BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE HUMAN
SERVICES COMMITTEE
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
BILL NO: AB 69
A
AUTHOR: Beall
B
VERSION: May 27, 2011
HEARING DATE: June 28, 2011
6
FISCAL: Appropriations
9
CONSULTANT:
Hailey
SUBJECT
Senior nutrition benefits
SUMMARY
Allows counties to identify, through the Social Security
Administration's benefits database, needy seniors who may
be eligible for CalFresh benefits and then send them a
simplified form to enroll in the CalFresh program.
ABSTRACT
Current law
1. Federal statute creates the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly food stamps, and state
statute creates CalFresh to provide cash benefits for
eligible persons to purchase food.
This bill
1. Makes findings and declarations about the importance of
good nutrition to seniors and the number of California
seniors whose limited incomes may imperil their diets.
2. Requires the Department of Social Services (DSS) to
allow counties to use existing information from SSA to
identify low-income seniors and to simplify their CalFresh
enrollment as long as the counties have the ability to
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adapt their existing automation systems without significant
changes or costs.
3. Requires DSS to support CalFresh enrollment efforts by:
a. Working with SSA to identify low-income
seniors age 60 or older whose
income and other factors are likely to
qualify them for CalFresh benefits;
b. Developing a streamlined application and
simplified enrollment process for
likely eligible recipients, which may
include strategies used by other states;
and,
c. Seeking waivers, grants, or other
necessary federal authority and support.
FISCAL IMPACT
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, there
would be one-time costs, potentially in excess of $100,000,
for DSS to develop a streamlined application process for
social security recipients. There are currently 440,000
California households that include a social security
recipient eligible for CalFresh. Each 100,000 persons
added to the CalFresh program would result in about $10
million in additional federal CalFresh benefits coming into
California.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Author's rationale
According to the author, senior participation in the
CalFresh program is disturbingly low, and this bill
attempts to reach out to this group to enroll them in
CalFresh. Good nutrition is important for seniors: it can
improve resistance to illness and disease, and it helps
with management of existing health problems. It can
improve mental acuity and increase longevity. In addition,
for many seniors relying on prescription medications,
nutrition is vital as many medications must be taken with
food.
Many seniors are struggling, notes the author. According
to the California Health Interview Survey, nearly 20
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percent of low-income seniors in California are "food
insecure" or an inability to secure adequate food. While a
number of programs exist to increase resources for food,
one of the largest remains underutilized: only 10 percent
of eligible seniors participate in CalFresh and only 5
percent of eligible Social Security recipients in
California participate in CalFresh.
Utilizing the Social Security Administration for outreach
to seniors eligible for CalFresh
This bill enlists the assistance of the Social Security
Administration to test strategies for enrolling additional
social security recipients into CalFresh. This bill also
directs DSS to design and implement a simplified
application process that would use the existing information
within the SSA database to identify eligible CalFresh
seniors and enroll them.
CalFresh participation - and "cash out" of benefits for SSI
recipients
Beginning in the 1970's, the Legislature calculated
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) grants for aged and
disabled individuals and couples to reflect the inclusion
of nutritional benefits - the old food stamp program, now
CalFresh. This "cash out" of food stamps means that SSI
recipients receive a larger grant rather than a grant plus
the food-stamp script or the electronic benefit card.
The "cash out" has meant that a large segment of the
lowest-income population of California seniors has been
ineligible for CalFresh, and it may have contributed to
confusion concerning seniors' eligibility for CalFresh.
Economic impact of CalFresh
According to Moody's Investor Services, an independent
provider of credit ratings and financial services research,
for every CalFresh dollar spent, $1.74 is generated in
economic activity. (The U.S. Department of Agriculture
estimates this amount to be $1.84). To the extent that
this bill increases CalFresh participation, the state could
expect to receive additional state General Fund revenue due
to increased taxable purchases by recipients. By providing
individuals with CalFresh benefits, a proportion of
household income previously used to purchase food would now
be used to purchase taxable goods.
Assembly votes
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Floor 54 -21
Appropriations12 - 5
Human Services 6 - 0
POSITIONS
Support: California Food Policy Advocates (sponsor)
Catholic Charities of California (sponsor)
AARP
Alameda County Food Bank
California Association of Food Banks
California Catholic Conference, Inc.
California Commission on Aging
California Communities United Institute
California Farm Bureau Federation
California Grocers Association
California Hunger Action Coalition
California Optometric Association
California Restaurant Association
California Retailers Association
California School Employees Association,
AFL-CIO
California Senior Leaders Alliance
California Senior Legislature
City and County of San Francisco
Community Action Partnership of Orange
County
Congress of California Seniors
Feeding America
Food Share, Inc.
Food Share, Ventura County
Hunger Action Los Angeles
JERICHO
Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles
National Association of Social Workers,
California Chapter
Orange County Food Bank
San Francisco Food Bank
Second Harvest Food Bank, Santa Cruz County
Senior Services Coalition, Alameda County
St. Anthony's
United Way Silicon Valley
Western Center on Law & Poverty
12 individuals
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Oppose: California Right to Life Committee, Inc.
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