BILL NUMBER: SR 50ENROLLED BILL TEXT ADOPTED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 10, 2015 ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 4, 2015 INTRODUCED BY Senators De Len, Allen, Beall, Block, Hall, Hernandez, Hill, Hueso, Lara, Leyva, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Pan, and Pavley SEPTEMBER 4, 2015 Relative to California-Mexico relations LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST HOUSE OR SENATE RESOLUTIONS DO NOT CONTAIN A DIGEST WHEREAS, On July 29, 2015, Senator Kevin de Len, in his position of President pro Tempore of the California State Senate, signed a letter of cooperation with Luis Miguel Gernimo Barbosa Huerta, President of the Senate of the Honorable Congress of Mexico, setting forth their mutual intent to establish ongoing mechanisms for collaboration to tackle shared problems and needs between Mexico and California in appreciation of their governments' historical bonds and rising commercial exchanges; and WHEREAS, No fewer than 11.5 million individuals of Mexican origin live in California and have been benefited from state laws sharing various benefits of life in California, including, but not limited to, education, health, legal assistance, and the issuance of state driver's licenses and professional work licenses, regardless of the documented status of those individuals; and WHEREAS, In recent years, the rising number of Mexicans deported from the United States of America to Mexico has led to grave consequences for vulnerable populations, including, among others, minors born in the United States of America who face barriers accessing the child welfare and education systems without their parents; and WHEREAS, The governments of California and Mexico are actively handling the challenge of ensuring that minors impacted by their parents' return to Mexico are expeditiously placed in schools under the best circumstances possible; and WHEREAS, A rising number of studies conducted by both the federal government of the United States of America and Mexico focus on better understanding the barriers to the reinsertion of migrant minors and young people into the school system and propose solutions to ensure educational opportunities for this vulnerable population; and WHEREAS, Climate change and air pollution cause severe harm to public health and the environment, and these effects equally flow between the borders of Mexico, California, and the rest of the United States of America; and WHEREAS, The economic benefits and job creation resulting from the development and use of clean energy and energy efficient machinery have been proven by experts at the University of California and the National Autonomous University of Mexico; and WHEREAS, California and Mexico are rich in clean energy and resources that help mitigate climate change, including, among others, wind and solar energy; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, That the Senate agrees to cooperate with its best efforts to encourage between the Senate and the government of Mexico all of the following: (a) Sharing methods to measure the scope of the problems faced by minors who, because they are migrants, do not have access to education. (b) Sharing success stories regarding reinsertion of migrant minors into the school system. (c) Promoting the importance of safeguarding biculturalism as a value that contributes to the formation of human capital. (d) Providing psychological and emotional support and other necessary services to migrant minors. (e) Producing programs to train bilingual teachers. (f) Updating mechanisms for bilingual cooperation, including, among others, the Binational Migrant Education Program, "PROBEM," and the Binational Migrant Education Teacher Exchange Program. (g) Exchanging information on public health, the environment, the economy in the border region, and the regional impacts of climate change, air pollution, and other important effects of greenhouse gases. (h) Establishing and coordinating technological exchanges regarding clean energy and fuels, improved energy efficiency, and other key elements of programs promoting the reduction of greenhouse gas effects and increasing investment in clean energy. (i) Promoting partnerships to expand and deepen regional cooperation for the purpose of reducing greenhouse gas effects and pollution. (j) Encouraging academic cooperation and the exchange of information to better document the impact of climate change and the actions needed to adapt to this impact on both sides of the border. (k) Promoting crossborder investment to increase the use of clean energy and cleaner transportation options. (l) Recommending legislation, in both California and Mexico, to address the circumstances described in this resolution; and be it further Resolved, That the Senate shall actively participate in meetings with the government of Mexico for the purpose of presenting and discussing programs, projects, and legislation addressing the circumstances described in this resolution by designating representatives of the Senate to attend those meetings and report the resulting recommendations to the Senate; and be it further Resolved, That the President pro Tempore of the Senate may select the Senators who will attend meetings with the government of Mexico and report the results to the Senate; and be it further Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.