BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Senator McGuire, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 2346
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|Author: |Baker |
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|Version: |March 31, 2016 |Hearing | June 28, 2016 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant|Taryn Smith |
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Subject: Public social services: hearings
SUMMARY
This bill requires specified position statements related to
state hearings to be made available electronically no less than
two days prior to the date of a hearing, unless specified steps
are taken by a county.
ABSTRACT
Existing law:
1)Requires the California Department of Social Services (CDSS)
and the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) to hold a
fair hearing in the event that an applicant for or recipient
of public social services is dissatisfied with any action of a
county department, as specified. (WIC) 10950 et seq.)
2)Requires an applicant for or recipient of public social
services to file his or her request for a hearing within 90
days after the order or action on which the request for a
hearing is based. (WIC 10951)
3)Requires the department to set the hearing within 30 working
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days after the request is filed, and to notify all parties at
least 10 days prior to the hearing of the time and place of
the hearing. (WIC 10952)
4)Requires a public or private agency to make available a
mandated position statement concerning issues raised at the
hearing not less than two working days prior to the date of a
hearing, and further requires that the private or public
agency make a copy of the agency's position statement
available to the applicant or recipient at the county welfare
department. (WIC 10952.5)
5)Mandates that, if a public or private agency does not make the
position statement available not less than two working days
prior to the hearing or the agency decides to modify the
position statement, the hearing shall be postponed upon the
request of the applicant or recipient. (WIC 10952.5)
6)Exempts DHCS from requirements to make position statements
available. (WIC 10952.5)
7)Limits the issues at a state hearing to those that are
reasonably related to the request for hearing or other issues
that have been identified by either party and mutually agreed
upon, as specified. (WIC 10958.1)
8)Provides that a hearing award, if the decision is in favor of
the applicant or recipient, shall be determined within 30 days
of the date of the hearing decision, and requires the county
and the claimant to be notified of the determination regarding
the county's compliance with the decision. (WIC 10961)
This bill:
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1)Requires a public or private agency to make its position
statement available at the county welfare office and through
electronic means.
2)Requires the DHCS to make its position statement available to
the applicant or recipient and to the CDSS through electronic
means not less than two business days before the scheduled
hearing.
3)Stipulates that a public or private agency is not required to
make a copy of its position statement available electronically
if it has submitted a report to the CDSS detailing the
barriers to providing position statements electronically, and
what steps the agency is taking to address these barriers.
4)Makes other technical changes.
FISCAL IMPACT
According the Assembly Appropriations Committee, this bill may
result in unknown, but potential costs to counties which are not
reimbursable. The bill may also generate minor and absorbable
costs to CDSS to annually review any reports sent by public or
private agencies explaining why they can't make position
statements available electronically. The analysis projects no
fiscal impact to CDSS regarding development of the Appeals Case
Management System project.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Purpose of the bill:
According to the author, current law limits the availability of
state hearing documents because the documents can only be picked
up at the county welfare offices. This inability to access
hearing documents electronically imposes additional
transportation costs on low-income persons, especially those
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living in rural areas, per the author.
Public social services - state hearings
State laws and regulations define the benefits and services
provided to low-income individuals and families that receive
public social services from programs for which state hearings
can be requested. These programs include, but are not limited
to, CalWORKs, CalFresh, the Supplemental Security Income/State
Supplementary Payment, Medi-Cal, and California Assistance
Program for Immigrants.
These programs are generally administered at the county level.
Under current law, an applicant or recipient of public social
services can request a state hearing if they are dissatisfied
with any action of the county relating to his or her application
or receipt of public social services. An applicant can also
request a hearing if the application is not acted upon with
reasonable promptness. Current law and regulations set forth
timeframes for requesting a state hearing and adjudication of
the complaint, in addition to county requirements to send
notices pertaining to the hearing. Applicants and recipients
must file a request with the CDSS or the DHCS, whichever
department administers the public social service.
