AB 2054, as introduced, Thurmond. Nutrition assistance: Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children.
Existing law establishes the California Health and Human Services Agency. The agency includes various departments that administer social services in this state, including the State Department of Social Services.
Existing federal law provides for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known in California as CalFresh, under which supplemental nutrition assistance benefits allocated to the state by the federal government are distributed to eligible individuals by each county. Existing state law authorizes a county to deliver CalFresh benefits through the use of an electronic benefits transfer (EBT) system.
This bill would require the California Health and Human Services Agency, in conjunction with any other relevant state agencies, to design and implement the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children (SEBTC) to provide nutrition assistance benefits to eligible households. The bill would require that the system be compatible with the state’s electronic benefits transfer system, comply with federal laws and regulations, and comply with privacy and confidentiality procedures consistent with all applicable state and federal law. The bill would require, among other things, the agency, and any other state agency, as specified, to request or apply for federal approval or authorization necessary to implement and operate SEBTC. The bill would also require each agency to request or apply for all available federal funding to implement and operate SEBTC. The bill would require the Secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency to notify in a timely manner the appropriate head of each additional agency that is required to request or apply for federal approval or authorization so as to permit the other agency sufficient time to complete the process. The bill would also include a statement of legislative findings and declarations.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
The Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:
3(a) Across California, two in every five low-income households
4with children cannot consistently afford enough food. In all, 1.7
5million Californians live in these food-insecure households.
6(b) Eighty percent, or 1.8 million, of the children in California
7who benefit from nutritious, free or reduced-price school lunches
8miss out on similar meals during the summer. This summer
9nutrition gap has persisted for over a decade.
10(c) Children need consistent access to nutritious meals in order
11to learn, grow, and achieve at their fullest potential. All children
12
deserve to be well nourished.
13(d) Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children,
14hereinafter known as SEBTC, is a well-tested model shown to
15decrease food insecurity among children and adults and improve
16the quality of children’s diets.
17(e) By providing nutrition assistance benefits for the purchase
18of groceries when school is out of session and school meals are
19not available, SEBTC would draw federal dollars into California
20households with school-age children and into the state and local
21economies.
22(f) As Congress prepares to expand SEBTC, California should
23seize all opportunities to ensure that the expansion benefits our
24state.
25(g) Given California’s persistent summer nutrition gap and the
26positive effects of SEBTC, the state should design a SEBTC
system
P3 1for California and seek all available federal funding and federal
2authority to operate the system.
Section 10072.2 is added to the Welfare and
4Institutions Code, to read:
(a) (1) The California Health and Human Services
6Agency, in conjunction with any other state agency described in
7paragraph (2), shall design and implement the Summer Electronic
8Benefits Transfer for Children (SEBTC) to provide nutrition
9assistance benefits to eligible households.
10(2) If federal law requires a state agency other than the
11California Health and Human Services Agency to obtain federal
12approval or authorization in order to carry out the requirements of
13this section, that state agency shall request or apply for the
14necessary federal approval or authorization. The Secretary of the
15California Health and Human Services Agency shall notify in a
16timely manner the appropriate head of each additional agency that
17is
required to request or apply for that approval or authorization
18so as to permit the other agency sufficient time to complete the
19process.
20(b) The system described in subdivision (a) shall be compatible
21with the state’s electronic benefits transfer system pursuant to
22Section 10072 and comply with any federal laws and regulations
23governing SEBTC.
24(c) The system described in subdivision (a) shall comply with
25privacy and confidentiality procedures consistent with all
26applicable state and federal law.
27(d) Each agency identified in subdivision (a) shall do both of
28the following:
29(1) Request or apply for federal approval or authorization
30necessary to implement and operate SEBTC and support the request
31or application of any other state agency, if necessary.
32(2) Request or apply for all available federal funding to assist
33the state in implementing and operating SEBTC and support the
34request or application of any other state agency, if necessary, to
35obtain all available federal funds for that purpose.
36(e) For purposes of this section, “Summer Electronic Benefits
37Transfer for Children” or “SEBTC” means a program, pilot, or
38demonstration project that, during periods when school is out of
39session, provides nutrition assistance benefits via electronic benefits
40transfer to households with children who are within the relevant
P4 1definitions and criteria in federal statutes and regulations that
2prescribe eligibility for free and reduced price meals.
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