BILL NUMBER: AB 69	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Beall

                        DECEMBER 15, 2010

   An act to add Section 18924 to the Welfare and Institutions Code,
relating to public social services.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 69, as introduced, Beall. Senior nutrition benefits.
   Existing federal law provides for the federal Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known in California as CalFresh
(formerly the Food Stamp program), under which nutrition assistance
benefits formerly referred to as food stamps, allocated to the state
by the federal government, are distributed to eligible individuals by
each county. Under existing law, the State Department of Social
Services administers CalFresh at the state level, and has certain
specified duties in that regard.
   This bill would require the State Department of Social Services to
seek a federal waiver, demonstration project, or other authority to
establish a pilot project in 2 areas of the state identified by the
department utilizing existing information maintained by the Social
Security Administration regarding low-income social security benefit
recipients, and to more easily enroll eligible recipients into the
CalFresh program. The bill would specify the department's duties in
connection with establishment of the pilot project.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) Good nutrition is important for all Californians, especially
for seniors, who may suffer from diet-related diseases, may require
food with medication, or who are trying to maintain independence.
   (b) The University of California at Los Angeles estimates that
approximately half a million older Californians living alone are
unable to make ends meet.
   (c) Seniors on a fixed income find it difficult to afford
nutritious food.
   (d) The federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP),
administered in California as CalFresh, should help many of these
vulnerable seniors to meet their nutrition needs. However, only 10
percent of eligible seniors in California participate in the CalFresh
program.
   (e) In California, only 5 percent of social security recipients
eligible for CalFresh participate in the program.
   (f) The federal Social Security Administration has information
that could help easily enroll eligible seniors for CalFresh benefits.
A partnership between the state and the Social Security
Administration to develop a more streamlined approach to enrolling
this population is needed.
   (g) Many states have worked with the Social Security
Administration to establish Combined Application Projects (CAPs) for
other elderly populations, suggesting that similar action for social
security recipients may be successful.
   (h) Enrolling more seniors into CalFresh not only draws more
federal nutrition benefits to California, but also stimulates the
economy. The United States Department of Agriculture estimates that
every dollar in SNAP benefits generates $1.73 in economic activity.
  SEC. 2.  Section 18924 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, to read:
   18924.  (a) The department shall seek a federal waiver,
demonstration project, or other authority to establish a pilot
project utilizing existing information that the Social Security
Administration maintains regarding low-income social security benefit
recipients, to more easily enroll eligible recipients into the
CalFresh program administered pursuant to this chapter.
   (b) In establishing the pilot project described in subdivision
(a), the department shall do all of the following:
   (1) Identify two areas of the state in which to operate the pilot
project, in conjunction with local social security offices.
   (2) Work with the Social Security Administration to develop ways
to target social security recipients eligible for CalFresh benefits.
   (3) Develop a streamlined application process for social security
recipients eligible for CalFresh, which, to the extent feasible,
shall be used to automatically or more easily enroll recipients of
social security, 65 years of age and older, whose incomes qualify
them for aid through the CalFresh program.
   (4) Consider for implementation as a component of the pilot
project strategies used by other states to reduce paperwork and
increase federal nutrition benefits, including, but not limited to,
self-certification of key eligibility factors, standardization of
benefits and deductions, and automation of the application process.
   (5) Consider other strategies to increase CalFresh participation
among existing eligible seniors.