BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2346|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2346
Author: Baker (R), et al.
Amended: 6/30/16 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE: 5-0, 6/28/16
AYES: McGuire, Berryhill, Hancock, Liu, Nguyen
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0, 5/23/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Public social services: hearings
SOURCE: Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organization
DIGEST: This bill requires specified position statements
related to state hearings to be made available electronically
upon request no less than two days prior to the date of a
hearing, unless specified steps are taken.
ANALYSIS:
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.)
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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 CDSS to set the hearing within 30 working 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)
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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:
1)Requires a public or private agency to make its positions
statement available to the applicant or recipient at the
county welfare department, via United States mail, or, upon
request, through electronic means, as specified.
2)Requires that, if the applicant or recipient requests a
position statement that contains personal identifying
information to be delivered through electronic means, the
position statement shall be delivered through secure
electronic means, as specified.
3)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.
4)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, as
specified.
5)Makes other technical changes.
Background
State laws and regulations define the benefits and services
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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 (SSI/SSP), 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
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
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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.
Related/Prior Legislation
AB 617 (Nazarian, Chapter 869, Statutes of 2014) established an
appeals process for eligibility or enrollment determinations and
redeterminations for insurance affordability programs, as
defined, or exemption determinations within Covered California's
jurisdiction. The bill also required CDSS to conduct the
appeal hearings.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified 8/2/16)
Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organization (source)
Housing California
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/2/16)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the sponsor, 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 living in rural areas.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0, 5/23/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Atkins, Baker, Bigelow,
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Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos,
Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh,
Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina
Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez,
Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden,
Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder,
Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina,
Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen,
Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth,
Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk,
Wood, Rendon
NO VOTE RECORDED: Arambula, Eggman, Patterson, Williams
Prepared by:Taryn Smith / HUMAN S. / (916) 651-1524
8/3/16 18:36:26
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