BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
SB 297 (McGuire) - Public benefits: eligibility determinations
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|Version: March 26, 2015 |Policy Vote: HUMAN S. 3 - 1 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes |
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|Hearing Date: May 4, 2015 |Consultant: Jolie Onodera |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: SB 297 would do the following:
Require the Department of Social Services (DSS) to
enhance the Statewide Automated Welfare System (SAWS)
through the development of an electronic verification
system for use in connection with the eligibility
determinations for means-tested public benefit programs, as
specified.
Require a county human services agency to conduct a
telephone interview at initial application and
recertification for CalFresh and facilitate submission of
required documents using electronic and telephone
technologies, as specified.
Expand the circumstances under which a face-to-face
interview to determine CalFresh eligibility is required.
Authorize counties to conduct an electronic interview in
place of a telephone or face-to-face interview, as
specified.
Require the DSS to issue guidance for recording and the
storing of electronic and telephonic signatures, and
coordinate with county human services agencies to make
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available a standard technological solution that has the
capacity to store telephonic and electronic signatures.
Fiscal
Impact:
Electronic verification system : One-time major costs for
development of the electronic verification system, potentially
in the millions of dollars (General Fund). While the bill
mandates the system be completed by December 2018 to enable
potential federal support of 90 percent, it is unknown at this
time whether the necessary automation enhancements could
feasibly be completed within this timeframe or if expenditures
would be approved for federal funding.
CalFresh face-to-face interviews : Potential increase in local
agency costs to conduct interviews for "a household with a
person who has a disability, is advanced in age, or is
homeless" in a mutually acceptable location. To the extent
local agency expenditures qualify as a reimbursable state
mandate, agencies could claim reimbursement of those costs
(General Fund).
Telephonic/electronic signature storage : Unknown, potentially
significant one-time costs (General Fund) to enhance SAWS to
enable electronic signature storage statewide. Costs to local
agencies would be dependent on the information specified in
the guidance required to be issued by DSS. While the bill
provides that local agencies would not be required to utilize
the state's telephonic storage if complying with DSS guidance,
to the extent the guidance requires local agencies to incur
new costs or additional workload, these costs could qualify as
a reimbursable state mandate (General Fund).
Background: Existing law provides for the CalFresh program which provides
for food assistance benefits to qualified individuals who meet
specified eligibility criteria.
Under existing law, a county welfare department is required, if
appropriate, to exempt a household from complying with
face-to-face interview requirements for purposes of determining
CalFresh eligibility at initial application and recertification,
however, a person eligible for an exemption may request a
face-to-face interview to establish initial eligibility or to
comply with recertification requirements. Under existing law, a
county may require an applicant or recipient to make a personal
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appearance at a county welfare office if the applicant or
recipient no longer qualifies for an exemption or for other good
cause. (Welfare and Institutions Code § 18901.10.)
In 2011, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
authorized an enhancement to the federal Medicaid matching rate
for eligibility and enrollment systems modernization -
increasing the level of federal support from 50 percent to 90
percent for new systems builds and from 50 percent to 75 percent
for maintenance and operations.
The OMB also offered a waiver of OMB Circular A-87 cost
allocation rules to support the integration of eligibility
systems between health and human services programs, such as SNAP
and TANF. This waiver allowed States that wished to build
integrated systems to do so without having to allocate the costs
of developing shared eligibility services to human services
programs. Human services programs retained responsibility for
covering any costs particular to their program needs.
On October 28, 2014, CMS announced a three-year extension of the
A-87 waiver authority to enable states to complete their work on
eligibility and enrollment systems integration through December
2018.
Proposed Law:
This bill would require DSS to enhance the SAWS through the
development of an electronic verification system that would
allow county human services agency eligibility workers to access
data available electronically from public and private
agencies/programs for use in connection with the determination
of eligibility for means-tested public benefit programs, as
defined. In addition, this bill:
Requires DSS, in developing this electronic verification
process, to consult with county human services agencies,
eligibility workers, representatives of SAWS, and client
advocates.
Includes codified Legislative intent language stating
that the electronic verification process be utilized to the
greatest extent possible prior to requesting verification
of data elements from an applicant or recipient.
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Requires the electronic verification process to be
completed no later than the expiration of the federal
waiver for OMB Circular A-87, which requires states to
evenly allocate the development costs for systems that are
federally funded and enables the state to apply for 90
percent federal funding for IT systems.
Revises language in existing statute regarding a
county's requirement to conduct a telephone interview for
an applicant or for recertification of CalFresh benefits
and requires that submission of required documents shall be
done using electronic and telephone technologies to the
greatest extent possible.
Requires a face-to-face interview be conducted if any of
the following occur:
o A face-to-face interview is requested by the
applicant, recipient, or authorized representative.
o On a case-by-case basis, a face-to-face
interview is deemed necessary by the county to clarify
a condition of eligibility.
o A face-to-face interview is required in order
to make timely and reasonable accommodations to serve
a household with a person who has a disability, is
advanced in age, or is homeless. For purposes of this
subparagraph, the face-to-face interview shall be
conducted in a mutually acceptable location.
o An electronic interview may be conducted in
place of a telephone or face-to-face interview if the
county human services agency and the
applicant/recipient both have the capacity to
participate in an electronic interview.
