BILL NUMBER: AB 1809 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 28, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Lopez
( Coauthors: Assembly Members
Gipson and Mullin )
( Coauthors: Senators
Hertzberg and Mitchell )
FEBRUARY 8, 2016
An act to amend Section 95504 of the Government Code, and to amend
Sections 11151, 11257.5, 11322.5, 11375, 11450, 11450.5, 14140, and
18923 of, and to repeal Sections 11155, 11155.1, 11155.2, 11155.6,
11157.5, 11257, and 11260 of, the Welfare and Institutions Code,
relating to CalWORKs.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1809, as amended, Lopez. CalWORKs eligibility: asset limits.
Existing federal law provides for allocation of federal funds
through the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
block grant program to eligible states, with California's version of
this program being known as the California Work Opportunity and
Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program. Under the CalWORKs
program, each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to
qualified low-income families and individuals who meet specified
eligibility criteria, including limitations on income and assets
generally applicable to public assistance programs. Existing law
continuously appropriates money from the General Fund to pay for a
share of aid grant costs under the CalWORKs program.
This bill would repeal those limitations on assets with regard to
eligibility for CalWORKs, thereby, thereby
eliminating the consideration of an individual's or family's
assets as a condition of eligibility for CalWORKs. The bill would
also make conforming changes. By increasing the duties of counties
administering the CalWORKs program, the bill would impose a
state-mandated local program. The bill would declare that no
appropriation would be made for purposes of the bill pursuant to the
provision continuously appropriating funds for the CalWORKs program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) In 1996, the United States Congress passed the Personal
Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA),
known as welfare reform, which created the Temporary Assistance to
Needy Families (TANF) program. TANF gives states power to design
their own programs, including establishing asset limits. The
California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs)
program is California's program that implements federal welfare
reform provisions.
(b) In California, to qualify for public assistance under
CalWORKs, impoverished families must demonstrate that they are both
income- and asset- poor. Under current law, a low-income family will
not qualify for assistance if the family has savings or other assets,
excluding a home and a vehicle of a specific value, exceeding the
asset limit of $2,000. The asset test has been removed for both
CalFresh and Medi-Cal.
(c) Research published in 2015 shows that very few families (0.1
percent) applying for or receiving CalWORKs assistance are found to
exceed the vehicle and cash asset test.
(d) Other states, realizing that very few families had assets over
the limit, have removed the limit with the goal of streamlining the
eligibility process and cutting down on administrative costs. In
Virginia, this decision has saved the state an estimated $400,000
annually, and to date, the State of Virginia has reported no negative
impacts. A study published in 2015 has estimated that if California
were to repeal the CalWORKs asset limit, there would be minimal to no
increase in caseloads and an annual $6.4 million in administrative
savings allowing county case workers to spend less time reviewing the
value of vehicles and savings and more time helping people get the
resources they need to get back to work.
(e) Asset limits were intended to ensure that public assistance
programs provide benefits only to those with too few resources to
support themselves. But years of research and practitioner experience
has proven that personal savings and assets are precisely the kinds
of resources that allow people to move off public benefits programs.
Without being able to maintain or build up a small savings cushion,
these families are highly vulnerable to falling into debt in the
event of an emergency or other unexpected expense.
(f) It is the intent of the Legislature to repeal the asset test
for the CalWORKs program, thereby aligning program rules with
Medi-Cal and CalFresh, making the program more efficient, and
increasing the capacity of poor families to exit poverty.
SEC. 2. Section 95504 of the Government Code is amended to read:
95504. (a) The nonprofit facilitator shall subcontract with
service providers to implement the project around the state. The
nonprofit facilitator shall make an attempt to select service
providers for programs of different size, geographical distribution,
and target population to be served. Additionally, the nonprofit
facilitator may consider giving special consideration to service
providers that demonstrate partnerships with local public agencies.
(b) The service providers shall perform all of the following
duties in implementing the project:
(1) Recruit and select participants who meet the following
criteria:
(A) The individual is at least 18 years of age.
