BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair 2015 - 2016 Regular Session SB 297 (McGuire) - Public benefits: eligibility determinations ----------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Version: March 26, 2015 |Policy Vote: HUMAN S. 3 - 1 | | | | |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes | | | | |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Hearing Date: May 4, 2015 |Consultant: Jolie Onodera | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 SB 297 (McGuire) Page 1 of ? 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 SB 297 (McGuire) Page 2 of ? 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. SB 297 (McGuire) Page 3 of ? 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 SB 297 (McGuire) Page 4 of ? 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 SB 297 (McGuire) Page 5 of ? 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 SB 297 (McGuire) Page 6 of ? 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. -- END -- SB 297 (McGuire) Page 7 of ?