Amended in Senate August 18, 2016

Amended in Senate June 30, 2016

Amended in Assembly March 31, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 2346


Introduced by Assembly Member Baker

(Coauthor: Assembly Member Obernolte)

February 18, 2016


An act to amend Section 10952.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to public social services.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2346, as amended, 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 wouldbegin delete additionally require a public or private agency, upon request, 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.end deletebegin insert instead require the public or private agency to make the agency’s position statement available to the applicant or recipient at the county welfare office or via United States mail, or, upon request, through electronic means, as specified.end insert The bill would exempt, for a specified period, a public or private agency from complying with this requirement if it submits a specified report to the State Department of Social Services by December 31 of each year. 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:

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

Section 10952.5 of the Welfare and Institutions
2Code
is amended to read:

3

10952.5.  

(a) If 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
6that statement, not less than two business days before the date of
7a hearing provided for pursuant to this chapter, the public or private
8agency shall make available to the applicant for, or recipient of,
9public social services requesting a fair hearing, a copy of the public
10or private agency’s position statement on the forthcoming hearing.
11The public or private agency shall make the copy available to the
12applicant or recipient at the county welfare begin delete department,end delete begin insert department
13orend insert
via United States mail, or, upon request, through electronic
14means. Except as provided in subdivisionbegin delete (d),end deletebegin insert (c),end insert if the applicant
15or recipient requests a position statementbegin delete that contains personal
16identifying informationend delete
to be delivered through electronic means,
17the position statement shall be delivered through secure electronic
18begin delete means.end deletebegin insert means if required by state or federal privacy laws.end insert A public
19or private agency shall be required to comply with this section
20only if the public or private agency has received a 10-day prior
21notice of the date and time of the scheduled hearing.

22(b) If the public or private agency does not make the position
23statement available not less than two business days before the
P3    1hearing or if the public or private agency decides to modify the
2position statement, the hearing shall be postponed upon the request
3of the applicant or recipient, if an applicant or recipient agrees to
4waive the right to obtain a decision on the hearing within the
5deadline that would otherwise be applicable under regulations. A
6postponement for reason of the public or private agency not making
7the position statement available within not less than two business
8days shall be deemed a postponement for good cause for purposes
9of determining eligibility to any applicable benefits pending
10disposition of the hearing.

begin delete

11(c) Subdivisions (a) and (b) shall not apply to the State
12Department of Health Care Services or the State Department of
13 Public Health, except that the State Department of Health Care
14Services shall make its position statement available to the applicant
15or recipient and the State Department of Social Services through
16electronic means not less than two business days before the
17scheduled hearing.

18(d)

end delete

19begin insert(c)end insert (1) A public or private agency shall not be required to make
20a copy of its position statement available to an applicant or
21recipient through electronic means if the agency submits a report
22by December 31 of each year to the State Department of Social
23Services that includes both of the following:

24(A) The barriers the agency has identified that substantially
25impede or prohibit the electronic provision of hearing documents.

26(B) The steps the agency is taking to address these barriers.

27(2) This subdivision shall become inoperative on the date that
28the statewide electronic case management system administered by
29the State Department of Social Services becomes operational and
30has the capacity to provide position statements to claimants through
31secure electronic means.



O

    96