(B) The individual is a member of a household with an income of
not more than 80 percent of the area median income based on United
States Department of Housing and Urban Development guidelines at the
time of program enrollment.
(C) The individual is not a dependent of another person for
federal income tax purposes.
(D) The individual is not a debtor for a judgment resulting from
nonpayment of a court-ordered child support obligation.
(E) The individual meets eligibility criteria as defined by the
funding source for the program created under this title.
(2) Develop and sign contracts with each participant, to include
all program requirements and policies governing the participant's
account.
(3) Assist participants in opening individual development
accounts. The accounts shall be established using an account
structure parallel to a restricted account as described in former
Section 11155.2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code that meets both
of the following requirements:
(A) One separate account shall be established for each participant
in a federally or state insured financial institution, community
development financial institution, any financial institution eligible
to hold an individual retirement account, or community development
credit union, in which each participant's savings are deposited and
maintained. The program participant may withdraw his or her own
savings at any time.
(B) Another separate, parallel account shall be established and
maintained by service providers in which the matching funds from
state, federal, and private donations are kept. The parallel account
may contain all matching funds for a pool of any service provider's
participants.
(4) Help individuals receive their matching funds at the
conclusion of the program.
(5) Provide participants with a minimum of 12 hours of financial
education and training. The education and training shall include, but
need not be limited to, all of the following:
(A) Household and personal budget management.
(B) Economic literacy.
(C) Credit repair.
(6) Develop a program dismissal process for participants who do
not fulfill program participation requirements, and seek to ensure
that matching funds are used for their intended purposes.
(7) Collect and maintain information about their programs, in a
manner that provides the capacity to report semiannually all of the
following information to the department:
(A) The number and demographic characteristics of participants
enrolled in the program.
(B) The number of accounts established.
(C) The individual and aggregate savings level of participants.
(D) The number of participants who closed accounts and the amount
of associated savings.
(E) The actual and proposed program budget.
(F) The size and origin of matching pool funds received,
obligated, and paid to participants.
(G) The program achievements and obstacles.
(H) Twelve-month program and financial projections.
(I) At least one participant profile.
SEC. 3. Section 11151 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
11151. An applicant or recipient shall be ineligible to receive
public assistance unless the property he or she owns is
held for the following purposes:
(a) The property is used to provide the applicant or recipient
with a home and conforms to the provisions of Section 11152.
(b) The property is producing income for the support of the
applicant or recipient and conforms to the provisions of Section
11153.7.
(c) The property is held as a reserve to meet a contingent need,
not included within the standard of assistance for which an aid
payment is made, and conforms to the provisions of Section 11154.
(d) The property is personal in nature, or meets a special need of
the applicant or recipient, or is part of a self-care or
rehabilitation plan, or is not available for expenditure or
disposition by the applicant or recipient.
SEC. 4. Section 11155 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 5. Section 11155.1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 6. Section 11155.2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 7. Section 11155.6 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 8. Section 11157.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 9. Section 11257 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 10. Section 11257.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
11257.5. A family may retain, for nine months, real property if
the family is making a good faith effort to sell the real property.
However, any aid payable to the family for the nine-month period
shall be conditioned upon the sale. At the time of the sale any aid
payments made during the nine-month period shall be considered
overpayments to the extent they would not have been made had the sale
occurred at the beginning of the nine-month period. Notwithstanding
Section 11004 overpayments shall be recouped from the proceeds of the
sale.
Notwithstanding Section 11007 as a condition to the granting of
aid pursuant to this section, the family shall grant the county a
lien upon the real property as security for the aid to be paid. The
lien shall be used to recoup any overpayments incurred pursuant to
this section. Notwithstanding any other law, the lien shall not be
enforceable by the sale of the secured property by the county. The
lien of the county shall be paid upon the sale of the property.
The department shall define good faith effort in regulation.
