BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 138|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 138
Author: Beall (D), et al.
Amended: 8/30/11 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE : 4-3, 6/28/11
AYES: Liu, Hancock, Wright, Yee
NOES: Emmerson, Berryhill, Strickland
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 6-3, 8/25/11
AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Lieu, Pavley, Price, Steinberg
NOES: Walters, Emmerson, Runner
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 51-27, 5/31/11 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Elder Economic Planning Act of 2011
SOURCE : AARP California
California Association of Area Agencies on
Aging
ElderHelp of San Diego
Insight Center for Community Economic
Development
Senior Community Centers
DIGEST : This bill establishes the Elder Economic
Security Act of 2011 and requires the Department of Aging
to report the Elder Economic Security Standard Index
(Index) for each service area in its state plan and use it
as a reference when making decisions about allocating its
CONTINUED
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existing resources. Each area agency on aging would be
required to use the Index as a reference when making
decisions about allocating existing resources to specify
the costs in the private market of meeting the basic needs
of elders in each planning and service area.
ANALYSIS :
Existing federal law:
1. Establishes the federal Older Americans Act, which
provides a national network of state units on aging and
Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) to deliver home and
community-based programs for older adults. Programs
include nutrition, transportation, information and
assistance, elder abuse prevention, and caregiver
support.
2. Establishes, under the federal Older Americans Act, the
Senior Community Service Employment Program, to provide
low-income seniors with useful work experience at
community service agencies, and increase economic
self-sufficiency and placement into unsubsidized
employment.
3. Requires the Secretary of the Department of Health and
Human Services to update, at least annually, the poverty
guidelines, which shall be used as an eligibility
criterion for federal programs, as specified.
Existing state law:
1. Establishes the Older Californians Act, which provides
state-funded programs and services for older adults and
people with disabilities.
2. Establishes the Department of Aging (CDA) as the state
unit on aging to administer a broad range of home and
community-based programs and provide leadership to the
AAAs in developing systems of home and community-based
services that maintain individuals in their own homes or
least restrictive homelike environments. Requires CDA
to develop minimum standards for service delivery to
ensure that programs meet consumer needs, operate in a
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cost-effective manner, and preserve the independence and
dignity of aging Californians.
3. Establishes the AAAs as the entities that provide for
and/or deliver services under the Older Americans Act,
the Older Californians Act, and other funding sources at
the local level. Requires each AAA to create a plan
that considers available data and population trends,
assesses the needs for services reflective of the
community needs, identifies sources of funding for those
services, and develops and implements a plan for the
delivery of those services based on the community's
needs.
4. Requires AAAs, in fulfilling their mission, to build
upon the resources unique to each community and be
guided by a description of a community-based system that
includes the assurance that all services are readily
accessible to all older adults, involves a collaborative
decision-making process, and offers special help or
targeted resources for the most vulnerable older
individuals, and those in danger of losing their
independence.
5. Requires CDA to develop a state plan on aging according
to federal law, which requires a state plan to be
submitted to the federal Administration on Aging every
four years, based upon the local area plans.
This bill:
1. Defines the "Elder Economic Security Standard Index" to
mean an index that quantifies the costs that elders face
in meeting their basic needs, including, but not limited
to, food, shelter, health care, transportation,
utilities, and essential household items, in the private
market.
2. States that the Index is updated biennially by the
University of California, Los Angeles Center for Health
Policy Research using publicly available data sources on
the cost of living in each county in California.
3. Requires CDA to report the Index score for each of its
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service areas in its state plan and to use it as a
reference when making decisions about allocating its
existing resources. CDA would be required to implement
this bill only to the extent that the data needed to
update the Index is available and is made available to
the department in a format that displays each county's
specific data. Requires the 33 AAAs to utilize the
Index data in its area service plan. The AAAs would be
required to use the Index as a reference when making
decisions about allocating existing resources to specify
the costs of meeting basic needs for elders in each
planning and service area.
4. States that it is the intent that the Index, when
updated and available, be used as a planning tool in the
development of local area plans and as a guide in
allocating exiting resources that support senior
services in their communities.
5. States that it should not be construed to advocate for
or to mandate changes in the current funding allocations
to AAAs nor to affect means tested programs.
Background
Local and state plans on aging . California has 33 AAAs
that provide a wide range of services designed to keep
older adults and adults with disabilities independent and
living in their own homes and communities. To ensure that
programs and services funded by the AAA adequately serve
the older adults within each community, AAAs are required
to conduct a needs assessment every four years to document
the service needs of community residents and any gaps in
the service network. The needs assessment process
typically includes a community-wide survey, community
meetings, and information received from stakeholders and
key informants. California Code of Regulations (Title 22,
Division 1.8, Chapter 3, Article 3) requires that each
needs assessment include all of the following: the target
populations, the types of existing and potential needs of
older individuals in the community, the services or
resources that currently are available, as well as any
constraints (waiting lists, geographic limitations,
quality), an estimate of unmet needs or barriers to access,
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demographic information, and data from other agencies. The
information received through the needs assessment process
guides the AAA in identifying the service priorities for
the area plan.
