BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair 2015 - 2016 Regular Session SB 312 (Pan) - Public assistance: personal interviews ----------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Version: April 23, 2015 |Policy Vote: HUMAN S. 3 - 1 | | | | |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes | | | | |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Hearing Date: May 11, 2015 |Consultant: Jolie Onodera | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File. Bill Summary: SB 312 would provide that county human services agencies are required to conduct the required personal interview with an applicant for CalWORKs benefits either by telephone or through electronic means. This bill would provide that a face-to-face interview shall be conducted if requested by an applicant or recipient. Fiscal Impact: Interview via telephonic/electronic means : Potentially significant future costs to county agencies to enable interviews by telephone or through "electronic means". To the extent county agencies incur up-front costs for equipment, staffing, and/or training, these costs could potentially qualify as a reimbursable state mandate (General Fund), as county agencies are required to conduct interviews by one of SB 312 (Pan) Page 1 of ? these two methods. To the extent conducting interviews by telephone or electronic means results in administrative efficiencies, counties could realize significant future cost savings. CalWORKs benefits : Potential increases and decreases in CalWORKs benefits (General Fund) to the extent conducting interviews by telephone or electronic means results in a greater or lesser number of applications for aid granted. To the extent this bill removes barriers to applying for and being granted assistance, CalWORKs program costs could increase. However, as this bill only provides for a face-to-face interview upon applicant request, to the extent a county cannot verify or clarify a condition of eligibility through a face-to-face interview (as allowable for CalFresh), additional applications that otherwise may have been approved could potentially be denied. Background: Existing law provides that no applicant shall be granted CalWORKs benefits until he or she is first personally interviewed by the office of the county department or state staff for patients in state hospitals. Under existing law, if an applicant is incapable of acting in his or her own behalf, the county department shall verify this fact by personal contact with the applicant before aid is authorized. (Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) § 11052.5.) Existing state regulations require a face-to-face interview with the applicant prior to the granting of aid. (DSS Manual of Policy and Procedures 40-131.11.) Proposed Law: This bill would require a county human services agency or state staff for patients in state hospitals to conduct the required personal interview with an applicant for CalWORKs benefits either by telephone or through electronic means. This bill would require a face-to-face interview if requested by an applicant or recipient. Related Legislation: SB 297 (McGuire) 2015 would require DSS to SB 312 (Pan) Page 2 of ? establish an electronic signature storage hub to enable counties to record telephonic and electronic signatures during a CalFresh interview. This bill would also require county eligibility workers to conduct a CalFresh application interview by telephone, and would allow the interview be Prior Legislation: AB 1970 (Skinner) 2012 would have required counties to use electronic methods of communication for the application and recertification process in CalWORKs and CalFresh upon applicant or recipient request, and would have established alternatives to in-person interviews for applications and redeterminations. This bill was held on the Suspense File of this Committee. Staff Comments: This bill provides that the personal interview for a CalWORKs applicant shall be conducted promptly following the application for assistance and may be conducted by telephone or electronic means. As drafted, the provisions of this measure appear to restrict local agencies' ability to conduct face-to-face interviews with CalWORKs applicants, with the exception of upon applicant request. As a result, to the extent county agencies incur up-front costs for equipment, staffing, and/or training to implement the process of interviews via telephone or electronic means, which is undefined, these costs could potentially qualify as a reimbursable state mandate (General Fund). Staff notes that to the extent conducting interviews by telephone or electronic means results in administrative efficiencies, counties could realize significant future cost savings. The provisions of this bill could result in potential increases and decreases in CalWORKs benefits of an unknown, but potentially significant amount. To the extent conducting interviews by telephone or electronic means results in applicants receiving benefits sooner than they otherwise would have under existing law due to the removal of existing barriers to application, CalWORKs program costs could increase. However, to the extent the restriction on face-to-face interviews only upon applicant request prohibit a county from verifying or clarifying a condition of eligibility through a face-to-face interview (as allowable for CalFresh), additional applications that otherwise may have been approved could potentially be SB 312 (Pan) Page 3 of ? denied. Recommended Amendments: This bill amends Article 2 ("Applications") of Chapter 1 of Part 3 of Division 9 of WIC. As this Article is specific to applications, staff recommends an amendment to delete the reference to CalWORKs recipients. On page 3, in line 2, delete "or recipient". -- END --