BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1232|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1232
Author: Leno (D)
Amended: 6/30/16
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
SENATE FLOOR: 39-0, 6/2/16
AYES: Allen, Anderson, Bates, Beall, Berryhill, Block,
Cannella, De León, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani, Glazer, Hall,
Hancock, Hernandez, Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Jackson,
Lara, Leno, Leyva, Liu, McGuire, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning,
Moorlach, Morrell, Nguyen, Nielsen, Pan, Pavley, Roth, Stone,
Vidak, Wieckowski, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 8/11/16 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
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
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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.
Assembly Amendments clarify that certain provisions of this bill
apply to applicants as well recipients and to make clear that
counties must provide specified information in the event of an
adverse action only when the determination behind that action
was based in whole or part from information contained in a
credit report.
ANALYSIS:
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)
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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
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
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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 elects to use
information contained in a consumer credit report for the
determination of CalFresh or CalWORKs eligibility or benefit
level to obtain written authorization from an applicant or
recipient prior to obtaining the credit report.
3)Requires that if a county takes an adverse action against an
applicant or recipient, the determination of which was based,
in whole or in part, upon information contained in the
consumer credit report, the county shall do all of the
following:
a) Provide the applicant or 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.
b) Issue the notice in writing and in accordance with the
standards for adequate notice established in federal law.
c) Make the information available to an applicant or
recipient who requests a copy of his or her case file or
appeals a negative action based in whole or in part on
information the county obtained from the consumer credit
report.
4)Defines "adverse action" as determination of ineligibility for
CalFresh or CalWORKs or a reduction in benefits or services.
5)Permits the written authorization and required notice to be
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provided by electronic means.
6)Prohibits a county human services agency that elects to use
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.
7)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
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, while
counties are responsible for administering 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
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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
percent federally funded and eligibility standards and benefit
levels are established by the United States Congress.
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; to participate in an employment and training
program, if assigned by a state or local administering agency;
and to 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
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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 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.
On May 12, 2016, CDSS issued additional guidance to the counties
regarding the use of a credit reporting agency to determine
eligibility for CalWORKs and CalFresh benefits. All County
Letter (ACL) #16-43 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 an adverse
action. According to the sponsor, Western Center on Law and
Poverty, 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 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.
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FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, negligible
state fiscal impact. CDSS recently issued an ACL specifying
county notification requirements relative to this issue.
SUPPORT: (Verified8/11/16)
Western Center on Law and Poverty (source)
California Alternative Payment Program Association
California Association of Food Banks
California Catholic Conference
California Food Policy Advocates
Children's Defense Fund
Courage Campaign
Feeding America San Diego
Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano
National Consumer Law Center
St. Anthony's Foundation
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/11/16)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: 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
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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.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 8/11/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,
Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke,
Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley,
Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth
Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto,
Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper,
Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine,
Linder, Lopez, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina,
Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen,
Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,
Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber,
Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NO VOTE RECORDED: Roger Hernández, Low
Prepared by: Taryn Smith / HUMAN S. / (916) 651-1524
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8/12/16 13:24:00
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