BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1400
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1400 (Human Services Committee)
As Amended June 16, 2011
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |68-9 |(May 23, 2011) |SENATE: |36-1 |(July 14, |
| | | | | |2011) |
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Original Committee Reference: HUM. S.
SUMMARY : Changes the name of the Food Stamp Program to
"CalFresh" and makes technical changes to bring other code
sections up to date. Specifically, this bill :
1)States that the name of the federal Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program as administered in California shall be
CalFresh.
2)Specifies that any reference in any other law to the Food
Stamp Program shall refer to CalFresh.
3)Makes technical changes.
The Senate amendments :
1)Delete out-dated code sections.
2)Correct references to the California Health and Human Services
Agency.
EXISTING LAW requires the Department of Social Services (DSS) to
propose a new name for the Food Stamp Program in California by
July 1, 2009. ƯAB 433 (Beall), Chapter 625, Statutes of 2008].
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill was substantially similar
to the version passed by the Senate.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : The U.S. Congress passed the Food, Conservation, and
Energy Act of 2008 (Act)
(Public Law 110-246), that included a provision that renamed the
federal Food Stamp Program as the Supplemental Nutrition
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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, like
many other states, chose to explore other naming options.
AB 433 (Beall) requires DSS to rename the Food Stamp Program in
consultation with a stakeholder group. The program had evolved
significantly over the past several decades and benefits have
not been provided as "stamps" since the 1940s, and now are
delivered through an ATM-like card. There was also an increased
public awareness and interest in using the program to promote
healthier food purchases to reduce the incidence of obesity.
Additionally, proponents asserted that the continued
identification of it as a "welfare" rather than a "food and
nutrition" program played a role in its low participation rate.
Indeed, in California it has been widely reported that
approximately half of those that are eligible are not
participating.
AB 433's provision to rename California's program called for it
to reflect on more of the following concepts that food stamps:
1)Are no longer delivered by stamps;
2)Support healthy living;
3)Are important to agriculture in California; and,
4)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.
This bill is a clean-up bill that formally adopts the new names,
CalFresh and SNAP, and replaces all references to the old names
in statute with the new ones. As well, the June 16th Senate
amendments merged the Senate Human Services Committee bill
provisions contained in SB 936 (Human Services Committee) into
this bill adding other technical clean-up provisions such as
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deleting obsolete code sections and correcting references to the
California Health and Human Services Agency.
Analysis Prepared by : Frances Chacon / HUM. S. / (916)
319-2089
FN: 0001586