Amended in Assembly May 27, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2054

Introduced by Assembly Member Thurmond

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(Coauthor: Assembly Member Gonzalez)

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February 17, 2016

An act to add Section 10072.2 to the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to public social services.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2054, as amended, 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. begin insert The bill would provide that the provision of SEBTC benefits to eligible households is contingent upon federal funding for this purpose. end insert 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:

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(a) Across California, two in every five low-income households
with children cannot consistently afford enough food. In all, 1.7
million Californians live in these food-insecure households.

(b) Eighty percent, or 1.8 million, of the children in California
who benefit from nutritious, free or reduced-price school lunches
miss out on similar meals during the summer. This summer
nutrition gap has persisted for over a decade.

(c) Children need consistent access to nutritious meals in order
to learn, grow, and achieve at their fullest potential. All children
deserve to be well nourished.

(d) Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children,
hereinafter known as SEBTC, is a well-tested model shown to
decrease food insecurity among children and adults and improve
the quality of children’s diets.

(e) By providing nutrition assistance benefits for the purchase
of groceries when school is out of session and school meals are
not available, SEBTC would draw federal dollars into California
households with begin delete school-age end delete begin insert schoolage end insert children and into the state
and local economies.

(f) As Congress prepares to expand SEBTC, California should
seize all opportunities to ensure that the expansion benefits our
state.

(g) Given California’s persistent summer nutrition gap and the
positive effects of SEBTC, the state should design a SEBTC system
for California and seek all available federal funding and federal
authority to operate the system.

SEC. 2.  

Section 10072.2 is added to the Welfare and
Institutions Code, to read:

10072.2.  

(a) (1) The California Health and Human Services
Agency, in conjunction with any other state agency described in
paragraph (2), shall design and implement the Summer Electronic
Benefits Transfer for Children (SEBTC) to provide nutrition
assistance benefits to eligible households.

(2) If federal law requires a state agency other than the
California Health and Human Services Agency to obtain federal
approval or authorization in order to carry out the requirements of
this section, that state agency shall request or apply for the
necessary federal approval or authorization. The Secretary of the
California Health and Human Services Agency shall notify in a
timely manner the appropriate head of each additional agency that
is required to request or apply for that approval or authorization
so as to permit the other agency sufficient time to complete the
process.

(b) The system described in subdivision (a) shall be compatible
with the state’s electronic benefits transfer system pursuant to
Section 10072 and comply with any federal laws and regulations
governing SEBTC.

(c) The system described in subdivision (a) shall comply with
privacy and confidentiality procedures consistent with all
applicable state and federal law.

(d) Each agency identified in subdivision (a) shall do both of
the following:

(1) Request or apply for federal approval or authorization
necessary to implement and operate SEBTC and support the request
or application of any other state agency, if necessary.

(2) Request or apply for all available federal funding to assist
the state in implementing and operating SEBTC and support the
request or application of any other state agency, if necessary, to
obtain all available federal funds for that purpose.

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(e) The provision of SEBTC benefits to eligible households
pursuant to this section is contingent upon federal funding for this
purpose.

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(e)

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begin insert (f) end insert  For purposes of this section, “Summer Electronic Benefits
Transfer for Children” or “SEBTC” means a program, pilot, or
demonstration project that, during periods when school is out of
session, provides nutrition assistance benefits via electronic benefits
transfer to households with children who are within the relevant
definitions and criteria in federal statutes and regulations that
prescribe eligibility for free and begin delete reduced price end delete begin insert reduced-price end insert meals.