BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 474
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Date of Hearing: April 28, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Kansen Chu, Chair
AB 474
(Brown) - As Amended April 7, 2015
SUBJECT: Public social services: SSI/SSP
SUMMARY: Annually adjusts the State Supplementary Payment (SSP)
amount beginning with the 2015-16 fiscal year. Specifically,
this bill: Requires the state maximum SSP grant amount for
individuals to be readjusted and increased annually so that the
combined total of the federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
payment and the SSP payment equal 112% of the federal poverty
level.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes the State Supplementary Program for Aged, Blind
and Disabled, which is intended to supplement SSI and provide
persons whose need results from age, blindness or disability
with assistance and services that help them meet basic needs
and maintain or increase independence. (WIC 12000 et seq.)
2)Provides that eligibility requirements for SSP match federal
SSI criteria, and requires a minimum level of SSP benefits to
be provided in order to maintain federal Medicaid funding, as
specified. (WIC 12000 et seq.)
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FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS:
SSI/SSP: The Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary
Payment (SSI/SSP) program provides a monthly cash benefit to
needy aged, blind, and disabled individuals and couples to help
them pay for basic living expenses, such as food, clothing and
shelter. In order to be eligible for SSI/SSP, an individual
must be 65 years of age or older, blind, or disabled (blind or
disabled children can qualify), and must meet certain federal
income and resource requirements. The SSI portion of the
benefit is federally-funded and only provided through an
approved application to the Social Security Administration
(SSA), while the SSP portion is paid for with General Fund
dollars, and a qualified SSI recipient is automatically
qualified for SSP. The SSI portion of the grant is meant to
provide an income floor for qualifying low-income individuals
and couples.
SSI/SSP grants are adjusted based on whether a recipient is
aged, blind or disabled, the individual's or couple's living
arrangement, a recipient's marital status, and a recipient's
status as a minor. The current SSI/SSP maximum grant levels are
$889.40 per month for an individual ($156.40 SSP) and $1,496 per
month for couples ($396.20 SSP), which places individuals at 90%
of poverty and couples at 112% of poverty based on federal
guidelines. The estimated SSI/SSP caseload for 2015-16 is 1.31
million cases (including 1.5 million people), which is comprised
of 27% aged, 2% blind and 71% disabled persons. Over 80% of
SSI/SSP cases are individual cases.
The SSA applies an annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to
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the SSI portion of the grant pursuant to annual increases in the
Consumer Price Index (CPI). This federal COLA is passed through
to SSI/SSP recipients in California, which allows SSI/SSP grants
to remain at the minimum level allowed under federal law for
individuals and couples, thereby allowing the state to maintain
its federal Medicaid funding. During the state's economic
downturn, the SSI/SSP program was one of many safety net
programs negatively impacted. The COLA California once applied
to the SSP amount was made inoperative as part of the 2009-10
Budget Act, and new statutory authority would be needed to
reinstate it.
Need for this bill: In a March 2015 Joint Hearing of the
Assembly Committee on Aging and Long Term Care and the Assembly
Committee on Human Services titled Who Can Afford to Get Old?
Senior Poverty in the Golden State, numerous aged and disabled
individuals provided public comment about the financial hardship
they and people they know were facing due, in part, to the low
SSI/SSP grant amount, which is the sole source of income for
many of them. In addition to pointing out how the SSI/SSP grant
amount has not kept up with inflation, many members of the
public spoke about how too many aged and disabled individuals
had to make tough decisions about which expenses they were going
to be able to pay each month, understanding that their SSI/SSP
grant amounts weren't high enough to meet even their most basic
needs. More specifically, a presentation prepared for the
hearing by the California Budget & Policy Center revealed that
the current Fair Market Rent for a studio apartment exceeds the
maximum SSI/SSP grant level for an individual in 15 counties,
and exceeds 50% of the maximum SSI/SSP grant for an individual
in all 58 counties.
