BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1094
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Date of Hearing: April 16, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Mark Stone, Chair
AB 1094 (Brown) - As Introduced: February 22, 2013
SUBJECT : CalWORKs: veteran's disability compensation
SUMMARY : Expands the definition of disability-based unearned
income to include veteran's disability compensation.
EXISTING LAW
1)Establishes under federal law the Temporary Assistance for
Needy Families (TANF) program to provide welfare-to-work
services to eligible families and, in California, provides
that TANF funds for welfare-to-work services are administered
through the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to
Kids (CalWORKs) program.
2)Establishes the maximum monthly amount of cash aid (maximum
aid payment) that can be provided to a family eligible for aid
under the CalWORKs program.
3)Exempts a CalWORKs recipient from meeting work participation
requirements if the recipient is disabled and the disability
is expected to last at least 30 days and significantly impairs
the recipient's ability to be regularly employed or
participate in welfare-to-work activities, as specified.
4)Establishes income, asset and real property limits used to
determine eligibility for the program, which include:
a) One residence that the family lives in;
b) $2,000 in assets ($3,000 if the household includes a
family member over age 60);
c) One car with a value of $4,650 or less;
d) Net income below the Maximum Aid Payment (MAP), based on
family size and county of residence, which is currently no
higher than 40% of the Federal Poverty Level; and
e) Any savings and interest in restricted, federally
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qualified accounts for the purpose of retirement, starting
a business, saving for college, purchasing a home, or
overcoming an episode of homelessness.
1)Defines disability-based unearned income, within the CalWORKs
program, as state disability insurance benefits, private
disability insurance benefits, temporary workers' compensation
benefits, and social security disability benefits.
2)Defines earned income as gross income received as wages,
salary, employer-provided sick leave benefits, commissions, or
profits from activities such as a business enterprise or
farming in which the recipient is engaged as a self-employed
individual or as an employee.
3)Exempts the following, until October 1, 2013, when calculating
a family's income for the purpose of determining CalWORKs
eligibility:
If the family's disability-based unearned income does not
exceed $225
a) All disability-based unearned income plus any amount
of not otherwise exempt earned income, not to exceed $112
or the amount of the difference between the amount of
disability-based unearned income and $225, whichever is
less.
b) Fifty percent of all not otherwise exempt earned
income in excess of the amount applied to meet the
differential in the unearned disability-based income
calculation.
If the family's disability-based unearned income exceeds
$225
a) All of the first $225 in disability-based unearned
income.
b) Fifty percent of all earned income.
1)Exempts the following, beginning October 1, 2013, when
calculating a family's income for the purpose of determining
CalWORKs eligibility:
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If the family's disability-based unearned income does not
exceed $225
a) All disability-based unearned income, plus any
amount of not otherwise exempt earned income equal to the
amount of the difference between the amount of
disability-based unearned income and $225.
b) Fifty percent of all not otherwise exempt earned
income in excess of the amount applied to the difference
between the amount of disability-based income and $225.
If the family's disability-based unearned income exceeds
$225
a) All of the first two $225 in disability-based
unearned income.
b) Fifty percent of all earned income.
1)Requires, under federal law, payment of disability
compensation to a veteran for a disability resulting from a
personal injury suffered or disease contracted in the line of
duty or for the aggravation of a preexisting injury suffered
or disease contracted in the line of duty, as specified,
during a period of war, provided that the disability is not
the result of a veteran's own willful misconduct or abuse of
alcohol or drugs. (38 USCS �� 1110 et seq)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
BACKGROUND
The California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids
(CalWORKs) program provides monthly income assistance and
employment-related services aimed at moving children out of
poverty and helping families meet basic needs. Federal funding
for CalWORKs comes from the Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF) block grant. The average monthly cash grant for
a family of three on CalWORKs is $465, which is $15.50 in cash
aid per household per day, making CalWORKs grants nearly the
same in actual dollars than they were in 1987. CalWORKs grants
are used to pay rent, buy clothing, pay utilities bills, and pay
for other basic needs to ensure children can be cared for at
home and remain safely with their families. According to
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January 2013 data from the California Department of Social
Services, 564,041families rely on CalWORKs, including over one
million children. Nearly half of the children on CalWORKs are
under age six. 19.5% of CalWORKs families include four or more
aided family members.