CDSS's State Hearings Division is responsible for conducting
these hearings in order to resolve disputes of applicants and
recipients of public social services in an impartial,
independent, fair, and timely manner, while ensuring that due
process is met in accordance with federal and state law. Data
provided by CDSS shows that the State Hearings Division is
projected to receive more than 100,000 requests for hearings in
FY 2015-16 and FY 2016-17.
Appeals Case Management System
According to CDSS, the secure electronic notifications
technology called for in AB 2346 will be available on a
statewide basis when CDSS's new Appeals Case Management System
(ACMS) is launched. CDSS and the Office of System Integration
are currently working to develop the ACMS which will allow
claimants, their authorized representatives, counties,
departments, and respondents to securely upload and download
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documents, such as the Statement of Position. The new system is
reportedly designed to meet Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act (HIPPA) and language requirements. It will
include a portal for individuals to request hearings, check
their hearing or case status and access case information. ACMS
is currently projected to launch in mid-2018 and will integrate
intake, scheduling and reporting of cases.
COMMENTS:
Current law does not prohibit or require position statements to
be made available electronically or via US mail. However, some
counties provide positions statements via email upon request.
Additionally, DHCS reports that its procedures call for mailing
position statements via certified US mail 10 days prior to a
hearing.
The following amendments are suggested in response to concerns
that the bill would require counties and state agencies to
provide personal identifying information and other sensitive
information via electronic means might jeopardize privacy rights
and potentially violate HIPPA requirements. These amendments
would allow the entities to provide the position statements in
person, via US mail or via email, upon request. Additionally,
in anticipation of CDSS's new statewide Appeals Case Management
System, the amendments would make provisions that allow entities
to opt out of electronic notifications inoperable when the new
Appeals Case Management System is fully operational. Therefore,
the committee recommends the following amendments:
WIC 10952.5.
(a) 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 public or private agency chooses to develop
that statement, not less than two business days before the date
of a hearing provided for pursuant to this chapter, the public
or private agency shall make available to the applicant for, or
recipient of, public social services requesting a fair hearing,
a copy of the public or private agency's position statement on
the forthcoming hearing. The public or private agency shall make
the copy available to the applicant or recipient , upon request,
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at the county welfare department , via US mail, or and through
electronic means. If the applicant or recipient requests the
position statement to be delivered via electronic means and the
position statement contains personal identifying information,
the position statement must be delivered via secure electronic
means, except as provided for in subsection (d) . A public or
private agency shall be required to comply with this section
only if the public or private agency has received a 10-day prior
notice of the date and time of the scheduled hearing.
(b) If the public or private agency does not make the position
statement available not less than two business days before the
hearing or if the public or private agency decides to modify the
position statement, the hearing shall be postponed upon the
request of the applicant or recipient, if an applicant or
recipient agrees to waive the right to obtain a decision on the
hearing within the deadline that would otherwise be applicable
under regulations. A postponement for reason of the public or
private agency not making the position statement available
within not less than two business days shall be deemed a
postponement for good cause for purposes of determining
eligibility to any applicable benefits pending disposition of
the hearing.
(c) Subdivisions (a) and (b) shall not apply to the State
Department of Health Care Services or the State Department of
Public Health, except that the State Department of Health Care
Services shall make its position statement available to the
applicant or recipient and the State Department of Social
Services through electronic means not less than two business
days before the scheduled hearing.
(d) A public or private agency shall not be required to make a
copy of its position statement available to an applicant or
recipient through electronic means if the agency submits a
report by December 31 of each year to the State Department of
Social Services that includes both of the following:
(1) The barriers the agency has identified that substantially
impede or prohibit the electronic provision of hearing
documents.
(2) The steps the agency is taking to address these barriers.
(e) Subsection (d) shall become inoperative once the Department
of Social Services' statewide electronic case management system
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is operational and has the capacity to provide position
statements via secure electronic means to claimants.
PRIOR VOTES
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|Assembly Floor: |76 - |
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|Assembly Appropriations Committee: |20 - |
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|Assembly Human Services Committee: |6 - |
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POSITIONS
Support:
Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organization
(Sponsor)
Housing California
Oppose:
None.
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