AB 2346, as introduced, Baker. Public social services: hearings.
Existing law provides various public social services and requires that an applicant for, or recipient of, public social services be accorded an opportunity for a state hearing if, among other reasons, the applicant or recipient is dissatisfied with any action of the county department relating to his or her application for, or receipt of, public social services. Existing law requires, if regulations require a public or private agency to write a position statement concerning the issues in question in a fair hearing, or if the agency chooses to develop such a statement, the agency to make available to the applicant or recipient a copy of the agency’s position statement at the county welfare department not less than two working days prior to the date of the hearing. Existing law excludes the State Department of Health Care Services and the State Department of Public Health from that requirement.
This bill would additionally require a public or private agency to provide a copy of the agency’s position statement to the applicant or recipient through electronic means and would require the State Department of Health Care Services to make its position statement available to the applicant or recipient and the State Department of Social Services through electronic means, as specified. The bill would also make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 10952.5 of the Welfare and Institutions
2Code is amended to read:
begin insert(a)end insertbegin insert end insertIf regulations require a public or private agency
4to write a position statement concerning the issues in question in
5a fair hearing, or if the public or private agency chooses to develop
6begin delete such aend deletebegin insert thatend insert statement, not less than twobegin delete working days prior toend delete
7begin insert
business days beforeend insert the date of a hearing provided for pursuant
8to this chapter, the public or private agency shall make available
9to the applicant for, or recipient of, public social services requesting
10a fair hearing, a copy of the public or private agency’s position
11statement on the forthcoming hearing. The public or private agency
12shall make the copy available to the applicant or recipient at the
13county welfarebegin delete department.end deletebegin insert department and through electronic
14means.end insert A public or private agency shall be required to comply
15withbegin delete the provisions ofend delete this section only if the public or private
16agency has received a 10-day prior notice of the date and time of
17the scheduled hearing.
18If
end delete
19begin insert(b)end insertbegin insert end insertbegin insertIfend insert the public or private agency does not make the position
20statement available not less than twobegin delete working days prior toend deletebegin insert business
21days beforeend insert the hearing or if the public or private agency decides
22to modify the position statement, the hearing shall be postponed
23upon the request of the applicant or recipient,begin delete providedend deletebegin insert ifend insert an
24applicant or recipient agrees to waive the right to obtain a decision
25on the hearing within the deadline that would otherwise be
26applicable
under regulations. A postponement for reason of the
27public or private agency not making the position statement
28available within not less than twobegin delete workingend deletebegin insert businessend insert days shall be
29deemed a postponement for good cause for purposes of determining
30eligibility to any applicable benefits pending disposition of the
31hearing.
32For purposes of this section “public or private agency” shall not
33include the State Department of Health Services.
P3 1(c) Subdivisions (a) and (b) shall not apply to the State
2Department of Health Care
Services or the State Department of
3Pubic Health, except that the State Department of Health Care
4Services shall make its position statement available to the applicant
5or recipient and the State Department of Social Services through
6electronic means not less than two business days before the
7scheduled hearing.
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