BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 191
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 191 (Bocanegra)
As Amended May 24, 2013
Majority vote
HUMAN SERVICES 5-2 APPROPRIATIONS 12-5
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Ayes:|Stone, Ammiano, Ian |Ayes:|Gatto, Bocanegra, |
| |Calderon, Garcia, Chesbro | |Bradford, |
| | | |Ian Calderon, Campos, |
| | | |Eggman, Gomez, Hall, |
| | | |Ammiano, Pan, Quirk, |
| | | |Weber |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Maienschein, Grove |Nays:|Harkey, Bigelow, |
| | | |Donnelly, Linder, Wagner |
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY : Raises the maximum gross income threshold for CalFresh
eligibility for any individual who is categorically eligible for
CalFresh benefits and is a member of a household that receives
or is eligible to receive Medi-Cal. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the California Department of Social Services (DSS),
to the extent permitted by federal law, to raise the maximum
gross income allowed in the CalFresh gross income test for any
individual who is categorically eligible for CalFresh and who
is a member of a household that receives, or is eligible to
receive, medical benefits under the Medi-Cal program.
2)Amends the state's Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program
(LIHEAP) per the following:
a) Requires the Department of Community Services and
Development (CSD) and DSS to report information to the
Legislature if the demand for the nominal LIHEAP service
benefit exceeds the funding allocated in the LIHEAP state
plan, as specified;
b) Provides that receipt of the nominal LIHEAP services
benefit shall not adversely affect a CalFresh recipient
household's eligibility or benefits; and
AB 191
Page 2
c) Allows application of the homeless shelter deduction
when calculating CalFresh benefits for a homeless household
if use of the Standard Utility Allowance (SUA) would result
in a reduced CalFresh benefit amount.
3)Deletes the requirement for DSS to implement the Heat and Eat
utility assistance initiative by January 1, 2013.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the CalFresh program, through which federal
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits are
administered and provided to eligible participants.
2)Establishes the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility
to Kids (CalWORKs) program, through which counties provide
cash assistance and support services to eligible low-income
families and individuals.
3)Deems needy households categorically eligibility for CalFresh
provided that the household meets all federal SNAP eligibility
requirements that would make all members of the household
eligible for CalWORKs or other cash aid programs such as
General Assistance or General Relief.
4)Provides that households with an elderly or disabled member or
where all members receive cash aid must only meet a net income
determination test, whereas households without an elderly or
disabled member must meet both gross and net income
eligibility determination tests.
5)Provides that any child who is eligible for federal SNAP
benefits is automatically certified to receive free school
meals without an additional application (7 United States Code
Section 2020(u)(2)(A)).
6)Provides for the Medi-Cal program, administered by the State
Department of Health Care Services, under which medical
benefits are provided to recipients of public assistance and
other eligible low-income persons.
7)States legislative intent to provide a nominal LIHEAP utility
assistance benefit to all CalFresh recipient households, and
AB 191
Page 3
requires those benefits to be paid out of the federal LIHEAP
block grant.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1) Administrative costs for those 5,000 new cases could be
up to $393,000 ($197,000 General Fund (GF)) per year and
result in approximately $8 million in additional federal
SNAP (CalFresh) funding. Those federal benefits would
generate over $200,000 in GF revenue through increased
sales taxes.
2)If expanding categorical eligibility causes 5% of these
recipients to participate in CalFresh because a barrier to
participation is removed and it becomes easier to apply for
and receive benefits, it would result in an additional 60,000
individuals receiving nutrition benefits.
Administrative costs for those individuals would be
approximately $1.5 million ($750,000 GF) and based on the
average monthly benefit for a non-CalWORKs CalFresh case
($335.34) this bill could result in up to $80 million in
additional federal SNAP (CalFresh) funding. Those federal
benefits would generate close to $2 million in GF revenue
through increased sales taxes.
3)In 2014, approximately 2 million cases will be added to the
Medi-Cal caseload as a result of federal healthcare reform.
Of those cases, a portion will be eligible for CalFresh under
this legislation. If 10,000 of those cases participate in the
CalFresh program, administrative costs for the new cases would
be $787,000 ($393,000 GF). Those cases would bring in an
additional $40 million in federal CalFresh benefits. The
federal benefits would generate over $1 million in GF revenue
through increased sales taxes.
4)The California Food Assistance Program (CFAP) provides
nutrition benefits for those recent, legal immigrants who are
ineligible for federal SNAP benefits. This program is funded
with state GF. It is assumed that approximately 750 new cases
will participate in CFAP due to this legislation. The total
annual GF costs for those cases (both benefits and
administration) will be approximately $3 million. The
AB 191
Page 4
nutrition benefits provided to those families will generate
approximately $80,000 in state sales tax revenue.
