BILL NUMBER: AB 313 CHAPTERED 10/13/01 CHAPTER 842 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 13, 2001 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 12, 2001 PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 12, 2001 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 12, 2001 AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 30, 2001 AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 20, 2001 AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 18, 2001 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 31, 2001 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 17, 2001 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 1, 2001 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 17, 2001 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Goldberg FEBRUARY 16, 2001 An act to amend Sections 123302 and 123320 of, and to add and repeal Section 123296 of, the Health and Safety Code, relating to maternal and child health. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 313, Goldberg. Women, infants, and children's nutrition. Existing law, the California Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children, under the administration of the State Department of Health Services, provides for the issuance of nutrition coupons, as defined, to certain recipients with nutritional need, as determined by a physician or health professional. This bill would, commencing July 1, 2002, provide, until January 1, 2005, that the nutrition coupons issued under the program shall be redeemable by recipients at any authorized retail food vendor, and would require the department to submit a report to the appropriate committees of the Legislature regarding the implementation of the above provisions. Under existing law, the department is required to include specified information on the nutrition coupons. The bill would require, to the extent feasible, that the specified information provided by the department on the nutrition coupons shall be provided in a form that may be read by optical scanning technology readily available to vendors. This bill would also require the department to report to the Legislature, no later than March 15, 2002, on the feasibility and costs of providing the information in this form. The bill would further require that the specified information shall be provided only to the extent that funds for that purpose are appropriated in the annual Budget Act or another statute. Existing law authorizes the department to design, implement, and fund an electronic benefits transfer (EBT) system for the California Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children. This bill would require the department to develop a plan to determine the feasibility of implementing the EBT system by January 1, 2003, and to report its findings to the Legislature by July 1, 2003. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 123296 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read: 123296. (a) Nutrition coupons shall be redeemable by recipients at any authorized retail food vendor. (b) On or before July 1, 2004, the department shall submit a report to the appropriate committees of the Legislature on the impact of the implementation of this section, including an assessment of the impact of this section on fraud and the integrity of the program. (c) This section shall become operative July 1, 2002. (d) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2005, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2005, deletes or extends that date. SEC. 2. Section 123302 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read: 123302. (a) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the department may design, implement, and fund an electronic benefits transfer (EBT) system for the California Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children. Sections 10066, 10067, and 10068 of, and subdivision (j) of Section 10072 of, the Welfare and Institutions Code, shall apply to the administration of this section. (2) The department may not implement any EBT system authorized by this section until the department completes a feasibility study, and funding for the system is provided in the annual Budget Act. (b) The department shall seek the advice of the Electronic Benefits Transfer Committee, created by Section 10067 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, in implementing this section, and shall obtain the approval of the United States Department of Agriculture, which is the federal governing agency, prior to the establishment of any EBT system. (c) The department shall develop a plan to determine the feasibility of implementing an EBT system for the California Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children by January 1, 2003, and shall report its findings to the Legislature by July 1, 2003. SEC. 3. Section 123320 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read: 123320. (a) The department shall inform the retail food vendors of, and include in the written agreement with the vendors, guidelines consistent with Section 123315, and shall print on each coupon the following: (1) Specific supplemental foods and the quantities thereof for which the coupon may be redeemed. (2) The period of validity of the nutrition coupon. (3) The maximum value for which the nutrition coupon may be redeemed. (b) To the extent feasible, the information required pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be provided in a form that may be read by optical scanning technology readily available to vendors. The department shall, no later than March 15, 2002, report to the Legislature on the feasibility and costs of providing the information in this form. This subdivision shall be implemented only to the extent that funds for its purposes are appropriated in the annual Budget Act or another statute. SEC. 4. By making Section 123296 of the Health and Safety Code operative on July 1, 2002, the Legislature intends to provide the State Department of Health Services sufficient time to ensure that it can monitor where California Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children vouchers are cashed and that the department will have sufficient data to conduct inventory audits to protect the integrity of the program.