost certainly lost access to these benefits and opportunities.”
[pullquote]It would create a one-stop shop.[/pullquote]There is, though, a specific group of California men who have a special concern regarding a possible side effect of AB 82 – the undocumented. The federal government requires that all men between 18 and 26 register with the Selective Service regardless of their resident status. But there’s a general distrust among unauthorized residents that their information, given to the California DMV and the U.S. Selective Service, will be shared with other federal agencies. Garcia says there should be no such worry. “There is no information sharing,” Garcia said. “The information that is received by the Selective Service is the first name, last name, address, and date of birth.”
It’s important to note that the Selective Service does ask for a Social Security number, “but it is not required by the individual to provide that number,” Garcia said. “The individual can share the social security number with the Selective Service if they chose to.” Also, there are no instances in which federal immigration officials have contacted the California DMV or the Selective Service for information regarding a person’s residency status.
[tweet_dis]The State of California estimates that at present there are almost 71,000 men between 18 and 26 who have not registered with the Selective Service. [/tweet_dis]The problem, according to Garcia, is that “after 26 years old, the young men become permanently barred from registering. That means that they lose out on all of the Federal benefits.”That, she said, is what she’s trying to avoid.
[Photo by Francisco Osorio/Flickr]
