Amended in Assembly April 6, 2016

Amended in Assembly March 18, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1584

Introduced by Assembly Member Brown

(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Thurmond)

January 6, 2016

An act to amend Section 12201 of, and to add Section 12200.7 to, the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to public social services, and making an appropriation therefor.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1584, as amended, Brown. Public social services: SSI/SSP.

Existing law provides for the State Supplementary Program for the Aged, Blind and Disabled (SSP), which requires the State Department of Social Services to contract with the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services to make payments to SSP recipients to supplement Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments made available pursuant to the federal Social Security Act.

Under existing law, benefit payments under SSP are calculated by establishing the maximum level of nonexempt income and federal SSI and state SSP benefits for each category of eligible recipient. The state SSP payment is the amount required, when added to the nonexempt income and SSI benefits available to the recipient, to provide the maximum benefit payment. Existing law prohibits, for each calendar year, commencing with the 2011 calendar year, any cost-of-living adjustment from being made to the maximum benefit payment unless otherwise specified by statute, except for the pass along of any cost-of-living increase in the federal SSI benefits. Existing law continuously appropriates funds for the implementation of SSP.

This bill would reinstate the cost-of-living adjustment beginning January 1 of the 2017 calendar year. The bill would also require a maximum aid payment that begin delete falls below end delete begin insert does not equal or exceed end insert 96% of the begin insert 2016 end insert federal poverty begin delete line as of December 31, 2016, end delete begin insert level based on family size, end insert or 100% of the begin insert 2017 end insert federal poverty begin delete line as of December 31, 2017, end delete begin insert level based on family size, end insert to be increased to an amount that equals 96% or 100% of the federal poverty begin delete line, end delete begin insert level, end insert respectively. begin delete The bill would require the increases to be provided in addition to the required cost-of-living adjustments. end delete

By reinstating the cost-of-living adjustment and by increasing the amount of benefits paid under the SSP, this bill would make an appropriation.

Vote: ²⁄₃. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 12200.7 is added to the Welfare and
Institutions Code, to read:

12200.7.  

(a)  begin delete Notwithstanding any other law, a end delete begin insert Commencing
January 1, 2017, any end insert maximum aid payment begin insert provided pursuant
to Section 12200 and adjusted pursuant to Section 12201 end insert that begin delete falls
below end delete begin insert does not equal or exceed end insert 96 percent of the begin insert 2016 end insert federal
poverty level begin delete as of December 31, 2016, end delete begin insert based on family size end insert shall
be increased to an amount that equals 96 percent of the begin insert 2016 end insert federal
poverty begin delete level. end delete begin insert level based on family size. end insert

(b)  begin delete Notwithstanding any other law, commencing end delete begin insert Commencing end insert
January 1, 2018, begin delete a end delete begin insert any end insert maximum aid payment that begin delete falls below end delete
begin insert does not equal or exceed end insert 100 percent of the begin insert 2017 end insert federal poverty
level begin delete as of December 31, 2017, end delete begin insert based on family size end insert shall be
increased to an amount that equals 100 percent of the begin insert 2017 end insert federal
poverty begin delete level. end delete begin insert level based on family size. end insert

(c) This section is not intended to result in the reduction of any
payment that exceeds 96 percent of the begin insert 2016 end insert federal poverty level
begin delete on December 31, 2016, end delete begin insert based on family size during the 2017
calendar year, end insert or begin insert that exceeds end insert 100 percent of the begin insert 2017 end insert federal
poverty begin delete line on December 31, 2017. end delete begin insert level based on family size
during the 2018 calendar year. end insert

begin delete

(d) The increases required by this section shall be provided in
addition to the cost-of-living adjustments required by Section
12201.

end delete

SEC. 2.  

Section 12201 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:

12201.  

