BILL NUMBER: AB 99 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 14, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Committee on Budget (Blumenfield (Chair), Alejo,
Allen, Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Cedillo, Chesbro, Dickinson,
Feuer, Gordon, Huffman, Mitchell, Monning, and Swanson)
JANUARY 10, 2011
An act relating to the Budget Act of 2011.
An act to add Sections 130156, 130157, and 130158 to the Health and
Safety Code, relating to health and human services, and declaring the
urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 99, as amended, Committee on Budget. Budget Act of
2011. California Children and Families Act of 1998:
use of funds.
The California Children and Families Act of 1998, an initiative
measure, requires that the California Children and Families Program,
established by the act, be funded by certain taxes imposed on the
sale and distribution of cigarettes and tobacco products that are
deposited into the continuously appropriated California Children and
Families Trust Fund. Existing law requires the fund to be used for
the implementation of comprehensive early childhood development and
smoking prevention programs. Under existing law, prescribed
percentages of moneys allocated and appropriated from the trust fund
are required to be deposited into various accounts for expenditure by
the California Children and Families Commission, also known as First
5 California, and to local children and families trust funds, to be
expended for various subjects relating to and furthering the goals
and purposes of the act.
Existing law prohibits moneys in the California Children and
Families Trust Fund from being used to supplant state or local
General Fund money for any purpose. Existing law prohibits amendment
of this initiative measure by the Legislature unless the amendment is
approved by the voters, or the amendment is accomplished by a vote
of 2/3 of the membership of both houses of the Legislature and the
amendment furthers the act and is consistent with its purposes.
This bill would establish the Children and Families Health and
Human Services Fund. The bill would require specified amounts of
state and local children and families commission funds to be
deposited in the fund for the 2011-12 fiscal year, as specified. Upon
appropriation by the Legislature, moneys deposited in the Children
and Families Health and Human Services Fund would be used to provide
health and human services, including direct health care services, to
children from birth through 5 years of age.
The California Constitution authorizes the Governor to declare a
fiscal emergency and to call the Legislature into special session for
that purpose. The Governor issued a proclamation declaring a fiscal
emergency, and calling a special session for this purpose, on January
20, 2011.
This bill would state that it addresses the fiscal emergency
declared by the Governor by proclamation issued on January 20, 2011,
pursuant to the California Constitution.
This bill would declare that it furthers, and is consistent with
the purposes of, the California Children and Families Act of 1998.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact
statutory changes relating to the Budget Act of 2011.
Vote: majority 2/3 . Appropriation:
no. Fiscal committee: no yes .
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. (a) California is presently
experiencing a severe fiscal crisis, which has resulted in funding
shortfalls for many services at the state and local levels. Health
and human services programs that serve children are among the most
seriously affected by this lack of funding.
(b) The voters approved Proposition 10, the California Children
and Families Act of 1998, as a means of increasing funding to provide
comprehensive, integrated services for children from birth through
five years of age.
(c) Proposition 10 established a funding structure pursuant to
which the majority of the tax revenues collected pursuant to the act
are directed to county children and families commissions, which are
required to expend these revenues in accordance with a strategic plan
developed at the local level.
(d) As other funding sources have become increasingly unavailable,
counties throughout the state have been forced to eliminate
essential health and human services to children that have
historically been paid for with state funds. However, although many
county children and families commissions maintain substantial
balances in their local children and families trust funds, they are
unable to use Proposition 10 funds to make up the shortfall in
funding for these programs because of the act's prohibition against
supplanting existing levels of service. Consequently, these services,
if provided at all, are provided to a fraction of the children who
need them. This prohibition is therefore resulting in service levels
and outcomes that are contrary to the intent of Proposition 10.
(e) Absent this solution, substantial reductions would be needed
in state programs that currently provide for the health and
well-being of vulnerable children and their families.
(f) Dedicating this funding for health services for children
through the age of five furthers the purposes of the California
Children and Families Act of 1998 by ensuring the promotion of early
childhood development through the provision of core health services.
(g) Legislation to authorize the transfer of a specified amount of
funding from state and local children and families trust funds in
times of fiscal emergency, to fund essential health and human
services for children from birth through five years of age, when no
other funding is available for these purposes, would not result in
supplanting existing levels of service in circumstances where these
services are no longer being funded at all. Rather, requiring
Proposition 10 funds to be used in this manner would help counties to
achieve the act's overall objective of promoting, supporting, and
optimizing early childhood development.
(h) This act furthers, and is consistent with the purposes of, the
California Children and Families Act of 1998.
SEC. 2. Section 130156 is added to the
Health and Safety Code , to read:
130156. The Children and Families Health and Human Services Fund
is hereby established in the State Treasury. The Children and
Families Health and Human Services Fund shall be used, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, to provide health and human
services, including, but not limited to, direct health care services,
to children from birth through five years of age.
