BILL NUMBER: AB 643	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 1, 2009

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Skinner

                        FEBRUARY 25, 2009

   An act to  add Section 18901.11 to   amend
Section 11053 of  the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to
 food stamps   publ   ic social
services  .


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 643, as amended, Skinner.  Food stamps: benefits
transfers.   Public aid programs: eligibility: change of
residence. 
   Existing law establishes a statewide program to enable eligible
low-income persons to receive food stamps under the federal Food
Stamp Program. Existing law requires counties to implement the
program, including determining eligibility and distributing food
stamps. 
    Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, administered by
the State Department of Health Care Services, under which qualified
low-income persons are provided with health care services.  

   Under existing law, a recipient of aid, as defined, who is
changing residence from one county to another within the state is
required to promptly notify the county paying aid to the recipient of
the move, and to apply for a redetermination of eligibility within
the new county of residence. Existing law imposes various
requirements on the relevant counties, including requiring the county
to which the recipient has moved to determine the recipient's
continued eligibility for payment of aid and, to the extent possible,
the recipient's eligibility for the Medi-Cal program. 
   This bill would  provide, to the extent permitted by
federal law, that the food stamp benefits of a recipient who moves
from one county to another be transferred from the former county to
the new county, without the recipient having to file a new
application and in a manner that provides uninterrupted continued
benefits to the recipient   specify that aid, for
purposes of the provisions relating to a recipient's change of
residence, includes benefits under the Food Stamp Program  .

   By expanding 
    To the extent that it would increase  the duties of
county officials that administer  public aid programs, including
the Medi-Cal program and  the federal Food Stamp Program, this
bill would 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.    Section 11053 of the   Welfare
and Institutions Code   is amended to read: 
   11053.   (a)    It shall be the responsibility
of a recipient changing residence from one county to another within
the state to promptly notify the county paying aid to the recipient
of the move and to apply for a redetermination of eligibility within
the new county of residence. The first county shall notify the second
county of the recipient's move as soon as the recipient's location
in the second county is known. The county to which the recipient has
moved  will   shall  be responsible for
determining the recipient's continued eligibility for payment of aid
and, to the extent possible, as determined by the Director of Health
 Care  Services, eligibility for the Medi-Cal program, as of
the first day of the month following 30 days after the first county
has notified the second county of the recipient's relocation. The
first county shall provide the second county with copies of those
documents, as specified by the department, necessary to establish
current eligibility and grant amount. 
   (b) Notwithstanding Section 10052, or purposes of this section,
"aid" includes benefits paid pursuant to Article 9 (commencing with
Section 18900) of Chapter 10 of Part 6.  
  SECTION 1.    Section 18901.11 is added to the
Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:
   18901.11.  To the extent permitted by federal law, a food stamp
recipient who moves from one county in this state to another county
in this state shall have his or her benefits transferred from the
former county to the new county without the recipient having to file
a new application. The transfer shall occur in a manner that provides
uninterrupted continued benefits to the recipient under the Food
Stamp Program. 
  SEC. 2.  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.