SEC. 11. Section 11260 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 12. Section 11322.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
11322.5. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature to do each of
the following:
(1) Maximize the ability of CalWORKs recipients to benefit from
the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), including retroactive
EITC credits and the Advance EITC, take advantage of the
earned-income disregard to increase their CalFresh Program benefits,
and accumulate credit toward future social security income.
(2) Educate and empower all CalWORKs participants who receive the
federal EITC to save or invest part or all of their credits in
instruments such as individual development accounts, 401(k) plans,
403(b) plans, IRAs, 457 plans, Coverdell ESA plans, or 529 plans, and
to take advantage of the federal Assets for Independence program and
other matching funds, tools, and training available from public or
private sources, in order to build their assets.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that counties encourage
CalWORKs recipients to participate in activities that will maximize
their receipt of the EITC. To this end, counties may do all of the
following:
(1) Structure welfare-to-work activities pursuant to subdivisions
(a) to (j), inclusive, of Section 11322.6 to give recipients the
option of maximizing the portion of their CalWORKs benefits that
meets the definition of "earned income" in Section 32(c)(2) of the
Internal Revenue Code.
(2) Inform CalWORKs recipients of each of the following:
(A) That earned income, either previous or future, may make them
eligible for the federal EITC, including retroactive EITC credits and
the Advance EITC, increase their CalFresh Program benefits, and
accumulate credit toward future social security income.
(B) That recipients, as part of their welfare-to-work plans, have
the option of engaging in subsidized employment and grant-based
on-the-job training, as specified in Section 11322.6, and that
participating in these activities will increase their earned income
to the extent that they meet the requirements of federal law.
(C) That receipt of the federal EITC does not affect their
CalWORKs grant and is additional tax-free income for them.
(D) That a CalWORKs recipient who receives the federal EITC may
invest these funds in an individual development account, 401(k) plan,
403(b) plan, IRA, 457 plan, 529 college savings plan, or Coverdell
ESA, and that investments in these accounts will not make the
recipient ineligible for CalWORKs benefits or reduce the recipient's
CalWORKs benefits.
(3) At each regular eligibility redetermination, the county shall
ask a recipient whether the recipient is eligible for and takes
advantage of the EITC. If the recipient may be eligible and does not
participate, the county shall give the recipient the federal EITC
form and encourage and assist the recipient to take advantage of it.
SEC. 13. Section 11375 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
11375. The following shall apply to any child or nonminor in
receipt of state-funded Kin-GAP benefits:
(a) He or she is eligible to request and receive independent
living services pursuant to Section 10609.3.
(b) He or she may retain cash savings, not to exceed ten thousand
dollars ($10,000), including interest, in addition to any other
property accumulated pursuant to former Section 11257 or Section
11257.5.
(c) He or she shall have earned income disregarded pursuant to
Section 11008.15.
SEC. 14. Section 11450 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, as
added by Section 4 of Chapter 632 of the Statutes of 2014, is amended
to read:
11450. (a) (1) (A) Aid shall be paid for each needy family, which
shall include all eligible brothers and sisters of each eligible
applicant or recipient child and the parents of the children, but
shall not include unborn children, or recipients of aid under Chapter
3 (commencing with Section 12000), qualified for aid under this
chapter. In determining the amount of aid paid, and notwithstanding
the minimum basic standards of adequate care specified in Section
11452, the family's income, exclusive of any amounts considered
exempt as income or paid pursuant to subdivision (e) or Section
11453.1, determined for the prospective semiannual period pursuant to
Sections 11265.1, 11265.2, and 11265.3, and then calculated pursuant
to Section 11451.5, shall be deducted from the sum specified in the
following table, as adjusted for cost-of-living increases pursuant to
Section 11453 and paragraph (2). In no case shall the amount of aid
paid for each month exceed the sum specified in the following table,
as adjusted for cost-of-living increases pursuant to Section 11453
and paragraph (2), plus any special needs, as specified in
subdivisions (c), (e), and (f):
Number
of
eligible
needy
persons
in Maximum
the same home aid
1.............................. $ 326
2.............................. 535
3.............................. 663
4.............................. 788
5.............................. 899
6.............................. 1,010
7.............................. 1,109
8.............................. 1,209
9.............................. 1,306
10 or more...................... 1,403
(B) If, when, and during those times that the United States
government increases or decreases its contributions in assistance of
needy children in this state above or below the amount paid on July
1, 1972, the amounts specified in the above table shall be increased
or decreased by an amount equal to that increase or decrease by the
United States government, provided that no increase or decrease shall
be subject to subsequent adjustment pursuant to Section 11453.
