BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE HUMAN
SERVICES COMMITTEE
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
BILL NO: AB 1400
A
AUTHOR: Committee on Human Services
B
VERSION: June 16, 2011
HEARING DATE: June 28, 2011
1
FISCAL: To the floor
4
0
CONSULTANT:
0
Hailey
SUBJECT
CalFresh
SUMMARY
Brings code references to CalFresh up to date and makes
technical changes to bring other code sections up to date.
ABSTRACT
Current law
1. Establishes in federal law, with conforming state
statutes, a program to provide eligible persons with a
benefit, in the form of an account accessed with an
electronic benefit transfer card, to purchase food. It has
been called "food stamps" and is now known, at the federal
level, as SNAP, the supplemental nutrition assistance
program.
2. Requires the Department of Social Services (DSS) to
propose a new name for the food stamp program in California
by July 1, 2009; it is now called CalFresh in California.
Continued---
STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 1400 (Human Services
Comm.) Page 2
2. Directs the Department of Social Services (DSS) to
submit a report to the Legislature, by May 1, 2000,
estimating the number of counties that may opt to issue
cash benefits using electronic benefits transfer
technology.
3. Establishes the California Health and Human Services
Agency and provides that the governor shall appoint a
secretary to lead it. The agency was at one time named the
California Health and Welfare Agency.
4. Establishes a welfare reform steering committee and
directs it to report, by spring of 1998, recommended
alternative ways to budget for the administration of the
state's program to aid families with dependent children,
now called California Work Opportunity and Responsibility
to Kids (CalWORKs).
5. Suspends an adjustment to the maximum aid payment in
CalWORKs for the first three months of the 2004-05 fiscal
year.
6. Establishes rates for foster care group homes and
includes in statute specific change for the years 1998
through 2001.
7. Directs DSS to revise data collection, by July 1, 1998,
to reflect changes in welfare programs brought about by
federal welfare reform.
8. Directs DSS to complete an evaluation of the Cal-Learn
program by July 1, 2000.
This bill
1. Deletes out-dated code sections.
2. Corrects references to the California Health and Human
Services Agency.
3. States that the name of the federal supplemental
nutrition assistance program (SNAP), as administered in
California, shall be CalFresh.
4. Specifies that any reference in any other law to the
STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 1400 (Human Services
Comm.) Page 3
food stamp program shall refer to CalFresh and to the
CalFresh program.
FISCAL IMPACT
None
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
AB 1400 now combines the version of AB 1400 passed by the
Assembly and the version of SB 936 (Committee on Human
Services) that passed out of the Senate.
Both bills provided technical clean-up to provisions of
code outdated by changes in program names - such as
CalFresh - or by the passage of time.
"Food stamps" becomes "CalFresh"
The U.S. Congress passed the Food, Conservation, and Energy
Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-246), that included a provision
to rename the federal food stamp program as the
supplemental nutrition assistance program or "SNAP." The
act also gave states the option to rename their programs.
States could choose to use the new federal name, SNAP, or
create their own. California chose to explore other naming
options.
AB 433 (Beall, Chapter 625, Statutes of 2008) required DSS
to rename the food stamp program in consultation with a
stakeholder group. The program had evolved over the past
several decades, and benefits have not been provided as
"stamps" since the 1940s, and now are delivered through an
electronic benefit transfer card (EBT) which can be used
like a credit card at most food retailers. There was also
an increased public awareness and interest in using the
program to promote healthier food purchases to reduce
incidence of obesity. Additionally, proponents of a name
change believed that the continued identification of the
program as a "welfare" rather than a "food and nutrition"
program played a role in its low participation rate: in
California, approximately half of those who are eligible
for the program are not participating.
STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 1400 (Human Services
Comm.) Page 4
In renaming the program, DSS was to reflect on more of the
following concepts:
Food stamps are no longer delivered by stamps;
Food stamps support healthy living;
Food stamps are important to agriculture in
California; and,
Food stamps would be better viewed as a health and
nutrition program than as a welfare program.
In 2009, DSS convened a diverse group of stakeholders to
develop the new name, and included representatives from
agencies working to improve health and reduce diet-related
illnesses. DSS also conducted focus groups to test the
impact the new name would have on improving the
perception of the program among low-income residents, and
on increasing program participation. The process was
funded with private dollars.
Assembly votes
Floor: 68-9
Human Services: 5-0
POSITIONS
Support: None received
Oppose: None received
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