Requires DSS to issue guidance for recording and the
storing of electronic and telephonic signatures in order to
facilitate submission of required information by applicants
and recipients.
Requires DSS to coordinate with county human services
agencies to make available a standard technological
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solution that has the capacity to store telephonic and
electronic signatures.
Requires DSS, in identifying this solution, to work with
county human services agencies, client advocates, SAWS, and
the Office of Systems Integration to ensure maximum
compatibility with the SAWS and to provide that the
telephonic and electronic signatures will be stored within
the SAWS, as appropriate.
Clarifies that a county would not be required to use the
state's telephonic storage if the county is complying with
the state's guidance on recording and storing signatures.
Includes codified Legislative intent language to ensure
that applicants and recipients in all counties have the
ability to utilize telephonic and electronic signatures.
Prohibits the state and counties from allowing an
eligibility interview to be conducted by anyone other than
a county human services agency eligibility worker.
Related
Legislation: SB 312 (Pan) 2015 would authorize a county welfare
department to conduct a required personal interview with an
applicant for CalWORKs benefits either telephonically or through
electronic means, as specified. This bill is pending hearing in
this Committee.
Prior Legislation: AB 1970 (Skinner) 2014 would have permitted
counties to use electronic methods of communication for the
application and recertification processes in CalWORKs and
CalFresh, and would have established alternatives to in-person
interviews for applications and redeterminations. This bill was
held on the Suspense File of this Committee.
AB 6 (Fuentes) Chapter 501/2011 removed the fingerprinting
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requirement for the CalFresh program, modified reporting
requirements from quarterly to semi-annually, and required DSS
and CSD to design, implement and maintain a "Heat and Eat"
program.
Staff
Comments: This bill requires the DSS to develop an electronic
verification system compatible with SAWS that would allow county
eligibility workers to access data from various sources to use
in conjunction with the determination of eligibility for
means-tested pubic benefit programs under Division 9 of WIC,
which would encompass all public social services programs
including but not limited to CalWORKs, CalFresh, foster care,
child welfare services, SSI/SSP, IHSS, Medi-Cal, and the
county-administered and funded General Assistance (GA) program.
The development of such a system is likely to require a
significant investment of state funding, potentially in the
millions to tens of millions of dollars.
This bill requires the DSS to complete the electronic
verification system no later than the "expiration of the federal
waiver for OMB Circular A-87," which would require the system to
be completed by December 2018. While the bill mandates the
system be completed by December 2018 to enable potential federal
support of 90 percent, it is unknown at this time whether the
necessary automation enhancements could feasibly be completed
within this timeframe or if expenditures would ultimately be
approved for federal funding.
This bill changes the default method of conducting CalFresh
interviews from face-to-face to telephonic. Since 2009, counties
have had the option of waiving the face-to-face interview for
all non-assistance CalFresh applicants and recipients, as the
State has been operating under a federal waiver that permits
this practice. While mandating telephonic interviews may be
generally consistent with current practices, it would also
appear to remove the discretion of the county to offer the
option. While this provision creates a mandate on local
agencies, it is likely to result in operational cost savings.
According to DSS regulations for CalFresh administration,"If
everyone in a CalFresh case is older than 60 years of age or is
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a person with a disability, then the county is required to waive
the face-to-face interview. The interview can be conducted by
phone or, in some cases, the county can do a home visit."
However, this bill appears to potentially be in conflict with
regulations by mandating a face-to-face interview in order to
make timely and reasonable accommodations for this population,
specifically, "a household with a person who has a disability,
is advanced in age, or is homeless. The face-to-face interview
shall be conducted in a mutually acceptable location." To the
extent increased local expenditures qualify as a reimbursable
state mandate, agencies could claim reimbursement of those costs
(General Fund).
This bill also mandates county human services agencies to
facilitate submission of required documents using electronic and
telephone technologies, as specified. To the extent local
agencies incur additional up-front and ongoing costs that exceed
the cost savings resulting from these efforts, costs could
potentially be reimbursable by the state.
It is estimated the DSS will incur one-time costs of an unknown,
but potentially significant amount to enhance SAWS to enable
electronic signature storage statewide. Costs would vary by
county and would be dependent on the additional needs by each
county to meet the minimum requirements provided in the DSS
guidance. While the bill provides that local agencies would not
be required to utilize the state's telephonic storage system if
complying with DSS guidance, to the extent the guidance requires
local agencies to incur new costs or additional workload, these
costs could potentially qualify as a reimbursable state mandate
(General Fund).
Recommended
Amendments: This bill contains two codified statements of
Legislative intent language in two sections of the bill. Staff
recommends an amendment to replace with direct language or
remove entirely from the bill's provisions.
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