(2) The sums specified in paragraph (1) shall not be adjusted for
cost of living for the 1990-91, 1991-92, 1992-93, 1993-94, 1994-95,
1995-96, 1996-97, and 1997-98 fiscal years, and through October 31,
1998, nor shall that amount be included in the base for calculating
any cost-of-living increases for any fiscal year thereafter.
Elimination of the cost-of-living adjustment pursuant to this
paragraph shall satisfy the requirements of former Section 11453.05,
and no further reduction shall be made pursuant to that section.
(b) (1) When the family does not include a needy child qualified
for aid under this chapter, aid shall be paid to a pregnant child who
is 18 years of age or younger at any time after verification of
pregnancy, in the amount that would otherwise be paid to one person,
as specified in subdivision (a), if the child and her child, if born,
would have qualified for aid under this chapter. Verification of
pregnancy shall be required as a condition of eligibility for aid
under this subdivision.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), when the family does not
include a needy child qualified for aid under this chapter, aid shall
be paid to a pregnant woman for the month in which the birth is
anticipated and for the six-month period immediately prior to the
month in which the birth is anticipated, in the amount that would
otherwise be paid to one person, as specified in subdivision (a), if
the woman and child, if born, would have qualified for aid under this
chapter. Verification of pregnancy shall be required as a condition
of eligibility for aid under this subdivision.
(3) Paragraph (1) shall apply only when the Cal-Learn Program is
operative.
(c) The amount of forty-seven dollars ($47) per month shall be
paid to pregnant women qualified for aid under subdivision (a) or (b)
to meet special needs resulting from pregnancy if the woman and
child, if born, would have qualified for aid under this chapter.
County welfare departments shall refer all recipients of aid under
this subdivision to a local provider of the Women, Infants, and
Children program. If that payment to pregnant women qualified for aid
under subdivision (a) is considered income under federal law in the
first five months of pregnancy, payments under this subdivision shall
not apply to persons eligible under subdivision (a), except for the
month in which birth is anticipated and for the three-month period
immediately prior to the month in which delivery is anticipated, if
the woman and child, if born, would have qualified for aid under this
chapter.
(d) For children receiving AFDC-FC under this chapter, there shall
be paid, exclusive of any amount considered exempt as income, an
amount of aid each month that, when added to the child's income, is
equal to the rate specified in Section 11460, 11461, 11462, 11462.1,
or 11463. In addition, the child shall be eligible for special needs,
as specified in departmental regulations.
(e) In addition to the amounts payable under subdivision (a) and
Section 11453.1, a family shall be entitled to receive an allowance
for recurring special needs not common to a majority of recipients.
These recurring special needs shall include, but not be limited to,
special diets upon the recommendation of a physician for
circumstances other than pregnancy, and unusual costs of
transportation, laundry, housekeeping services, telephone, and
utilities. The recurring special needs allowance for each family per
month shall not exceed that amount resulting from multiplying the sum
of ten dollars ($10) by the number of recipients in the family who
are eligible for assistance.
(f) After a family has used all available liquid resources, both
exempt and nonexempt, in excess of one hundred dollars ($100), the
family shall also be entitled to receive an allowance for
nonrecurring special needs.
(1) An allowance for nonrecurring special needs shall be granted
for replacement of clothing and household equipment and for emergency
housing needs other than those needs addressed by paragraph (2).
These needs shall be caused by sudden and unusual circumstances
beyond the control of the needy family. The department shall
establish the allowance for each of the nonrecurring special needs
items. The sum of all nonrecurring special needs provided by this
subdivision shall not exceed six hundred dollars ($600) per event.