Veterans in California
According to December 2012 estimates from the California
Department of Veterans Affairs (CDVA), California is home to
nearly 2 million veterans; 8.3% of the national veterans
population , which is just over 22.3 million. The Veterans
Administration provides compensation to Veterans who are at
least 10% disabled because of injuries or diseases that occurred
or were aggravated during active military service. The US
Department of Veterans Affairs reports that as of the end of
2010, 252,000 veterans were receiving monthly disability
compensation benefits in California. Additionally, CDVA data
shows that while the overall population of veterans in
California whose service ended during, or prior to, the Vietnam
era is estimated to continue to decline over time, tens of
thousands of veterans return to California from more recent wars
each year. The state's veteran population is comprised of 90%
men and 10% women.
Income disregard
The current disability income/earned income disregard allows
families receiving CalWORKs benefits to maintain some or all of
their disability payment, if they receive one, as well as a
small amount of their earned income, in addition to their
CalWORKs grant. Because most income offsets monthly grant
amounts (monthly grants shrink as earned income grows), allowing
families to keep a minimal amount that is not included in the
grant calculation encourages families to continue to work, seek
gainful employment, and increase their earned income. The
income disregard helps families achieve self-sufficiency and
leave aid sooner due to parents being able to support their
families, rather than providing a perverse incentive for
families to remain on aid by counting all earned income against
a family's grant. Provided that their disability income does
not make them ineligible, families with parents who are exempt
from work requirements due to a disability that won't allow them
to work can still benefit from the CalWORKs aid and services
needed to keep their children safe at home and keep the entire
family out of deep poverty.
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COMMENTS :
Because current statute does not include veteran's disability
compensation within the definition of disability-based unearned
income for purposes of calculating income within the CalWORKs
program, poor disabled veterans with families are not able to
maintain the same amount of monthly income, before the monthly
grant is calculated, as CalWORKs recipients who receive
disability benefits that are not related to military service.
The average disability compensation amount for veterans is $947
per month ($11,365 annually). Because this monthly amount
exceeds the allowable disregard for disability-based unearned
benefits ($225), the amount that would be counted toward the
family's allowable income would be $722. The maximum aid
payment for a family of three in a high cost county is $638,
which increases to $762 for a family of four in a high cost
county. A family is not eligible for CalWORKs if the family's
income exceeds the maximum aid payment for their family size
after subtracting any disregarded amounts of earned or unearned
income. Therefore, with the change proposed in this bill, in
order for a parent who receives the average monthly amount of
disability-based veterans benefits ($947) to remain eligible for
CalWORKs, his or her assistance unit must include at least four
people.
Need for the bill
This measure adds veteran's disability benefits to an existing
list of disability benefits that don't count against a person's
income for purposes of CalWORKs eligibility in an effort to help
the families of California's poor and disabled veterans,
especially those returning from the recent wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan, avoid deep poverty. With so many veterans
returning to California each year, many of whom have
service-related disabilities, their ability to provide for their
families and reintegrate into their communities should be
considered.
According to the Western Center on Law and Poverty (WCLP):
"Nationally, 12.5% of veterans are disabled. Many disabled
veterans are homeless or live in poverty with limited
resources to access needed services?In the coming year,
tens of thousands of veterans of the wars in Iraq an
Afghanistan will return home to California?Many of these
young veterans will have full or partial disabilities and
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some of those are parents with children. Veteran benefits
are usually enough to lift a veteran and his or her family
out of poverty, but on rare occasions, [the benefits are
insufficient]. In these cases, veterans should have the
same right to access state and federal safety net programs
as non-veterans. "
Disability Rights California (DRC) states:
"The bill will help California's veterans with
disabilities, mostly veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan
wars, get the assistance they need to care for their
families?AB 1094 is an important step towards helping
low-income, out-of-work California veterans with
disabilities get back to work and prevents a deepening of
asset poverty for families who have fallen on hard times."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Western Center on Law and Poverty - Sponsor/support
Asian Law Alliance
California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR)
California Catholic Conference of Bishops
California Coalition of Agencies Serving Deaf & and of Hearing
Persons (CCASDHH)
California Communities United Institute (CAlComUI)
Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations
Cuesta College CalWORKs
Disability Rights California
Sacramento Housing Alliance
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Myesha Jackson / HUM. S. / (916)
319-2089