Senator Gonzalez's proposal to establish California's ninth state agency, the Immigrant and Refugee Affairs Agency, aims to centralize and coordinate services for immigrant and refugee communities across the state. The new agency would operate under a governor-appointed, Senate-confirmed secretary and house the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs, led by a renamed Statewide Director of Immigrant and Refugee Integration.

The legislation outlines specific duties for the office, including developing strategic plans, evaluating existing programs' accessibility, coordinating integration efforts among state agencies, and administering grant programs for capacity building. The office would maintain an online clearinghouse of resources and provide biannual reports to the Legislature on integration goals and challenges. The bill creates an Immigrant and Refugee Integration Fund in the State Treasury, with expenditures subject to legislative appropriation.

The measure includes provisions to protect immigrant and refugee privacy, restricting interagency information sharing to demographic data only and prohibiting the agency from participating in immigration enforcement activities. It also transfers relevant properties, funds, and personnel from existing offices to the new agency while preserving civil service protections for transferred employees. By January 2026, the director must present a comprehensive report to the Governor and Legislature on programs serving immigrants and refugees, along with recommendations for improved coordination of assistance policies.