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California closes thousands of farmworkers’ homes annually. New law explores keeping them open

Thousands of California migrant farmworkers are required to leave their housing annually, leaving units empty for months — but a new law might change that.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2240 Wednesday afternoon instructing the state to explore keeping its 24 migrant farmworker housing complexes open year-round. These seasonal centers have existed since the 1970s and have continued to operate on the same schedule, even as the needs and demographics of farmworkers have changed significantly.