BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1232|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1232
Author: Leno (D)
Amended: 5/31/16
Vote: 21
SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE: 4-0, 3/29/16
AYES: McGuire, Hancock, Liu, Nguyen
NO VOTE RECORDED: Berryhill
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 6-0, 4/12/16
AYES: Jackson, Moorlach, Hertzberg, Leno, Monning, Wieckowski
NO VOTE RECORDED: Anderson
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 5/27/16
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza, Nielsen
SUBJECT: CalWORKs and CalFresh: eligibility determinations
SOURCE: Western Center on Law and Poverty
DIGEST: This bill requires a county human services agency that
uses information contained in a consumer credit report for the
determination of CalFresh or CalWORKs eligibility or benefit
level to obtain written authorization from the applicant or
recipient prior to obtaining the credit report and to provide
the recipient with a specified notice. This bill prohibits
county human services agencies from requiring CalFresh or
CalWORKs applicants or recipients to provide hard-copy
documentation that is duplicative of the information obtained
from the credit reporting agency.
ANALYSIS:
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Page 2
Existing federal law:
1)Establishes the Fair Consumer Reporting Act (FCRA), which
provides procedures for accuracy and fairness of credit
reporting. Among other things, FCRA mandates consumer
notification of adverse action taken based on information
contained in a consumer credit report and establishes rights
for consumers to correct information that is reported
incorrectly. (15 U.S.C. Sec. 1681 et seq.)
2)Establishes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
(SNAP) within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to
promote the general welfare and to safeguard the health and
wellbeing of the nation's population by raising the levels of
nutrition among low-income households. It establishes SNAP
eligibility requirements, as specified. (7 CFR 271.1; 7 CFR
273.9)
3)Establishes the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
program to provide aid and welfare-to-work services to
eligible families and, in California, provides that TANF funds
for welfare-to-work services are administered through the
CalWORKs program. (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq., WIC 11200 et seq.)
Existing state law:
1)Establishes income, asset and real property limits used to
determine eligibility for the program based on family size and
county of residence. (WIC 11450, 11150 et seq.)
2)Establishes a 48-month lifetime limit of CalWORKs benefits for
eligible adults, including 24 months during which a recipient
must meet federal work requirements in order to retain
eligibility. (WIC 11454, 11322.85)
3)Specifies a weekly number of hours required of welfare-to-work
participation for adults to remain eligible for CalWORKs
benefits, including for those households with "unemployed
parents." (WIC 11322.8)
4)Establishes in California statute the CalFresh program to
administer the provision of federal SNAP benefits to families
and individuals meeting specified criteria. (WIC 18900 et
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Page 3
seq.)
This bill:
1)Establishes legislative intent to support an increase in
CalFresh benefits for low-income working families by
simplifying and adding transparency to the verification of
wages. It also states legislative intent to educate applicants
and recipients of aid of their federal rights to receive a
free report and to correct errors in a report issued by
federally regulated consumer reporting agencies when the
services of those agencies are used by the state or county to
determine CalFresh or CalWORKs eligibility or benefit level.
2)Requires a county human services agency that uses information
contained in a consumer credit report for the determination of
CalFresh or CalWORKs eligibility or benefit level to do all of
the following:
a) Obtain written authorization from an applicant or
recipient prior to obtaining the credit report.
b) If the county takes an adverse action against the
recipient, provide the recipient with federally mandated
notice indicating that the verification or eligibility
determination was based, in whole or in part, upon the
information contained in the consumer credit report.
Defines "adverse action" as determination of ineligibility
for CalFresh or CalWORKs or a reduction in benefits or
services.
c) Issue the notice in writing and in accordance with the
standards for adequate notice established in federal law.
d) Make the information available to a recipient who
requests a copy of his or her case file or appeals a
negative action based in whole or in part on the
information the county obtained from the consumer credit
report.
1)Permits the written authorization and notice required to be
provided by electronic means.
2)Prohibits a county human services agency that elects to use
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information contained in a consumer credit report for the
determination of benefit level from requiring the applicant or
recipient to submit hard-copy documentation that is
duplicative of the information it will verify using the credit
report.
3)Requires that nothing in the bill precludes the use of other
forms of verification or prohibits the county from requesting
additional documentation when the county establishes, in
writing, that the information it has already received is
questionable.
Background
According to the author, this bill will facilitate eligibility
and enrollment in the CalFresh and CalWORKs programs by
streamlining the application process. For some families, support
programs like CalFresh and CalWORKs can help prevent the
indignity of hunger in meeting basic needs. The author states
that low-wage workers face significant barriers to participation
in CalFresh program. Few have paid time off or reliable
transportation to get to the county welfare department for the
application process.
By prohibiting county agencies that use electronic databases to
administer the CalFresh and CalWORKs programs from requiring
applicants to submit hard copy documentation that is duplicative
of information obtained from the database, SB 1232 reduces
potential for multiple visits to the county offices, according
to the author. SB 1232 also will require notice to recipients
about their federal right to receive free employment data
reports and to correct inaccurate information in employment and
income verification databases. Additionally, this bill will
empower low-income Californians to correct errors in their
consumer reports, the author states.