COMMENTS : CalFresh benefits, which are entirely funded by the
federal government through the SNAP, are made available on a
monthly basis for food purchase through an ATM-like electronic
benefits transfer (EBT) card. The United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA) sets specific eligibility requirements for
SNAP programs across the United States, including a gross and
net income asset test, work requirements, and other
documentation requirements. The maximum allowable gross income
is 130% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). Households with
elderly or disabled members are not subject to gross income
criteria but must have a net monthly income at or below 100% of
the FPL. Other households must meet both gross and net monthly
income tests. Additionally, resources, such as cash on hand,
generally cannot exceed $2,000, or $3,250 for households in
which there is a household member who has a disability or is 60
years of age or older. CalFresh is administered locally by
county welfare departments, and the federal, state, and county
governments share in the cost of administration of the program.
The monthly average CalFresh benefit per household is $336 ($153
per person), benefitting nearly 1.9 million households in
California.
The average monthly enrollment for Medi-Cal is 7.5 million
Californians. According to California Food Policy Advocates
(CFPA), of the 2.5 million Medi-Cal beneficiaries who are
currently eligible for CalFresh, only 1.3 million actually
participate in the program.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
|Categorical eligibility: Longstanding federal regulations established |
|CalFresh categorical eligibility based on receipt of cash aid under the |
|Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) block grant, administered |
|in California as CalWORKs. In 1999, the USDA issued guidance that |
|broadened that option under the 1996 welfare reform law, expanding the |
|option under categorical eligibility to include receipt of, or |
|eligibility for, services as well as cash (7 Code of Federal |
|Regulations (C.F.R.) Section 273.2(j)(2)). Additionally, children in |
|families that are eligible for CalFresh benefits are automatically |
|certified to receive free and reduced meals at school. Nationwide, 43 |
|other states have implemented some form of broad-based categorical |
|eligibility. Twenty-seven other states have increased access to SNAP |
AB 191
Page 5
|benefits by removing the asset test and raising the gross income limit. |
| |
| |
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recent legislation removed some barriers to CalFresh by, for
example, changing from quarterly to semi-annual reporting, and
eliminating finger imaging requirements (AB 6 (Fuentes), Chapter
501, Statutes of 2011). Still, while statewide and local
efforts have been instrumental in increasing CalFresh
participation rates through outreach and education, barriers to
access-both real and perceived-still exist and contribute to
California's historically low participation rate.
Based on the Department of Social Services Food Stamp Program
Participation and Benefit Issuance Report, over four million
Californians were participating in CalFresh as of February 2013.
However, it has been determined by the USDA that nearly twice
as many Californians meet the federal SNAP eligibility
requirements, but are not participating in CalFresh.
LIHEAP and Heat and Eat: LIHEAP is a federally funded block
grant program that allows states to provide utility assistance
to eligible low-income households, and "Heat and Eat"
initiatives allow states to coordinate their SNAP and LIHEAP
programs to ensure that low-income families do not have to make
a decision between purchasing food and paying for energy and
utilities. In California, this coordination is done through
providing CalFresh households a nominal LIHEAP service benefit,
which then allows use of the SUA for purposes of calculating a
family's CalFresh benefit. Application of the SUA streamlines
the CalFresh application process by removing the need for
utility bill verification, and it allows some households to
receive an increased CalFresh benefit.
Need for this bill : This bill makes households with at least
one Medi-Cal recipient categorically eligible for CalFresh by
raising the CalFresh gross income test for these households to
200% FPL. This will ensure that the current gross income test
of 130% FPL does not prevent high need households with a
Medi-Cal recipient who are otherwise eligible for CalFresh from
applying. Recent amendments to this bill also ensure that
homeless families do not see a decrease in their CalFresh
benefits due to use of the SUA instead of the homeless shelter
AB 191
Page 6
deduction when calculating benefit levels.
Author's statement : "Although nutrition is a critical component
of health and wellbeing, many Medi-Cal recipients who are
currently eligible for CalFresh do not participate. To ensure
that low-income households can support healthy living, nutrition
assistance should be offered hand-in-hand with Medi-Cal. Only
half of eligible Californians participate in CalFresh, in part
because of stigma, a burdensome application, or misinformation
regarding eligibility. As Californians struggle to make ends
meet, it is critical that they receive nutrition assistance."
Related legislation :
AB 1560 (Fuentes) of 2012, was identical to this bill. It was
held on the suspense file in Senate Appropriations Committee.
AB 6 (Fuentes), Chapter 501, Statutes of 2011, established a
semi-annual reporting requirement for both CalWORKs and
CalFresh, removed the finger imaging requirement for CalFresh
eligibility and created the Heat and Eat initiative in
California to be administered by DSS and CSD.
AB 433 (Beall), Chapter 623, Statutes of 2008, established
categorical eligibility for CalFresh benefits for individuals at
or below 130% of the federal poverty level, regardless of the
level of their assets. Initial versions included categorical
eligibility for Medi-Cal beneficiaries as well, but this
language was stripped from the final version of the bill.
AB 2205 (Evans) of 2006, would have established categorical
eligibility for CalFresh for recipients of Medi-Cal if they were
eligible for or receiving services from the CalWORKs program.
This bill was vetoed by the Governor.
Analysis Prepared by : Myesha Jackson / HUM. S. / (916)
319-2089
FN: 0000975
AB 191
Page 7