The California Elder Economic Security Index (EESI) is a
county-specific measure of the minimum income necessary to cover
basic expenses for people age 65 years and older. Factoring in
housing, food, health care, and transportation costs, the EESI
illustrates the shortcomings of the current SSI/SSP grant amount
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for seniors. According to the EESI, a single renter living
alone in a one-bedroom apartment in San Bernardino County needs
$1,850 per month to pay for basic expenses, which increases to
$2,453 needed for a couple renting a one-bedroom apartment. In
Alameda County, the amount needed increases to $2,170 for a
single elderly renter and $2,888 for a couple. By increasing
the monthly SSI/SSP grant amount for individuals to 112% of
poverty ($1,099), the author of this bill seeks to increase
recipients' quality of life.
According to the author, "Retirement is not 'golden' for all
older adults in California, let alone the United States?This
population struggles with rising housing costs, unmanageable
health care bills, and inadequate nutrition. The impact upon
essential needs are compounded by a lack of transportation,
diminished savings, and even for some who are still vibrant
enough, job loss. For older adults who live in relative
(statistical) security just above the poverty level, one major
adverse life event can dramatically alter their experiences for
the worse? It is well documented that the effects of the
nation's economic difficulties have been devastating for seniors
who tend only to be capable of deploying limited coping
strategies during periods of economic downturns? SSI/SSP grant
increases may be the most important economic development program
the we can offer this year because every single one of those
additional dollars are spent by elders, blind and disabled
people struggling to make ends meet."
DOUBLE REFERRAL . This bill has been double-referred. Should
this bill pass out of this committee, it will be referred to the
Assembly Committee on Budget.
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Employment Lawyers Association ("CELA") - co-sponsor
2-1-1 Humboldt
Access to Independence
Alameda County Community Food Bank
Alameda County Meals on Wheels
AllCare Alliance
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
(AFSCME), AFL-CIO
Antelope Valley Seniors Network
Bay Area Community Services
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California Alliance for Retired Americans
California Association of Area Agencies on Aging
California Association of Food Banks
California Association of Public Authorities (CAPA)
California Catholic Conference of Bishops
California Commission on Aging (CCoA)
California Food Policy Advocates (CFPA)
California Foundation for Independent Living Centers (CFILC)
California In-Home Supportive Services Consumer Alliance
California Partnership
California Senior Leaders Alliance (CSLA)
Californians for Disability Rights, Inc.
Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations, Inc.
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Community Resources for Independent Living
Courage Campaign
Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services
Disability Rights California
Educate. Advocate.
Feeding America San Diego
Gray Panthers of San Francisco
Hunger Action Los Angeles
Hunger Advocacy Network
IHSS Consumers Union
Imperial Valley Food Bank
Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles (JFS)
Justice in Aging
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Los Angeles Community Action Network
Meals on Wheels Greater San Diego
Mental Healthhookup
Mercy Brown Bag Program
Mission for the Homeless, Inc.
National Association of Social Workers, CA Chapter (NASW-CA)
Older Women's League (OWL) Sacramento
Orange County Food Access Coalition
Personal Assistance Services Council
Placer People of Faith Together
Project Chicken Soup
Redwood Empire Food Bank
Resources for Independent Living (RIL)
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Sacramento Homeless Organizing Committee
Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homelessness
San Diego Hunger Coalition
San Diego Organizing Project (SDOP)
San Francisco Senior and Disability Action
SF Marin Food Bank
St. Anthony Foundation
St. Francis Living Room
St. Mary's Center
Tenderloin Housing Clinic
Thai Community Development Center
The Insight Center for Community Economic Development
The Resource Connection Food Bank
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California Council of the blind (CCB)
UDW/AFSCME Local 3930
Urban & Environmental Policy Institute at Occidental College
Venice Community Housing Corporation
Volunteers of East Los Angeles (VELA)
Western Center on Law & Poverty
Westside Center for Independence Living
Women Organizing Resources, Knowledge and Services (WORKS)
1 Individual
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Myesha Jackson / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089
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