BILL NUMBER: AB 69	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 30, 2011
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 27, 2011

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Beall
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Ammiano, Butler, Fuentes, and
Swanson)

                        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 amended, 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  , commencing July 1, 2012,  would require the
State Department of Social Services, to the extent permitted by
federal law or other specified federal authority, to allow counties
that satisfy certain criteria to simplify enrollment into CalFresh
for potentially eligible low-income social security benefit
recipients, utilizing existing information maintained by the Social
Security Administration regarding these recipients. The bill would
specify the department's duties in support of the enrollment efforts
described in the bill.
   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) To the extent permitted by federal law, waiver,
demonstration project, or other federal authority, the department
shall allow counties to utilize existing information maintained by
the federal Social Security Administration regarding low-income
social security benefit recipients, to simplify enrollment into the
CalFresh program administered pursuant to this chapter, provided that
an interested county has either the existing capacity to receive
that information, or the ability to adapt its existing automation
systems without  costs or  significant changes 
or costs to the state or county  .
   (b) The department shall support enrollment efforts pursuant to
this section by doing all of the following:
   (1) Working with the Social Security Administration to target
social security recipients 60 years of age and older whose income and
other factors are likely to qualify them for aid through CalFresh.
   (2) Developing a streamlined application and simplified enrollment
process for likely eligible recipients, which may include 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.
   (3) Seeking waivers, grants, or other federal authority and
support necessary to implement this section. 
   (c) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2012.