BILL NUMBER: AB 2205 CHAPTERED 09/16/04 CHAPTER 555 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 16, 2004 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 16, 2004 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 25, 2004 PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 23, 2004 AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 17, 2004 AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 21, 2004 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 20, 2004 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 21, 2004 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Oropeza FEBRUARY 18, 2004 An act to add and repeal Article 4 (commencing with Section 8228) of Chapter 2 of Part 6 of the Education Code, relating to child care, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2205, Oropeza. California Helping Heroes Child Care Program. Existing law authorizes funds appropriated for the purposes of the Child Care and Development Services Act to be used for alternative payment programs to allow for maximum parental choice. Existing law prescribes the administration, eligibility criteria, and payment arrangements for alternative payment programs. This bill would establish the California Helping Heroes Child Care Program to provide child care to families who have one or more parents deployed to Iraq by the armed services and who meet eligibility criteria. This bill would require that the program be administered by the State Department of Education in conformance with the laws regulating alternative payment programs, except those provisions regarding funding priorities. This bill would make the implementation of the program contingent upon the availability of specified funding. By imposing additional duties on local agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would also authorize the State Department of Education to adopt regulations to implement these provisions. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement, including the creation of a State Mandates Claims Fund to pay the costs of mandates that do not exceed $1,000,000 statewide and other procedures for claims whose statewide costs exceed $1,000,000. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Article 4 (commencing with Section 8228) is added to Chapter 2 of Part 6 of the Education Code, to read: Article 4. California Helping Heroes Child Care Program 8228. (a) There is hereby established the California Helping Heroes Child Care Program to provide child care to California families who have one or more parents deployed outside of their local area by the armed services. The program shall be administered by the State Department of Education, and shall be implemented only if federal funding is made available for these purposes. These funds shall be deposited in the Fund For Child Care For Deployed Military, which is hereby established in the State Treasury. (b) Any California resident who is serving in the active military, reserves, or National Guard, has been deployed to Iraq, and meets income eligibility criteria pursuant to Section 8263.1, is eligible for a child care voucher pursuant to this article. (c) Families who received child care prior to the deployment of the parent are eligible only for the cost of any additional hours of care that resulted from the deployment. (d) A family is ineligible for a child care voucher under this section if it receives child care services from the United States military. (e) Child care vouchers provided by this program shall be administered in accordance with the Alternative Payment Program established pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 8220) except that the funding priorities set forth in Section 8263 that are made applicable to alternative payment programs pursuant to Section 8220 do not apply to the program. (f) The State Department of Education may adopt regulations to implement this article. The adoption, amendment, or repeal of a regulation authorized by this section is hereby exempted from the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code). (g) For the purposes of this article, "deployed" means activated to serve in an active military operation or national emergency. (h) All other applicable provisions of this chapter apply to this program. (i) This article shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2010, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute that is enacted before January 1, 2010, deletes or extends that date. SEC. 2. Notwithstanding Section 17610 of the Government Code, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code. If the statewide cost of the claim for reimbursement does not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000), reimbursement shall be made from the State Mandates Claims Fund. SEC. 3. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are: In order to ensure the immediate implementation of a program to provide adequate child care for persons on active duty with the military, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.