Amended in Assembly March 28, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2099

Introduced by Assembly Member Mark Stone

February 17, 2016

An act to add Chapter 16 (commencing with Section 18997) to Part 6 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to public social services.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2099, as amended, Mark Stone. Safe drinking water begin delete assistance program. end delete begin insert assistance. end insert

Existing law provides for financial and food assistance benefits to needy Californians, including, among other programs, the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program and CalFresh, under which each county provides for financial and food assistance benefits to qualified individuals who meet specified eligibility criteria. Existing law, administered by the State Department of Social Services, provides for the establishment of a statewide electronic benefits transfer (EBT) system for the purpose of providing those financial and food assistance benefits. Existing law authorizes a county to deliver CalFresh benefits and, upon election by the county, CalWORKs benefits through the use of an EBT system.

This bill would require the State Department of Social Services to establish and administer a begin delete safe drinking water assistance program to provide cash benefits end delete begin insert process to deliver interim drinking water assistance benefits end insert to low-income households, as defined, with inadequate access to safe drinking begin delete water so that they may obtain safe drinking end delete water. The bill would specify that eligible low-income households include, but are not limited to, households begin delete in a disadvantaged community, end delete begin insert in disadvantaged communities, served by noncompliant small water systems, end insert households begin insert located in communities deemed end insert eligible for interim emergency drinking water benefits from the State Water Resources Control Board, and households whose private wells have begin delete gone dry or become contaminated, end delete begin insert active outages or water supply problems, end insert as specified. The bill would require that the begin delete program end delete begin insert process end insert be funded with existing begin insert emergency drought response end insert resources begin insert allocated for interim water assistance end insert and would require the department, in consultation with other specified state agencies, to identify existing begin delete resources for the program. end delete begin insert resources. end insert The bill would require the department to deliver the begin delete cash end delete benefits through the EBT system. The bill would also make relating 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 begin insert all of end insert the
following:

(a) The electronic benefits transfer (EBT) system begin delete is an electronic
system that end delete has operated statewide in California since 2004 begin delete that
allows end delete begin insert as an effective and efficient method to issue end insert government
benefits to begin delete be transferred directly to recipients, similar to a bank
debit card, to provide a way to spend benefits at retailers. end delete

begin insert recipients. end insert

(b) Research has shown that the use of EBT begin delete cards end delete has many
advantages for delivering public benefits. For recipients, EBT
offers greater convenience, improved security, and reduced
stigmatization. For state governments, EBT provides cost and time
savings, improves operational efficiencies, and promotes
accountability while stimulating local economies.

(c) EBT has been deemed an effective and responsive
mechanism for quickly delivering assistance to people recovering
from natural disasters.

(d) The Legislature and the Governor established The Human
Right to Water begin insert policy end insert in 2013, which established the policy of the
state that every human being has the right to safe, clean, affordable,
and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking,
and sanitary purposes.

(e) Despite a history of proactive water policies, California
residents still face formidable challenges as the drought continues
to exacerbate water quality issues for disadvantaged communities
who disproportionately bear the health and financial impacts of
inadequate access to safe water.

(f) Significant barriers to water access exist for marginalized
Californians who are forced to choose between drinking water and
expending scarce resources to pay for clean water.

(g) In 2014, more than 1 million Californians faced water safety
violations that made water unsafe to drink.

(h) As the drought enters its fifth year, more than 2,000 domestic
wells have gone dry in the Central Valley, affecting tens of
thousands of people. Many small communities face chronic water
quality problems. Almost 400 small rural water systems and
schools are unable to provide safe drinking water.

(i) In response to these challenges, the Governor and the
Legislature have established or proposed new emergency drinking
water supports to assist these households.

(j) Recognizing this, it is the intent of the Legislature to utilize
the existing EBT system to deliver appropriate emergency water
benefits to disadvantaged households in an efficient and effective
manner.

SEC. 2.  

Chapter 16 (commencing with Section 18997) is added
to Part 6 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, to
read:

 

Chapter  16. Safe Drinking Water Assistance begin delete Program end delete

 

18997.  

begin insert (a) end insert begin insert   end insert The State Department of Social Services shall
establish and administer a begin delete safe end delete begin insert process to deliver interim
emergency end insert drinking water assistance begin delete program to provide cash end delete
benefits to low-income households with inadequate access to safe
drinking begin delete water so that they may obtain safe drinking end delete water.
Low-income households eligible begin delete for program end delete begin insert to receive these end insert
benefits include, but are not limited to, all of the following:

begin delete

(a)

end delete

begin insert (1) end insert  Households begin insert served by noncompliant small water systems end insert in
disadvantaged communities, as defined in Section 79505.5 of the
Water begin delete Code. end delete begin insert Code, as determined by residence ZIP Code. end insert

begin delete

(b)

end delete

begin insert (2) end insert  Households begin insert located in communities deemed end insert eligible for
interim emergency drinking water benefits under the State Water
Resources Control begin delete Board. end delete begin insert Board, as determined by residence ZIP
Code. end insert

begin delete

(c)

end delete

begin insert (3) end insert  Households whose private wells have begin delete gone dry or become
contaminated, end delete begin insert active outages or water supply problems, end insert as
determined by the begin delete State Water Resources Control Board. end delete

begin insert Department of Water Resources. end insert

begin insert

(b) A household shall become ineligible to receive these benefits
once its water system is deemed compliant by the State Water
Resources Control Board or its well supply problem is deemed
resolved by the Department of Water Resources.

end insert

18997.5.  

(a)  begin delete To end delete begin insert The State Department of Social Services shall
utilize a computerized data-matching system using existing
databases from the department, the State Water Resources Control
Board, and the Department of Water Resources. end insert

begin insert (b) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert To end insert the extent allowable under federal law, the department
shall deliver the begin delete cash end delete benefits provided pursuant to this chapter
through the electronic benefit transfer (EBT) system created under
Section 10072. The distribution of the begin delete cash end delete benefits shall comply
with any federal begin insert and state end insert laws and regulations governing
electronic benefits.

begin delete

(b)

end delete

begin insert (c) end insert  The begin delete program end delete begin insert process end insert shall comply with privacy and
confidentiality procedures consistent with all applicable state and
federal law.

18998.  

The begin delete program end delete begin insert process end insert shall be funded from existing
begin delete resources. end delete begin insert emergency drought response resources allocated for
interim water assistance. end insert The begin delete department end delete begin insert end insert begin insert State Department of
Social Services end insert shall, in consultation with the Office of Emergency
Services, the Department of Water Resources, the State Water
Resources Control Board, and other relevant agencies, identify
existing begin delete resources for the program. end delete begin insert resources. end insert

18998.5.  

For the purpose of this chapter, “low-income
household” means a household begin delete with income that is equal to or no
greater than 200 percent of the federal poverty guideline level. For
a one-person household, program eligibility shall be based on
two-person household guideline levels. end delete begin insert determined to be
low-income through participation in any of the following
means-tested public assistance programs: end insert

begin insert

(a) A public assistance program for which the Office of Systems
Integration implements a statewide automated welfare system, as
specified in Section 10823, including CalWORKs, CalFresh,
Medi-Cal, and the refugee program.

end insert begin insert

(b) Any other public assistance program, including the
California Food Assistance Program, Cash Assistance for
Immigrants, Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary
Payment (SSI/SSP), and General Relief or General Assistance.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert 18998.6. end insert   

Benefits provided under this chapter shall be in
addition to benefits provided under Chapter 2 (commencing with
Section 11200) of Part 3, and shall not be considered as income
or resources for any program established under this code.

end insert