BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES Senator McGuire, Chair 2015 - 2016 Regular Bill No: AB 1770 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Author: |Alejo | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |----------+-----------------------+-----------+-----------------| |Version: |May 31, 2016 |Hearing |June 28, 2016 | | | |Date: | | |----------+-----------------------+-----------+-----------------| |Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes | ---------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Consultant|Debra Cooper | |: | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Food assistance program: eligibility SUMMARY This bill extends eligibility for nutrition assistance under the California Food Assistance Program (CFAP) to a noncitizen who is lawfully present in the United States, provided he or she meets all remaining eligibility requirements. ABSTRACT Existing law: 1) Establishes in federal law the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program and ties receipt of benefits to work. It also reduced or eliminated federal eligibility for legal immigrants during their first five years of U.S. residence.(H.R. 32734) 2) Establishes under federal law the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) within the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to promote the general welfare and to safeguard the health and wellbeing of the nation's population by raising the levels of nutrition among low-income households. (7 CFR 271.1) 3) Establishes, under federal law, income eligibility standards for SNAP benefits, including income that is at or below 130% of the federal poverty level and is determined AB 1770 (Alejo) Page 2 of ? to be a substantial limiting factor in permitting a recipient to obtain a more nutritious diet, as specified. (7 CFR 273.9) 4) Establishes in California statute the CalFresh program to administer the provisions of federal SNAP benefits to families and individuals meeting specified criteria. (WIC 18900 et seq.) 5) Authorizes the provision of aid to noncitizens who have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence, or are otherwise permanently residing in the United States under color of law, to the extent permitted by federal law. (WIC 11104) 6) Establishes the California Food Assistance Program (CFAP) which provides state-funded nutrition assistance to certain legal immigrants who meet all other CalFresh benefit requirements, as specified. (WIC 18930 et seq.) This bill: 1) Extends eligibility for the CFAP to include noncitizens lawfully present in the United States. BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION Purpose of the bill: According to the author, under existing law, the CalFresh program provides nutritional assistance to certain, but not all, legally eligible California immigrants who are ineligible for federal SNAP benefits. AB 1770 would expand CalFresh eligibility to all California immigrants who are lawfully present in the United States. The author further states, California has the largest immigrant population in the country with approximately 10.5 million residents, which comprise 27 percent of the state's population. Meanwhile, 1 in 4 children in California experience hunger and AB 1770 (Alejo) Page 3 of ? nearly five million Californians suffer from food insecurity, per the author. The author states that ending hunger among lawfully present immigrants is not only a moral imperative; it would help stimulate state and local economies. The author cites data that indicates every $5 in financial assistance generates $9 in economic activity. Additionally, the author reports that every $1 billion in SNAP benefits allows approximately 14,000 Americans to keep their jobs, according to the Economic Research Service. CalFresh California provides nutritional benefits to approximately 4.4 million people through the CalFresh program. CalFresh benefits are funded entirely by the federal government through the USDA's SNAP program, which provides food benefits to eligible households nationwide. USDA sets specific eligibility requirements for SNAP programs across the United States, including gross- and net-income asset tests for most recipients, work requirements and specific documentation requirements. The maximum gross income allowed to be eligible is 130% of the Federal Poverty Level. According to the USDA, the average monthly benefit for a CalFresh recipient in 2014 was $141.99 per month, or $4.73 per day. CalFresh benefits are made available on a monthly basis through a debit-like EBT card. CalFresh benefits can be used to purchase food items for human consumption, as well as seeds and plants to be grown at home and produce food. Currently, the federal government does not permit the use of EBT cards to deliver benefits to the population that would be made eligible for aid by this bill. California Food Assistance Program Following the passing of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) in 1996, federal eligibility for aid to immigrant populations entering the U.S. was restricted. The following year, California established CFAP to provide state-funded nutritional aid to legally present immigrant populations who had lost SNAP benefits due to PRWORA. Under CFAP, state dollars are used to provide aid to families AB 1770 (Alejo) Page 4 of ? not eligible for federal SNAP benefits solely due to residency requirements. Income and other eligibility requirements for CFAP are aligned with CalFresh requirements; similarly, benefit amounts are aligned with CalFresh. According to CDSS, CFAP provided food assistance to approximately 20,700 households in Fiscal Year 2015-16, a 6.7 percent increase from the previous year. California law identifies specific categories of lawfully present immigrants, such as Hattian or Cuban refugees, who are eligible for CFAP benefits. However, because immigration categories have expanded in recent years, certain immigrant populations are ineligible CFAP benefits. This group includes immigrants present under immigration categories that did not exist in 1997, when the CFAP program was created. For example, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Temporary Protected Status, Deferred Enforced Departure, and other long-time residents who are in the process of adjusting to legal permanent residency status are not eligible for state-funded food assistance. FISCAL IMPACT According to an analysis by the Assembly Committee on Appropriations, General Fund costs are unknown, but likely in the hundreds of thousands of dollars to CDSS for automation and benefits. For example, if an additional 300 families became eligible, each receiving $125 in benefits per month, the ongoing annual cost for benefits from the General Fund would be $450,000. Costs to CDSS to create a delivery system other than EBT cards for the benefits are unknown but likely significant. Related legislation: AB 2345 (Gonzalez, 2014) would have expanded eligibility for aid under the CalWORKs program to noncitizen individuals who were lawfully present in the United States. It was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. AB 35 (Hernández, Chapter 571, Statutes of 2013) among other provisions, extended consumer protections for youth applying for DACA status and codified the requirement that DACA-approved AB 1770 (Alejo) Page 5 of ? individuals be eligible for unemployment insurance benefits. SB 1569 (Kuehl, Chapter 672, Statutes of 2006) extended eligibility for certain public social services, including CalWORKs and CFAP, to qualified noncitizen victims of trafficking, domestic violence, and other serious crimes. COMMENTS Qualified noncitizens, as defined by PRWORA, are able to receive CFAP benefits delivered through the EBT system. However, the population that this bill would affect is not covered under PRWORA, and therefore may not be eligible to have benefits delivered through the EBT system. If this population cannot be served through the EBT system, CDSS would need to create a delivery system separate from EBT to deliver benefits. PRIOR VOTES ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Assembly Floor: |53 - | | |25 | |-----------------------------------------------------------+-----| |Assembly Appropriations Committee: |14 - | | |6 | |-----------------------------------------------------------+-----| |Assembly Human Services Committee: |5 - | | |2 | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- POSITIONS Support: Western Center on Law and Poverty (Sponsor) MALDEF The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) The California Immigrant Policy Center The California Catholic Conference Oppose: AB 1770 (Alejo) Page 6 of ? None. -- END --