BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 197
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Date of Hearing: April 17, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 197 (Stone) - As Introduced: January 29, 2013
Policy Committee: Human
ServicesVote:6 - 1
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: Yes
SUMMARY
This bill exempts motor vehicles from the assets that must be
considered by county welfare departments when determining a
family's eligibility for CalWORKs.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Potential on-going savings in the CalWORKs program of $3
million (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
[TANF]/Maintenance of Effort [MOE]) per year.
a) Increased grant costs of $1 million (TANF/MOE) for
2013-2014, increasing to $7.2 million (TANF/MOE) in 2014-15
due to an increased CalWORKs caseload.
b) Savings of $5 million (TANF/MOE) in 2013-2014, growing
to approximately $10 million (TANF/MOE) in 2014-2015 and
beyond due to reduced administrative workload.
2)Actual administrative savings would likely be less as the
CalWORKs program has not received funding increases to keep
pace with actual operations costs since 2001. In addition,
county welfare departments have sustained hundreds of millions
of dollars of cuts over the last several years. However,
reducing the workload associated with CalWORKs eligibility
would help relieve the funding pressures faced by county
welfare departments.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . The primary goal of the CalWORKs program is to move
AB 197
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families out of poverty toward self-sufficiency. One of the
key components of the program is requiring that adult
participants either work or receive some type of training that
will help them get a job. The author argues that limiting the
family to an automobile with a value of less than $4,650 is
contrary to that goal. Without reliable transportation
parents are often unable to get to work or job training and
therefore are unable to work their way out of poverty and off
of the welfare rolls. By eliminating the vehicle from
consideration for eligibility, parents will not be forced to
choose between reliable transportation and receiving much
needed financial assistance for their families.
2)California Asset Rules . CalWORKs asset rules were enacted in
1997 when the state implemented the 1996 federal welfare
reform act. Families are limited in the value of assets or
resources they may own. The program incorporates federal food
stamp rules, which limits resources to $2,000 per household,
or $3,000 if a family has a member who is aged or disabled.
Some assets, such as the family's home and $4,650 in value of
a motor vehicle, are excluded from consideration in the
determination of a family's resources. Also excluded are
assets that are not available to a household, such as the cash
value of life insurance policies and pension funds.
3)Related Legislation .
a) AB 2352 (Hern�ndez), 2012, a virtually identical bill,
was held on the Senate Appropriations Committee suspense
file.
b) AB 1182 (Hern�ndez), 2011, which was virtually identical
to this legislation, was vetoed. In his veto message the
governor noted, "In the last year, the state has been
forced to make steep reductions in many programs, including
the state's welfare-to-work program. As we go into the new
year, we may have to make additional cuts. Until we better
understand the fiscal outlook, we should not be making
changes of this kind."
c) AB 1058 (Beall), 2009, would have deleted the
requirement that county welfare departments assess the
value of a vehicle when determining a CalWORKs' application
or recertification. That bill was held on the Senate
Appropriations Committee Suspense File.
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d) AB 2368 (Fuentes), 2008, would have exempted motor
vehicles from assets that must be considered by county
welfare departments when they are determining a family's
eligibility for CalWORKs. That bill was held on the Senate
Appropriations Committee Suspense File.
Analysis Prepared by : Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916)
319-2081