Ban on ‘transient aliens’ in civil office will stay
Brown vetoes bill that would have permitted any resident to serve.
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed legislation Thursday that would have allowed all Californians to serve on state and local boards and commissions regardless of immigration status.
In a short veto message, Brown said he believed “existing law — which requires citizenship for these forms of public service — is the better path.”
Sen. Ricardo Lara (DBell Gardens) and Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo (D-Los Angeles) said they introduced the legislation to address the state’s discriminatory history amid a broader legal battle between California Democrats and the Trump administration over immigration policy.
The proposal would have deleted the phrase “transient aliens” from the government code and made clear that any person, regardless of citizenship or immigration status, could hold an appointed civil office if they were at least 18 years old and a resident of the state.
The phrase is mentioned in an 1872 provision that was first adopted to exclude Chinese immigrants and other foreign-born residents from holding appointed civil positions. At that time, antipathy toward the Chinese had been building in California, though Chinese immigrants opened hundreds of businesses across the state and would play a critical role in building the first transcontinental railroad.
The change would have permitted any Californian to serve on the hundreds of boards and commissions that advise on an array of policy areas, including farm labor, history and employment development.