The author also states that SB 1232 does not reinforce, require
or encourage the use of a particular consumer credit reporting
agency database. This bill does, however, establish that if
such a database is used to evaluate an application for CalFresh
or CalWORKs benefits, the applicant must also benefit from the
information in the database and must be protected under federal
consumer law.
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CalWORKs
CalWORKs provides temporary cash assistance to meet basic family
needs. It also provides education, employment and training
programs. The CalWORKs program is funded with a mix of federal
TANF money, state, and county funds. The Department of Social
Services (CDSS) is the designated state agency responsible for
program supervision at the state level. The counties are
responsible for administering the caseloads at the local level.
In order to be eligible for CalWORKs, families must meet income
and asset tests, as specified. In addition, children must be
deprived of parental support and care due to the incapacity,
death or absence of apparent or unemployment of the principal
wage-earner. Persons fleeing to avoid prosecution, custody or
confinement after conviction of a felony are not eligible for
CalWORKs.
State law provides for a cumulative 48-month lifetime limit on
cash aid for adults. During those 48 months, adults may receive
a total of 24 months of Welfare-to-Work (WTW) services and
activities. WTW activities include subsidized and unsubsidized
employment, community service, adult basic education, job
skills, training, mental health counseling, substance abuse
treatment and other activities necessary to assist recipients in
obtaining employment. Once the 24 months of WTW activities have
been exhausted, adults must meet the stricter federal work
participation requirements (20, 30, or 35 hours weekly,
depending on family composition) unless they are exempt or
receive an extension. Children of adults who exhaust the
48-month lifetime limit may continue to receive cash aid, if
otherwise eligible, up to age 18.
CalFresh
CalFresh, California's version of the federal SNAP program
provides monthly benefits to assist low-income households in
purchasing food or food products intended for human consumption.
CDSS administers CalFresh at the state level and California's
58 counties are responsible for administering the program at the
local level. CalFresh benefits are 100% federally funded and
national eligibility standards and benefit levels are
established by the United States Congress.
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To qualify for SNAP benefits, some households must meet
specified work requirements. SNAP requires all recipients,
unless exempted by law, to register for work at the appropriate
employment office; participate in an employment and training
program, if assigned by a state or local administering agency;
and accept an offer of suitable employment. To participate in
CalFresh, households must meet certain income-eligibility
standards.
The average monthly benefit for a CalFresh recipient in federal
fiscal year 2016 was $125.78 per month, or $4.19 per day,
according to the USDA. CalFresh supplements family food budgets
by providing an average of $300 a month per household.
Employment and Income Verification
One of the measures for assessing eligibility for CalFresh and
CalWORKs is the income and employment history of the applicant.
While some counties still require hard copy evidence of work
histories (such as paystubs or tax forms), many counties have
turned to electronic databases maintained by credit reporting
agencies to complete the assessment.
On January 13, 2016, CDSS issued an All County Welfare Director
Letter to advise the counties of their option to participate in
a statewide agreement with a credit reporting agency to provide
online employment and wage verification services. Under the
agreement, all 58 counties in California can access information
in the database from January 1, 2016 through September 30, 2017,
at no cost to the counties.
On May 12, 2016, CDSS issued All County Letter (ACL) #16-43,
which provides additional guidance to the counties regarding the
use of a credit reporting agency to determine eligibility for
CalWORKs and CalFresh benefits. This ACL contains some, but not
all of the provisions in SB 1232, including requiring prior
authorization for use of a credit report and prior notice of
adverse action. The ACL requires counties to issue a10-day
notice prior to adverse action. According to the sponsor, past
communication from CDSS regarding mandatory reports for adverse
actions have been clear regarding the denial of employment or
credit, but they do not address denial of public benefits. SB
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1232 provides specificity by defining "adverse action" against a
recipient to include determination of ineligibility for CalFresh
or CalWORKs benefits or reduction in benefits or services.
Additionally, CDSS's ACLs are instructions for the counties, and
those instructions are not codified or enforceable.
Prior Legislation
SB 672 (Leno, Chapter 568, Statutes of 2013) included a
provision similar to what is proposed in SB 1232. While SB 672
was enacted, the provision related to streamlining CalFresh
enrollment was removed from the bill.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Notification requirements: Potential minor increase in ongoing
county eligibility worker costs (Local Funds/General
Fund/Federal Funds) for notification activities, as the
Department of Social Services recently issued an all-county
letter specifying county notification requirements relative to
this issue.
CalWORKs/CalFresh/CFAP benefits and administration: Potential
increase in CalWORKs and CalFresh benefits (Federal Fund/General
Fund/Local Funds) to the extent the mandated authorization and
notification requirements result in increases in program
enrollment and eligibility. While prohibiting counties from
requiring hard-copy documentation that is duplicative of
information it will verify using the credit report is intended
to streamline the eligibility process, to the extent a county
must request other forms of verification or documentation due to
the prohibition could alternatively delay the eligibility and
enrollment process.
SUPPORT: (Verified 5/31/16)
Western Center on Law and Poverty (source)
California Alternative Payment Program Association
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California Association of Food Banks
California Catholic Conference
California Food Policy Advocates
Courage Campaign
Feeding America San Diego
Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano
National Consumer Law Center
St. Anthony's Foundation
OPPOSITION: (Verified5/31/16)
None received
Prepared by:Taryn Smith / HUMAN S. / (916) 651-1524
5/31/16 22:23:52
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