BILL NUMBER: AB 433 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Beall
FEBRUARY 16, 2007
An act to add Sections 18900.1 and 18901.55 to the Welfare and
Institutions Code, relating to food stamps.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 433, as introduced, Beall. Food Stamp Program: categorical
eligibility.
Existing law provides for the Food Stamp Program, under which each
county distributes food stamps provided by the federal government to
eligible households, and the CalWORKs program, under which each
county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified
low-income families and individuals.
This bill would require the State Department of Social Services to
propose a new name for the Food Stamp Program in California, and to
convene with a diverse group of stakeholders to develop the new name.
The bill would require the new name to reflect one or more
designated concepts relating to the operation and significance of the
program.
Existing law also provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is
administered by the State Department of Health Care Services,
pursuant to which medical benefits are provided to public assistance
recipients and other low-income persons.
Under existing law, the State Department of Social Services is
required to develop a program of categorical eligibility under the
Food Stamp Program for persons receiving certain cash assistance for
indigent persons.
This bill would require the department to establish a similar
categorical eligibility program for recipients of benefits under the
Medi-Cal program, when those individuals will be receiving or are
eligible to receive benefits or services funded under the federal
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant. The bill
would require the department to establish the program by July 1,
2008, and to fully implement it as to new food stamp applicants by
January 1, 2009.
Because counties administer the Food Stamp Program, this bill
would increase county duties by potentially extending the period of
eligibility for these programs for certain recipients, and would
thereby impose a state-mandated local program.
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.
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.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Poor nutrition threatens the health of over two million
California children who are hungry or food insecure.
(b) According to the United States Department of Agriculture,
California has the lowest food stamp participation rate in the
country, with over two million eligible Californians not receiving
nutrition benefits.
(c) The average food stamp benefit in California is $97 a month
per person. Enrolling these two million eligible Californians in the
program could result in as much as $2 billion in federal benefits to
the state.
(d) Research shows that federal food stamp benefits help farmers,
grocers, and the local economy, and have the potential to reduce
future health costs associated with diet-related diseases.
(e) The United States Department of Agriculture reports that over
39 states use an option of expanded categorical eligibility to
increase participation and reduce administration in the Food Stamp
Program.
(f) Many recipients of Medi-Cal in California do not receive food
stamps. The state could extend categorical eligibility to cover this
Medi-Cal population, to make it easier for recipients to enroll in
the Food Stamp Program.
(g) The strategies contained in this act will improve health,
remove administrative barriers, and increase the amount federal
nutrition resources coming to California.
(h) The Food Stamp Program has undergone changes over the past
several years, including all of the following:
(1) Benefits are now delivered by an electronic benefit card, and
have not been provided in the form of stamps for many decades.
(2) The majority of food stamp recipient households do not receive
cash assistance, and are headed by working adults.
(3) There is growing interest in using food stamp benefits to
support healthy food purchases by low-income people to reduce the
incidence of obesity.
(i) Many low-income Californians view the food stamp program as a
"welfare" program and not a health and nutrition program. As a
result, participation in the program is reduced.
(j) Given all these changes to the program, the program's
perception, the program problems, and the need to connect the program
to health and agriculture, the time is right for a new name for the
Food Stamp Program in California.
SEC. 2. Section 18900.1 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, to read:
18900.1. (a) The State Department of Social Services shall
propose a new name for the Food Stamp Program in California, by July
1, 2008. The department shall convene stakeholders to develop the new
name, as provided in subdivision (b). The new name shall reflect one
or more of the following concepts:
(1) That food stamps are no longer delivered by stamps.
(2) That food stamps support healthy living.
(3) That food stamps are important to agriculture in California.
(4) That food stamps would be better viewed as a health and
nutrition program than as a welfare program.
(b) The department shall convene a diverse group of stakeholders
to develop the new name, including representatives from agencies
working to improve health and reduce diet-related illnesses.
(c) The department is encouraged to test the impact the new name
would have on improving the perception of the program among
low-income residents, and on increasing program participation.
SEC. 3. Section 18901.55 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, to read:
18901.55. (a) The department shall establish a program of
categorical eligibility for food stamps, in accordance with
subdivision (a) of Section 5 of the federal Food Stamp Act (7 U.S.C.
Sec. 2014(a)), and implementing regulations, for any individual
receiving medical assistance under Chapter 7 (commencing with Section
14000) of Part 3 when the individual is a member of a household that
will be receiving or is eligible to receive specified benefits or
services, such as a referral form, funded by the federal Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families block grant, as provided in Part A
(commencing with Section 401) of Title IV of the federal Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 601 et seq.). The program may include
other applicants for food stamps, but shall include only those
households eligible for benefits equal to or greater than the minimum
federal food stamp benefit.
(b) The director shall implement the program established pursuant
to this section only with the appropriate federal authorization, and
if implementation would not result in the loss of federal financial
participation.
(c) The program authorized by this section shall be established no
later than July 1, 2008, and shall be fully implemented as to new
applicants for food stamps by January 1, 2009. Thereafter, counties
shall make reasonable efforts to review existing Medi-Cal cases to
identify individuals who could benefit from the program of
categorical eligibility. Nothing shall preclude a county from
undertaking these reviews prior to January 1, 2009.
SEC. 4. 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.