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 Servicesbegin delete Agency, in conjunction with any other relevant state agencies,end deletebegin insert
Agency to designate the appropriate agency or agenciesend insert 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, thebegin delete agency, and any other state agency, as specified, toend deletebegin insert Secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency to designate the appropriate state agency which would be required toend insert 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 thebegin delete Secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agencyend deletebegin insert secretaryend insert to notify in a timely manner the appropriate head of eachbegin delete additionalend delete agency that is required to request or apply for federal approval or authorization so as to permit thebegin delete otherend delete agencybegin insert or agenciesend insert sufficient time to complete the process. The bill would provide that the provision of SEBTC benefits to eligible households is contingent
upon federal funding for this purpose. 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.
P3 1(e) By providing nutrition assistance benefits for the purchase
2of groceries when school is out of session and school meals are
3not available, SEBTC would draw federal dollars into California
4households with schoolage children and into the state and local
5economies.
6(f) As Congress prepares to expand SEBTC, California should
7seize all opportunities to ensure that the expansion benefits our
8state.
9(g) Given California’s persistent summer nutrition gap and the
10positive effects of SEBTC, the state should designbegin delete aend deletebegin insert anend insert SEBTC
11system for California and seek all available federal funding and
12federal authority to operate the system.
Section 10072.2 is added to the Welfare and
14Institutions Code, to read:
(a) (1) The California Health and Human Services
16begin delete Agency, in conjunction with any other state agency described in begin insert Agency shall designate the appropriate agency
17paragraph (2), shallend delete
18or agencies toend insert design and implement the Summer Electronic
19Benefits Transfer for Children (SEBTC) to provide nutrition
20assistance benefits to eligible households.
21(2) If federal law requires a state agencybegin delete other than the begin insert
or agenciesend insert to
22California Health and Human Services Agencyend delete
23obtain federal approval or authorization in order to carry out the
24requirements of this section,begin delete that state agencyend deletebegin insert the Secretary of the
25California Health and Human Services Agency shall designate the
26appropriate state agency, whichend insert shall request or apply for the
27necessary federal approval or authorization. The Secretary of the
28California Health and Human Services Agency shall notify in a
29
timely manner the appropriate head of eachbegin delete additionalend delete agency that
30is required to request or apply for that approval or authorization
31so as to permit thebegin delete otherend delete agencybegin insert or agenciesend insert sufficient time to
32complete the process.
33(b) The system described in subdivision (a) shall be compatible
34with the state’s electronic benefits transfer system pursuant to
35Section 10072 and comply with any federal laws and regulations
36governing SEBTC.
37(c) The system described in subdivision (a) shall comply with
38privacy and confidentiality
procedures consistent with all
39applicable state and federal law.
P4 1(d) Each agency identified in subdivision (a) shall do both of
2the following:
3(1) Request or apply for federal approval or authorization
4necessary to implement and operate SEBTC and support the request
5or application of any other state agency, if necessary.
6(2) Request or apply for all available federal funding to assist
7the state in implementing and operating SEBTC and support the
8request or application of any other state agency, if necessary, to
9obtain all available federal funds for that purpose.
10(e) The provision of SEBTC benefits to eligible households
11pursuant to this section is
contingent upon federal funding for this
12purpose.
13(f) For purposes of this section, “Summer Electronic Benefits
14Transfer for Children” or “SEBTC” means a program, pilot, or
15demonstration project that, during periods when school is out of
16session, provides nutrition assistance benefits via electronic benefits
17transfer to households with children who are within the relevant
18definitions and criteria in federal statutes and regulations that
19prescribe eligibility for free and reduced-price meals.
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