(2) (A) Homeless assistance is available to a homeless family
seeking shelter when the family is eligible for aid under this
chapter. Homeless assistance for temporary shelter is also available
to homeless families that are apparently eligible for aid under this
chapter. Apparent eligibility exists when evidence presented by the
applicant, or that is otherwise available to the county welfare
department, and the information provided on the application documents
indicate that there would be eligibility for aid under this chapter
if the evidence and information were verified. However, an alien
applicant who does not provide verification of his or her eligible
alien status, or a woman with no eligible children who does not
provide medical verification of pregnancy, is not apparently eligible
for purposes of this section.
(B) A family is considered homeless, for the purpose of this
section, when the family lacks a fixed and regular nighttime
residence; or the family has a primary nighttime residence that is a
supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide
temporary living accommodations; or the family is residing in a
public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a
regular sleeping accommodation for human beings. A family is also
considered homeless for the purpose of this section if the family has
received a notice to pay rent or quit. The family shall demonstrate
that the eviction is the result of a verified financial hardship as a
result of extraordinary circumstances beyond their control, and not
other lease or rental violations, and that the family is experiencing
a financial crisis that could result in homelessness if preventative
assistance is not provided.
(C) (i) A nonrecurring special needs benefit of sixty-five dollars
($65) a day shall be available to families of up to four members for
the costs of temporary shelter, subject to the requirements of this
paragraph. The fifth and additional members of the family shall each
receive fifteen dollars ($15) per day, up to a daily maximum of one
hundred twenty-five dollars ($125). County welfare departments may
increase the daily amount available for temporary shelter as
necessary to secure the additional bedspace needed by the family.
(ii) This special needs benefit shall be granted or denied
immediately upon the family's application for homeless assistance,
and benefits shall be available for up to three working days. The
county welfare department shall verify the family's homelessness
within the first three working days and if the family meets the
criteria of questionable homelessness established by the department,
the county welfare department shall refer the family to its early
fraud prevention and detection unit, if the county has such a unit,
for assistance in the verification of homelessness within this
period.
(iii) After homelessness has been verified, the three-day limit
shall be extended for a period of time which,
time, which when added to the initial benefits provided, does
not exceed a total of 16 calendar days. This extension of benefits
shall be done in increments of one week and shall be based upon
searching for permanent housing housing,
which shall be documented on a housing search form, good cause,
or other circumstances defined by the department. Documentation of a
housing search shall be required for the initial extension of
benefits beyond the three-day limit and on a weekly basis thereafter
as long as the family is receiving temporary shelter benefits. Good
cause shall include, but is not limited to, situations in which the
county welfare department has determined that the family, to the
extent it is capable, has made a good faith but unsuccessful effort
to secure permanent housing while receiving temporary shelter
benefits.
(D) (i) A nonrecurring special needs benefit for permanent housing
assistance is available to pay for last month's rent and security
deposits when these payments are reasonable conditions of securing a
residence, or to pay for up to two months of rent arrearages, when
these payments are a reasonable condition of preventing eviction.
(ii) The last month's rent or monthly arrearage portion of the
payment (I) shall not exceed 80 percent of the family's total monthly
household income without the value of CalFresh benefits or special
needs benefit for a family of that size and (II) shall only be made
to families that have found permanent housing costing no more than 80
percent of the family's total monthly household income without the
value of CalFresh benefits or special needs benefit for a family of
that size.
(iii) However, if the county welfare department determines that a
family intends to reside with individuals who will be sharing housing
costs, the county welfare department shall, in appropriate
circumstances, set aside the condition specified in subclause (II) of
clause (ii).
(E) The nonrecurring special needs benefit for permanent housing
assistance is also available to cover the standard costs of deposits
for utilities which that are necessary
for the health and safety of the family.