SEC. 3. Section 130157 is added to the
Health and Safety Code , to read:
130157. Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of
Section 130105, for the 2011-12 fiscal year, fifty million dollars
($50,000,000) from the accounts described in subparagraphs (A) to
(F), inclusive, of paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of Section
130105, including reserve funds, upon approval of the state
commission, shall be transferred to and deposited in the Children and
Families Health and Human Services Fund to support state health and
human services programs for children from birth through five years of
age. The state commission shall ensure that these funds are
available for the purposes described in this section. To the extent
it is necessary or appropriate for the state commission to
disencumber existing obligations to meet the requirements of this
section, the state commission, including, but not limited to, its
representatives, officers, directors, and employees, including its
attorneys and other persons, is hereby released from any and all
liability, rights, claims, demands, and actions, known and unknown,
which any party may have, arising in connection with the
disencumbering of funds or obligations in accordance with this
section. For purposes of this section, "state health and human
services programs" includes, but is not limited to, direct health
care services.
SEC. 4. Section 130158 is added to the
Health and Safety Code , to read:
130158. (a) Notwithstanding paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of
Section 130105, for the 2011-12 fiscal year, nine hundred fifty
million dollars ($950,000,000) from the combined balances of all the
county Children and Families Trust Funds, including reserve funds, as
provided for in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (2) of
subdivision (d) of Section 130105, shall be transferred to and
deposited in the Children and Families Health and Human Services
Fund, to support state health and human services programs for
children from birth through five years of age.
(b) For purposes of this section, "state health and human services
programs" includes, but is not limited to, direct health care
services and "county commission" includes, but is not limited to,
county commissions, account holders for local children and families
trust funds, and county government fiscal agents.
(c) The share of the amount specified in subdivision (a) required
of each county commission shall be determined in the following manner
and subject to the following conditions:
(1) A county commission that received less than six hundred
thousand dollars ($600,000) in California Children and Families Trust
Fund revenues in the 2009-10 fiscal year is exempt from this section
and is not required to deposit funds in the Children and Families
Health and Human Services Fund as part of the budget solution
described in subdivision (a).
(2) By June 30, 2012, each county commission not exempted by
paragraph (1) shall remit for deposit into the Children and Families
Health and Human Services Fund, 50 percent of its county commission
funding, which includes total reserved, total unreserved-designated,
and total unreserved-undesignated local children and families trust
funds as of June 30, 2010. No funds other than revenues received
pursuant to the California Children and Families Act of 1998 shall be
remitted for deposit into the Children and Families Health and Human
Services Fund.
(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (2), county commission payments for
deposit into the Children and Families Health and Human Services Fund
shall not cause any county commission's fund balance to fall below
the amount received by the county commission from the California
Children and Families Trust Fund in the 2009-10 fiscal year.
(4) Full payments to the Children and Families Health and Human
Services Fund shall be made by county commissions within the 2011-12
fiscal year. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no 2012-13
allocation to a county commission shall occur prior to the full
payment being made.
(5) Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, the total
combined remittances from county commissions in the 2011-12 fiscal
year shall equal nine hundred fifty million dollars ($950,000,000).
To the extent paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, result in more than
nine hundred fifty million dollars ($950,000,000) being provided by
county commissions in total, the difference shall be proportionally
returned to all contributing county commissions.
(d) Pursuant to subdivision (c), each county commission, as
defined in subdivision (b), shall ensure that the funds for transfer
and deposit to the Children and Families Health and Human Services
Fund are not encumbered and are available for the purposes described
in this section. To the extent that it is necessary or appropriate
for a county commission to disencumber existing obligations to meet
the requirements of this section, the county commission, including,
but not limited to, its representatives, officers, directors, and
employees, including its attorneys and other persons, is hereby
released from any and all liability, rights, claims, demands, and
actions, known and unknown, which any party may have, arising in
connection with the disencumbering of funds, or obligations in
accordance with this section.
(e) After a county commission's share of the nine hundred fifty
million dollars ($950,000,000) specified in subdivision (a) has been
determined pursuant to subdivision (c), that county commission, or
appropriate agent or entity, shall remit those funds to the
Controller for deposit into the Children and Families Health and
Human Services Fund. The entire share of funds for each county
commission shall be remitted within the 2011-12 fiscal year, and may
be done, in equal amounts, on a monthly basis.
SEC. 5. This act addresses the fiscal emergency
declared by the Governor by proclamation on January 20, 2011,
pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 10 of Article IV of the
California Constitution.
SEC. 6. This act is an urgency statute necessary
for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety
within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go
into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order for health services for children through five years of
age to be preserved in the 2011-12 fiscal year, it is necessary for
this act to take effect immediately.
SECTION 1. It is the intent of the Legislature
to enact statutory changes relating to the Budget Act of 2011.