BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
                               Senator McGuire, Chair
                                2015 - 2016  Regular 

          Bill No:              AB 1770
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          |Author:   |Alejo                                                 |
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          |Version:  |May 31, 2016           |Hearing    |June 28, 2016    |
          |          |                       |Date:      |                 |
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          |Urgency:  |No                     |Fiscal:    |Yes              |
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          |Consultant|Debra Cooper                                          |
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                   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  







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               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  








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          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  








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          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  








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          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
          
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          |Assembly Floor:                                            |53 - |
          |                                                           |25   |
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          |Assembly Appropriations Committee:                         |14 - |
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          |Assembly Human Services Committee:                         |5 -  |
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            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:








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               None.

                                      -- END --