BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de León, Chair
AB 1930 (Skinner) - CalFresh: student eligibility.
Amended: August 4, 2014 Policy Vote: Human Services 3-0
Urgency: No Mandate: Yes
Hearing Date: August 4, 2014
Consultant: Jolie Onodera
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: AB 1930 would:
Require the Department of Social Services (DSS), in
consultation with various stakeholders, to establish a
protocol to identify and grant all potential student
exemptions to student eligibility requirements under the
CalFresh Program and to identify and verify participation in
the Community College Extended Opportunity Program and
Services (EOPS) and other educational programs, as
specified, that would exempt a student from the student
eligibility rule.
Require county human services agencies to consider all
potential exemptions to CalFresh eligibility requirements
for students utilizing the DSS-established protocol when
determining eligibility and benefit level for the CalFresh
Program.
Fiscal Impact:
Potentially moderate to significant one-time costs
(General Fund) for the DSS to establish the screening
protocol and identify other programs eligible for exemption
from the student eligibility rule in consultation with
various stakeholders. To the extent the consultation takes
place through existing workgroups convened by the DSS would
serve to mitigate costs to some degree.
Potentially major ongoing state-reimbursable costs in the
millions of dollars (General Fund) for county human services
agencies to consider all potential exemptions (which would
require screening students) utilizing the protocol
established by the DSS. For every 100,000 students screened
for all potential exemptions assuming 15 minutes per
screening would cost about $1.4 million (General Fund). Over
186,000 students receive CSU Pell grants and 75,000 students
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are served in the EOPS program alone. As an indicator of
possible need, there were 1.1 million students in California
community colleges that qualified for a fee waiver in the
2012-13 academic year.
Potential ongoing increase in CalFresh and California Food
Assistance Program (CFAP) benefits and administration costs
(Federal/General Fund) to the extent the screening protocol
results in additional student eligibility for CalFresh.
These costs would be offset in part by the associated
economic benefit of sales tax revenue generated through the
sale of taxable items.
Background: Existing federal law establishes the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for the purpose of promoting
the general welfare and to safeguard the health and well-being
of the nation's population by raising the levels of nutrition
among low-income households. (Code of Federal Regulations,
Title 7, § 271.1.)
State law establishes the CalFresh program to administer the
provision of federal SNAP benefits to families and individuals
meeting the eligibility criteria. (Welfare and Institutions Code
§§ 18900-18927.)
Federal requirements prohibit an individual who is enrolled at
least half-time in an institution of higher education from
SNAP/CalFresh eligibility, unless the student qualifies for one
of the following exemptions:
1. Be younger than age 17 or older than 50.
2. Be physically or mentally unfit.
3. Be receiving TANF (or CalWORKs) benefits.
4. Be enrolled in school as a result of participation
in the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills program, as
specified.
5. Be employed for a minimum of 20 hours per week, as
specified.
6. Be participating in a state or federally financed
work study program during the regular school year, as
specified.
7. Be participating in an on-the-job training program,
as specified.
8. Be responsible for the care of a dependent household
member under the age of 6.
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9. Be responsible for the care of a dependent household
member who has reached age 6-12 when the DSS has
determined that adequate child care is not available to
enable the student to attend class and comply with the
work requirements of items (5) or (6).
10. Be a single parent enrolled in an
institution of higher education on a full-time basis and
be responsible for the care of a dependent child under
age 12, as specified.
11. Be assigned to or placed in an
institution of higher education through a federally
identified program, as specified. (CFR, Title 7, §
273.5.)
This bill seeks to ensure that low-income college students
eligible for CalFresh benefits are properly identified and
provided assistance in enrolling for these benefits.
Proposed Law: This bill would require the DSS, in consultation
with representatives of the office of the Chancellor of the
California Community Colleges (CCC), offices of the Chancellor
of the California State University (CSU), University of
California (UC) Chancellors' offices, the California Workforce
Investment Board (CWIB), county human services agencies, and
advocates for students and clients, to establish a protocol to
identify and grant all potential exemptions to the student
eligibility rule under the CalFresh Program and to identify and
verify participation in the EOPS and other educational programs
that would exempt a student from the student eligibility rule,
as specified. Additionally, this bill:
Requires county human services agencies to consider all
potential exemptions to the student eligibility rule
utilizing the DSS-established protocol when determining
eligibility and benefit level for the CalFresh Program.
Provides that a county human services agency is not
required to offer a particular component, support services,
or worker's compensation to a student found eligible for an
exemption pursuant to the bill's provisions.
Provides that the bill's provisions do not require a
college or university to provide a student with information
necessary to verify eligibility for CalFresh.
Requires the DSS to implement by all-county letter or
similar instructions no later than October 1, 2015, until
regulations are adopted, which shall be no later than
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October 1, 2017.
Related Legislation: SB 999 (Liu) 2014 would have required the
CCC Chancellor's Office and the DSS to establish detailed
guidelines identifying categories of students that may qualify
for federal exemptions that would allow them to receive CalFresh
benefits. This bill required CCCs to provide specific
documentation to students who may qualify for an exemption. This
bill was held on the Suspense File of this Committee.
Staff Comments: The DSS would incur potentially moderate to
significant one-time costs to develop the screening protocol and
identify programs exempt from federal student work requirements
in consultation with the specified stakeholders. While the bill
provides for the consultation to take place through existing
workgroups convened by the DSS to the extent possible, the time
and resources necessary to complete the mandated tasks would
likely not be absorbable, though incorporating the consultation
into existing workgroups would serve to provide some
efficiencies.
By requiring county human services agencies to consider all
potential exemptions to the student eligibility rule using the
DSS-established protocol, this bill creates a state-reimbursable
mandate, potentially resulting in major ongoing costs to the
state. While the actual number of students that will be screened
is unknown, and the time required to screen each student will be
dependent on the specified protocols developed by the DSS, it is
estimated the costs could be substantial. For every 100,000
students that have all potential exemptions considered, and
assuming 15-minutes per student for consideration of all
potential exemptions could cost in the range of $1.4 million
(General Fund). Staff notes over 186,000 students receive CSU
Pell grants and 75,000 students are served in the EOPS program
alone. There were about 1.1 million students in California
community colleges that qualified for a fee waiver in the
2012-13 academic year. Although the income threshold for the
Board of Governor's fee waiver is slightly higher (roughly 150
percent of FPL) than the income threshold for CalFresh (roughly
130 percent of FPL), this could be used as a general indicator
of possible need.
To the extent that mandated consideration of all potential
exemptions to the student eligibility rule results in additional
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students accessing Cal Fresh benefits, the level of CalFresh
benefits and administrative costs could increase. Additional
administrative costs would increase commensurate with the
participating caseload and ratio of new to existing households
receiving benefits. Additional costs to the state would also be
partially offset by a likely increase in sales tax revenue.
Studies show that low-income families spend a significant
portion of their money on food, and increasing CalFresh access
would allow them to spend that money on taxable items.