(a) Except as provided in subdivision begin delete (d) or (g), end delete begin insert (d), end insert
the payment schedules set forth in Section 12200 shall be adjusted
annually to reflect any increases or decreases in the cost of living.
Except as provided in subdivision begin delete (e), (f), or (g), end delete begin insert (e) or (f), end insert these
adjustments shall become effective January 1 of each year. The
cost-of-living adjustment shall be based on the changes in the
California Necessities Index, which as used in this section shall
be the weighted average of changes for food, clothing, fuel,
utilities, rent, and transportation for low-income consumers. The
computation of annual adjustments in the California Necessities
Index shall be made in accordance with the following steps:

(1) The base period expenditure amounts for each expenditure
category within the California Necessities Index used to compute
the annual grant adjustment are:

 

Food	$ 3,027
Clothing (apparel and upkeep)	406
Fuel and other utilities	529
Rent, residential	4,883
Transportation	1,757
Total	$10,602

 

(2) Based on the appropriate components of the Consumer Price
Index for All Urban Consumers, as published by the United States
Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, the percentage
change shall be determined for the 12-month period begin delete which end delete begin insert that end insert
ends 12 months prior to the January in which the cost-of-living
adjustment will take effect, for each expenditure category specified
in paragraph (1) within the following geographical areas: Los
Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, San Francisco-Oakland, San Diego,
and, to the extent statistically valid information is available from
the Bureau of Labor Statistics, additional geographical areas within
the state begin delete which end delete begin insert that end insert include not less than 80 percent of recipients
of aid under this chapter.

(3) Calculate a weighted percentage change for each of the
expenditure categories specified in paragraph (1) using the
applicable weighting factors for each area used by the Department
of Industrial Relations to calculate the California Consumer Price
Index (CCPI).

(4) Calculate a category adjustment factor for each expenditure
category in paragraph (1) by (1) adding 100 to the applicable
weighted percentage change as determined in paragraph (2) and
(2) dividing the sum by 100.

(5) Determine the expenditure amounts for the current year by
multiplying each expenditure amount determined for the prior year
by the applicable category adjustment factor determined in
paragraph (4).

(6) Determine the overall adjustment factor by dividing (1) the
sum of the expenditure amounts as determined in paragraph (4)
for the current year by (2) the sum of the expenditure amounts as
determined in paragraph (4) for the prior year.

(b) The overall adjustment factor determined by the preceding
computational steps shall be multiplied by the payment schedules
established pursuant to Section 12200 as are in effect during the
month of December preceding the calendar year in which the
adjustments are to occur, and the product rounded to the nearest
dollar. The resultant amounts shall constitute the new schedules
for the categories given under subdivisions (a), (b), (c), (d), (e),
(f), and (g) of Section 12200, and shall be filed with the Secretary
of State. The amount as set forth in subdivision (h) of Section
12200 shall be adjusted annually pursuant to this section in the
event that the secretary agrees to administer payment under that
subdivision. The payment schedule for subdivision (i) of Section
12200 shall be computed as specified, based on the new payment
schedules for subdivisions (a), (b), (c), and (d) of Section 12200.

(c) The department shall adjust any amounts of aid under this
chapter to ensure that the minimum level required by the Social
Security Act in order to maintain eligibility for funds under Title
XIX of that act is met.

(d) (1) No adjustment shall be made under this section for the
1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2004, 2006,
2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 calendar years to reflect any change
in the cost of living. Elimination of the cost-of-living adjustment
pursuant to this paragraph shall satisfy the requirements of Section
12201.05, and no further reduction shall be made pursuant to that
section.

(2) Any cost-of-living adjustment granted under this section for
any calendar year shall not include adjustments for any calendar
year in which the cost-of-living adjustment was suspended pursuant
to paragraph (1).

(e) For the 2003 calendar year, the adjustment required by this
section shall become effective June 1, 2003.

(f) For the 2005 calendar year, the adjustment required by this
section shall become effective April 1, 2005.

begin delete

(g) (1) For the 2011 to the 2016 calendar year, inclusive, no
adjustment shall be made under this section unless otherwise
specified by statute.

(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the pass along of federal
benefits provided for in Section 12201.05 shall be effective on
January 1 of each calendar year.

end delete