BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1770
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 4, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
1770 (Alejo) - As Amended March 18, 2016
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Policy |Human Services |Vote:|5 - 2 |
|Committee: | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
Yes
SUMMARY:
This bill extends eligibility for nutrition assistance under the
California Food Assistance Program (CFAP) to all noncitizens who
are lawfully present in the United States, provided they meet
all other eligibility requirements.
FISCAL EFFECT:
1)Unknown GF costs, likely in the hundreds of thousands of
dollars to the Department of Social Services (DSS) for
AB 1770
Page 2
automation and benefits. For example, if 300 additional
families received a $125 per month benefit, the on-going cost
for benefits would be approximately $450,000 (GF).
2)Unknown, but likely significant costs to DSS to create a
delivery system for the benefits. DSS notes the federal
government does not permit the use of Electronic Benefit
Transfer (EBT) cards to deliver benefits to this population.
DSS would need to create another card or an alternative
delivery system for the benefits.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author's office, "Following the
passage of federal welfare reform in 1996, California extended
CalFresh benefits in 1997 to provide state-funded food
assistance to legal immigrants who are not eligible for
federal food assistance programs. Most immigrant Californians
are eligible for food assistance under Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP) or under California's CalFresh.
However, under current law, certain immigrant Californians are
still ineligible for food assistance, including immigrants
legally residing in California under immigration categories
that did not exist in 1997, such as Deferred Action for
Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Expanding eligibility for CalFresh
will reduce hunger, food insecurity, and poverty in
California."
According to the California Immigrant Policy Center, a sponsor
of this bill, this bill will expand the program by including
categories of legally present immigrants that did not exist in
1996, including Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA),
Temporary Protected Status (TPS), Deferred Enforced Departure,
and other long-time residents who are in the process of
adjusting to legal permanent residency status.
AB 1770
Page 3
2)California Food Assistance Program (CFAP): In 1996, federal
welfare reform legislation restricted aid for immigrants
entering the United States after August 22, 1996. In response,
CFAP was established in 1997 to provide state-funded nutrition
benefits to legally present immigrants who lost federal SNAP
eligibility under federal welfare reform. State dollars are
used to provide aid to families not eligible for federal
funding solely due to residency requirements. Income and other
eligibility requirements for CFAP are aligned with CalFresh
requirements as are benefit amounts. The average monthly
benefit for a CalFresh recipient is $144.35, made available on
a monthly basis for food purchase through an ATM-like
electronic benefits transfer (EBT) card. According to DSS,
during the 2015-16 fiscal year, CFAP provided food assistance
to approximately 20,700 households, which is a 6.7% increase
from the previous year.
3)Prior Legislation.
a) AB 2345 (Gonzalez), 2014, would have expanded
eligibility for noncitizens who are lawfully in the United
States for aid under the CalWORKs program and for nutrition
assistance under CFAP. This bill was held in this
Committee.
b) AB 35 (Hernández) Chapter 571, Statutes of 2013, among
other provisions, extended consumer protections for youth
applying for DACA and codified the requirement that
DACA-approved individuals be eligible for unemployment
insurance benefits.
AB 1770
Page 4
c) AB 1569 (Kuehl) Chapter 672, Statutes of 2006, provided
temporary and immediate access to social services,
including CalWORKs and CFAP, for non-citizen survivors of
human trafficking, domestic violence, and other serious
crimes.
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916)
319-2081