(F) A payment for or denial of permanent housing assistance shall
be issued no later than one working day from the time that a family
presents evidence of the availability of permanent housing. If an
applicant family provides evidence of the availability of permanent
housing before the county welfare department has established
eligibility for aid under this chapter, the county welfare department
shall complete the eligibility determination so that the denial of
or payment for permanent housing assistance is issued within one
working day from the submission of evidence of the availability of
permanent housing, unless the family has failed to provide all of the
verification necessary to establish eligibility for aid under this
chapter.
(G) (i) Except as provided in clauses (ii) and (iii), eligibility
for the temporary shelter assistance and the permanent housing
assistance pursuant to this paragraph shall be limited to one period
of up to 16 consecutive calendar days of temporary assistance and one
payment of permanent assistance. Any family that includes a parent
or nonparent caretaker relative living in the home who has previously
received temporary or permanent homeless assistance at any time on
behalf of an eligible child shall not be eligible for further
homeless assistance. Any person who applies for homeless assistance
benefits shall be informed that the temporary shelter benefit of up
to 16 consecutive days is available only once in a lifetime, with
certain exceptions, and that a break in the consecutive use of the
benefit constitutes permanent exhaustion of the temporary benefit.
(ii) A family that becomes homeless as a direct and primary result
of a state or federally declared natural disaster shall be eligible
for temporary and permanent homeless assistance.
(iii) A family shall be eligible for temporary and permanent
homeless assistance when homelessness is a direct result of domestic
violence by a spouse, partner, or roommate; physical or mental
illness that is medically verified that shall not include a diagnosis
of alcoholism, drug addiction, or psychological stress; or, the
uninhabitability of the former residence caused by sudden and unusual
circumstances beyond the control of the family including natural
catastrophe, fire, or condemnation. These circumstances shall be
verified by a third-party governmental or private health and human
services agency, except that
domestic violence may also be verified by a sworn statement by the
victim, as provided under Section 11495.25. Homeless assistance
payments based on these specific circumstances may not be received
more often than once in any 12-month period. In addition, if the
domestic violence is verified by a sworn statement by the victim, the
homeless assistance payments shall be limited to two periods of not
more than 16 consecutive calendar days of temporary assistance and
two payments of permanent assistance. A county may require that a
recipient of homeless assistance benefits who qualifies under this
paragraph for a second time in a 24-month period participate in a
homelessness avoidance case plan as a condition of eligibility for
homeless assistance benefits. The county welfare department shall
immediately inform recipients who verify domestic violence by a sworn
statement of the availability of domestic violence counseling and
services, and refer those recipients to services upon request.
(iv) If a county requires a recipient who verifies domestic
violence by a sworn statement to participate in a homelessness
avoidance case plan pursuant to clause (iii), the plan shall include
the provision of domestic violence services, if appropriate.
(v) If a recipient seeking homeless assistance based on domestic
violence pursuant to clause (iii) has previously received homeless
avoidance services based on domestic violence, the county shall
review whether services were offered to the recipient and consider
what additional services would assist the recipient in leaving the
domestic violence situation.
(vi) The county welfare department shall report necessary data to
the department through a statewide homeless assistance payment
indicator system, as requested by the department, regarding all
recipients of aid under this paragraph.
(H) The county welfare departments, and all other entities
participating in the costs of the CalWORKs program, have the right in
their share to any refunds resulting from payment of the permanent
housing. However, if an emergency requires the family to move within
the 12-month period specified in subparagraph (G), the family shall
be allowed to use any refunds received from its deposits to meet the
costs of moving to another residence.
(I) Payments to providers for temporary shelter and permanent
housing and utilities shall be made on behalf of families requesting
these payments.
(J) The daily amount for the temporary shelter special needs
benefit for homeless assistance may be increased if authorized by the
current year's Budget Act by specifying a different daily allowance
and appropriating the funds therefor.
(K) No payment shall be made pursuant to this paragraph unless the
provider of housing is a commercial establishment, shelter, or
person in the business of renting properties who has a history of
renting properties.
(g) The department shall establish rules and regulations ensuring
the uniform statewide application of this section.
