The law is part of a broader effort to expand immigrant rights in strongly Democratic California, where 2.6 million people - most of them Latino - lack legal status, according to a recent study by the University of Southern California.
About 38 percent of California's population of 38 million is of Hispanic descent, state figures show, representing a potentially enormous number of voters with an interest in immigrant issues.
The move by California stands in stark contrast to policy in states like neighboring Arizona, long at odds with Washington over immigration reform. Earlier this month, Arizona widened its ban on licenses for illegal immigrants, including those granted temporary relief from deportation.
California, where two decades ago voters sought to bar illegal immigrants from public services including education, now allows college students brought to the United States as children to pay in-state tuition at California public universities to help defray the costs of higher education.
Bills awaiting the governor's signature would allow non-citizens to serve on juries, let undocumented immigrants practice law, and make it illegal for employers to retaliate against workers by threatening to report them to immigration authorities.
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