BILL NUMBER: AB 1576 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 11, 1997
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 11, 1997
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 11, 1997
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 20, 1997
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Bustamante, Pringle, and Senator
Lockyer
MARCH 17, 1997
An act to add and repeal Chapter 10.1 (commencing with Section
18930) of Part 6 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code,
relating to human services, and declaring the urgency thereof, to
take effect immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1576, Bustamante. Food assistance.
Existing law provides for the federal Food Stamp Program, under
which each county distributes food stamps provided by the federal
government to eligible households.
This bill would, under specified circumstances, require, effective
September 1, 1997, that the State Department of Social Services
establish a Food Assistance Program for legal immigrants who are 65
years of age or older or children losing eligibility for food stamp
benefits due to Public Law 104-193. The provision would become
inoperative July 1, 2000, and would be repealed on January 1, 2001.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an
urgency statute.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 10.1 (commencing with Section 18930) is added
to Part 6 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, to
read:
CHAPTER 10.1. FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAM FOR LEGAL IMMIGRANTS
18930. (a) Effective September 1, 1997, the State Department of
Social Services shall establish a Food Assistance Program to provide
assistance for adults 65 years of age or older and minors described
in subdivision (b). The department shall enter into an agreement
with the United States Department of Agriculture to use the existing
federal Food Stamp Program coupons for the purposes of administering
this program.
(b) Adults 65 years of age or older and minors under 18 years of
age who are noncitizens of the United States shall be eligible for
the program established pursuant to subdivision (a) if the person's
immigration status meets the eligibility criteria of the federal Food
Stamp Program in effect on August 21, 1996, but he or she is not
eligible for food stamp benefits solely due to his or her immigration
status under Public Law 104-193. All eligible applicants shall have
been legally present in the United States prior to August 22, 1996.
(c) In counties approved for alternate benefit issuance systems,
that same alternate benefit issuance system shall be approved for the
program established by this chapter.
18931. Any person who is eligible for federally funded food
stamps shall not be eligible for assistance under this chapter.
18932. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the federal
and state laws and regulations governing the federal Food Stamp
Program shall also govern the program provided for under this
chapter.
18933. Benefits provided under this chapter shall be equivalent
to the benefits provided under the federal Food Stamp Program.
18934. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature to appropriate in
the 1998-99 Budget Act and in the 1999-2000 Budget Act moneys for the
purposes of implementing this act in at least the amount
appropriated in the 1997-98 Budget Act for that purpose.
(b) This chapter shall become inoperative on July 1, 2000, and as
of January 1, 2001, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
becomes operative on or before January 1, 2001, deletes or extends
the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.
SEC. 2. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of the Administrative
Procedure Act, Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1
of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, the State Department
of Social Services may implement the applicable provisions of this
act through all county letter or similar instructions from the
director for 60 days.
(b) The director shall adopt regulations, as otherwise necessary,
to implement the applicable provisions of this act no later than July
1, 1998. Emergency regulations to implement the applicable
provisions of this act may be adopted by the director in accordance
with the Administrative Procedure Act. The initial adoption of
emergency regulations and one readoption of the initial regulations
shall be deemed to be an emergency and necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, safety, or general welfare.
Initial emergency regulations and the first readoption of those
emergency regulations shall be exempt from review by the Office of
Administrative Law. The emergency regulations authorized by this
section shall be submitted to the Office of Administrative Law for
filing with the Secretary of State and shall remain in effect for no
more than 180 days.
SEC. 3. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the
meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to continue to provide for the basic necessities of life
and nutritional needs of legal immigrants in California, it is
necessary that this act take effect immediately.