(h) The department shall notify all applicants and recipients of
aid through the standardized application form that these benefits are
available and shall provide an opportunity for recipients to apply
for the funds quickly and efficiently.
(i) (1) Except for the purposes of Section 15200, the amounts
payable to recipients pursuant to Section 11453.1 shall not
constitute part of the payment schedule set forth in subdivision (a).
(2) The amounts payable to recipients pursuant to Section 11453.1
shall not constitute income to recipients of aid under this section.
(j) For children receiving Kin-GAP pursuant to Article 4.5
(commencing with Section 11360) or Article 4.7 (commencing with
Section 11385) there shall be paid, exclusive of any amount
considered exempt as income, an amount of aid each month, which, when
added to the child's income, is equal to the rate specified in
Sections 11364 and 11387.
(k) (1) A county shall implement the semiannual reporting
requirements in accordance with Chapter 501 of the Statutes of 2011.
(2) Upon completion of the implementation described in paragraph
(1), each county shall provide a certificate to the director
certifying that semiannual reporting has been implemented in the
county.
(3) Upon filing the certificate described in paragraph (2), a
county shall comply with the semiannual reporting provisions of this
section.
SEC. 15. Section 11450.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
11450.5. For purposes of computing and paying aid grants under
this chapter, the director shall adopt regulations establishing a
budgeting system consistent with Sections 11265.1, 11265.2, and
11265.3. Nothing in this This section,
or Sections 11004 and 11450, or any other
provision of this code, shall not be interpreted
as prohibiting to prohibit the establishment of,
or otherwise restricting the operation of, any budgeting system
adopted by the director.
SEC. 16. Section 14140 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
14140. The following definitions shall apply to the provisions of
this article:
(a) "Net worth" means:
(1) Personal property, which consists of cash, savings accounts,
securities, and similar items; notes, mortgages
mortgages, and deeds of trust; the cash surrender value of
life insurance on the life of the applicant or beneficiary, on the
life of the spouse or any member of the family, except as provided in
Section 11158; motor vehicles, except one which
that meets the transportation needs of the person or
family; and any other property or equity other than real
estate.
(2) Real property, including any interest in land of more than
nominal interest which that does not
constitute the home of the applicant for aid under this chapter. The
home of the applicant shall be exempt from consideration as net worth
under this section to the extent of ten thousand dollars ($10,000)
in assessed valuation, as assessed by the county assessor.
(3) "Income" which that consists of
the sum of adjusted gross income as used for purposes of the Federal
Income Tax Law.
(b) "Family unit" means:
(1) In the case of an unmarried patient under 21 years of age
living with his parent or parents, the patient and his parents.
(2) In the case of a married patient under 21 years of age, the
patient and his spouse.
(3) In the case of a patient over 21, the patient, and if married,
the patient's wife.
SEC. 17. Section 18923 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
18923. (a) The State Department of Social Services shall submit a
request to the United States Department of Agriculture for a waiver
to permit a CalFresh household to retain funds in the restricted
savings account as specified in subdivision (a) of former Section
11155.2 and as accumulated while participating in the Aid to Families
with Dependent Children program. The participation requirements for
this specific savings account as specified in subdivision (a) of
former Section 11155.2 shall apply to CalFresh. Penalties for
nonqualifying withdrawal of these funds shall result in a calculation
of a period of ineligibility for all persons in the CalFresh
household, to be determined by dividing the balance in the account
immediately prior to the withdrawal by the CalFresh allotment to
which the household is entitled. The resulting whole number shall be
the number of months of ineligibility. The period of ineligibility
may be reduced when the divisor, which is the CalFresh allotment,
increases as a result of a cost-of-living adjustment.
(b) The director may waive, with federal approval, the enforcement
of specific federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
requirements, regulations, and standards necessary to implement this
provision.
SEC. 18. No appropriation pursuant to Section 15200 of Welfare and
Institutions Code shall be made for the purposes of this act.
SEC. 19. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.