BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 1584 (Brown) - Public social services: SSI/SSP
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|Version: June 30, 2016 |Policy Vote: HUMAN S. 5 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: August 1, 2016 |Consultant: Debra Cooper |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: AB 1584 would reinstate the cost-of-living adjustment
(COLA) in the State Supplementary Program (SSP) for the Aged,
Blind and Disabled and index the maximum Supplemental Security
Income/State Supplementary Payment (SSI/SSP) benefit to the
federal poverty level (FPL) beginning January 1, 2017.
Fiscal
Impact:
Estimated costs to the Department of Social Services (DSS) of
$0.6 billion for fiscal year 2016-17 to increase grants to 96%
of the FPL.
Estimated costs of $1.4 billion for fiscal year 2017-18, to
increase grants to 96% of the FPL for July-Dec 2017 and to
100% of the FPL for Jan-June 2018.
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Estimated ongoing costs of $1.7 billion per year starting in
fiscal year 2018-19 to increase grants to 100% of the FPL.
Background: The 2016 Federal Poverty Guidelines set 100% FPL at $990 per
month for an individual and $1,335 per month for a couple. In
2013, the US Census Bureau issued a report that indicated that
nearly a quarter of California's residents were living in
poverty. The California Elder Economic Security Standard Index
(Elder Index) measures the minimum income necessary to cover
basic expenses for people 65 years of age or older in each of
California's counties. According to the Elder Index, on average
statewide, a single renter living alone in a one-bedroom
apartment needs $1,926 per month to pay for basic expenses,
which increases to $2,667 for a couple renting that same
apartment.
The SSI/SSP program provides monthly cash benefits to qualified
low-income seniors and people with disabilities to help them pay
for basic living expenses such as food, clothing, and shelter.
Qualified SSI recipients are automatically qualified for SSP.
SSI is a federal benefit, while the SSP benefit is funded with
the state's General Fund. The estimated SSI/SSP caseload for
fiscal year 2016-17 is 1.31 million cases, comprising more than
81% individual cases and the remaining cases are couples.
The current SSI/SSP maximum grant level is $889.40 per month
($156.40 SSP) for an individual and $1,496 per month ($396.20
SSP) for couples. This places individuals at 90% of the FPL and
couples at 112% of the FPL.
The federal Social Security Administration provides an annual
COLA to the SSI based on the Consumer Price Index. The state's
SSP COLA was at its lowest in June 2011 at $156.40 which has not
been increased since then, and the SSP COLA was permanently
repealed in 2011 through statute.
AB 1603 (Assembly Committee on Budget, Chapter 25, Statutes of
2016) includes a one-time 2.76% increase to the SSP beginning
January 1, 2017. This will give individuals an increase of $4.32
per month and couples an increase of $10.94 per month. Total
SSI/SSP benefits will increase to $893.72 per month for an
AB 1584 (Brown) Page 2 of
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individual and $1,506.94 for couples.
Proposed Law:
This bill would:
Require annual COLAs, as measured by the California
Necessities Index, to be applied to SSI/SSP payment schedules,
as of January 1, 2017.
Require, beginning January 1, 2017, maximum SSI/SSP aid
payments to an individual that do not equal or exceed 96% of
the 2016 federal poverty level (FPL) based on a household of
one to be increased to an amount equal to 96% of the 2016 FPL
for a household of one
Require, beginning January 1, 2018, maximum SSI/SSP aid
payments to an individual that do not equal 100% of the 2017
FPL based on a household of one to be increased to an amount
equal to 100% of the 2017 FPL for a household of one
Require, beginning January 1, 2018, maximum SSI/SSP aid
payments to a married couple that do not equal 100% of the
2017 FPL based on a household of two to be increased to an
amount equal to 100% of the 2017 FPL for a household of two
States that the requirements to index the maximum aid payments
to 96% or 100% of the FPL are not intended to reduce any
payments that already exceed 96% or 100% of the FPL, as
specified.
Repeals the code that prohibits a COLA for SSI/SSP from 2011
and forward, unless specified by statute.
Related
Legislation:
AB 1603 (Assembly Committee on Budget, Chapter 25, Statutes of
2016), among other things, includes a one-time 2.76% increase to
the SSP beginning January 1, 2017.
AB 474 (Brown, 2015) would have, beginning with the 2015-16
fiscal year, required the state maximum SSP grant for
individuals to be annually adjusted so that the maximum SSI/SSP
payment would equal 112% of the FPL. This bill was held in the
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Assembly Budget Committee.
Staff
Comments: Fiscal estimates are based on the 2016 enacted state
budget SSI/SSP caseload of 1,290,782 (and assumes an SSP annual
caseload growth of 0.1% thereafter) and utilize the 2016 Federal
Poverty Guidelines. The estimates for the 2017 calendar year
reflect the difference between the 2.76%, one-time State COLA
effective January 1, 2017, and the increase to 96% of FPL.
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