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Board backs 'Safety Net for All' (SB 227) resolution to create excluded‑workers program
Summary
The Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution supporting state bill SB 227 ("Safety Net for All") to create a program offering unemployment benefits to undocumented workers who paid into the system, and Supervisor Hillary Ronan said the measure would return benefits to workers who contributed.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on March 7 adopted a resolution supporting California Senate Bill 227 (Safety Net for All), a proposal to create an excluded‑workers program to extend unemployment benefits to undocumented workers who paid into the unemployment insurance system.
Supervisor Hillary Ronan presented the resolution and framed it as an equity measure. "Undocumented workers contribute hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars, into our unemployment system. Yet when they lose their jobs and find themselves without work, they don't get to receive a penny of that hard‑earned money," Ronan said. She asked colleagues to support the resolution urging state lawmakers to enact the excluded‑workers program.
Supporters in the public record
Community advocates and workers' organizations, including multiple labor and immigrant groups, called on the board to support SB 227 and the 'safety net for all' concept. Speakers emphasized that many undocumented workers paid payroll taxes and contributed to state benefit systems but are not eligible for benefits when unemployed.
Board action
The board took the item up as part of the adoption‑without‑committee calendar. Supervisor Ronan moved the resolution and the board adopted it under the "same house, same call" procedure. Supervisor Melgar asked to be added as a cosponsor during the discussion; no roll‑call tally was recorded in the discussion transcript for item 36 beyond the clerk's announcement that the resolution was adopted.
What SB 227 would do (as described by advocates)
Advocates and the resolution describe SB 227 as establishing a state program to provide unemployment benefits to excluded workers—people lawfully present and not lawfully present—who paid into unemployment insurance but were excluded from receiving benefits because of immigration status. The board's resolution is a statement of support to the state legislature and does not itself implement the program.
Speakers quoted in this summary appear in the meeting transcript and public comment record.