Every four years, federal law requires the CDA to submit a
state plan on aging to the federal Administration on Aging.
After the plan's approval, the department receives federal
funds to administer the state plan. Beyond the minimum
required information, California's 2009-2013 state plan on
aging addresses key socio-demographic factors that will
shape funding needs and priorities, unmet needs and
promising practices identified by the department and the
AAAs, and the department's objectives in working with the
AAAs to provide cost-effective, high quality services to
California's older adults and their informal caregivers.
Programs and services administered by the department and
the AAAs do not require means-testing for eligibility;
however, the Older Americans Act requires preference to be
given to older adults with the greatest economic or social
needs, with particular attention given to low-income
minority individuals. To meet the federal requirements,
the department and AAAs track data, including poverty data,
on the number of older adults and people with disabilities
within a given planning and service area, but enrollment in
programs is not restricted to those who fall below a
certain threshold, with the exception of programs that use
Medi-Cal funds.
Prior Legislation
AB 324 (Beall, 2009) was substantially similar to this bill
in requiring the CDA and AAAs to utilize the elder index in
their service planning. The bill was vetoed by Governor
Schwarzenegger. In his veto message, the Governor stated:
"While I appreciate the author and sponsors' interest in
better refining their planning and service levels for the
seniors in their communities, this bill is unnecessary.
Local agencies can already use the specific index defined
by this bill in their planning efforts. Furthermore, this
bill would create General Fund cost pressures at a time
when there is no ability to increase service levels."
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FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13
2013-14 Fund
Cost pressure to unknown, potentially
significant General/
increase services
Federal/
available for elders Local
* AAAs purchase services with a variety of funding
sources including mainly federal funds, but also with
state and local penalty and fine revenue and the
State HICAP Fund.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/23/11)
AARP California (co-source)
California Association of Area Agencies on Aging
(co-source)
ElderHelp of San Diego (co-source)
Insight Center for Community Economic Development
(co-source)
Senior Community Centers (co-source)
Advisory Council on Aging
Advisory Council to the San Francisco Department of Aging
Aging Services Collaborative of Santa Clara County
Area 1 Agency on Aging
Berkeley-East Bay Gray Panthers
Brooke Hollister, PhD, Institute for Health and Aging, UCSF
California Alliance for Retired Americans
California Association of Public Authorities for IHSS
California Catholic Conference, Inc.
California Center for Rural Policy
California Commission on Aging
California Commission on the Status of Women
California Food Policy Advocates
California School Employees Association
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California School Employees Association
California Senior Leaders Alliance
California Senior Legislature
Catholic Charities of California United
City and County of San Francisco
City of Culver City
Community Living Campaign
Congress of California Seniors
County Welfare Directors Association
Experience Corps
Filipino American Service Group, Inc.
George G. Glenner Alzheimer's Family Centers, Inc.
Gray Panthers
Gray Panthers, Berkeley/East Bay
Greenlining Institute
Gwen Yeo, PhD, Stanford University School of Medicine
Health Trust
Humboldt State University
In-Home Supportive Services Consortium of San Francisco
Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles
Korean Health, Education, Information & Research Center
Meals-on-Wheels, Greater San Diego, Inc.
National Association of Social Workers- California Chapter
Older Women's League - California
Older Women's League- Sacramento Capitol Chapter
Professional Fiduciary Association of California
San Fernando Valley Interfaith Council Inc.
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
Santa Clara County Social Services Agency
SEIU Local 521 Retired Chapter
Senior Services Coalition of Alameda County
Services Employees International Union, Local 521
VIC
Western Center on Law and Poverty
Wider Opportunities for Women
Women's Foundation of California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author's office states that
California's elder population is poorly planned for largely
because federal law requires the state to measure senior
economic health using the federal poverty level. The
author's office notes that the federal poverty level is a
50-year-old measure based solely on the cost of food, and
does not account for California's wide range in cost of
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living - from lower-cost Modoc County to higher-cost Los
Angeles. The author's office states that, as a result of
using the federal poverty level, agencies perform costly
and inefficient research to determine the true cost of
living in their geographic area, with no consistent
standard across the state.
The author's office asserts that the elder index reflects
whether a senior owns or rents his or her home and the cost
of transportation, health care, and out-of-pocket expenses.
Because it is calculated for each county in California,
the author believes the elder index presents a more
accurate picture of a California senior's basic needs, and
the practical effect of using the index is that planners
will have a more accurate picture from which to base policy
decisions.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 51-27, 5/31/11
AYES: Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Block,
Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan,
Butler, Campos, Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Davis,
Dickinson, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Galgiani,
Gatto, Gordon, Hall, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill,
Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Lara, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma,
Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez,
Portantino, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, Torres,
Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
NOES: Achadjian, Bill Berryhill, Conway, Cook, Donnelly,
Fletcher, Beth Gaines, Garrick, Grove, Hagman, Halderman,
Harkey, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Logue, Mansoor, Miller,
Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Silva, Smyth,
Valadao, Wagner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Charles Calderon, Gorell
CTW:mw 8/29/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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