BILL NUMBER: SB 1247 CHAPTERED 09/14/99 CHAPTER 371 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 14, 1999 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 14, 1999 PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 30, 1999 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 23, 1999 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 19, 1999 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 2, 1999 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 17, 1999 AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 5, 1999 INTRODUCED BY Senator Escutia (Principal coauthor: Senator Chesbro) FEBRUARY 26, 1999 An act to amend Section 10072 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to public social services. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 1247, Escutia. CalWORKs: electronic benefits transfer. Existing law provides for the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, under which each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families. Existing law permits a county to elect to deliver CalWORKs benefits through the use of an electronic benefits transfer system. This bill would require that when CalWORKs benefits are delivered pursuant to electronic benefits transfers, benefits shall be staggered over a period of 3 calendar days, unless a county requests a waiver from the department and the waiver is approved, or except in cases of hardship. Existing law requires counties to provide multiple electronic benefits transfer cards to adult members of a household or assistance unit under certain circumstances. This bill would instead require counties to provide one card to each adult member of a household or assistance unit. Since the bill would impose requirements on each county, the bill would create a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement, including the creation of a State Mandates Claims Fund to pay the costs of mandates that do not exceed $1,000,000 statewide and other procedures for claims whose statewide costs exceed $1,000,000. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 10072 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read: 10072. The electronic benefits transfer system required by this chapter shall be designed to do, but not be limited to, all of the following: (a) To the extent permitted by federal law and the rules of the program providing the benefits, recipients who are required to receive their benefits using an electronic benefits transfer system shall be permitted to gain access to the benefits in any part of the state where electronic benefits transfers are accepted. All electronic benefits transfer systems in this state shall be designed to allow recipients to gain access to their benefits by using every other electronic benefits transfer system. (b) To the maximum extent feasible, electronic benefits transfer systems shall be designed to be compatible with the electronic benefits transfer systems in other states. (c) All reasonable measures shall be taken in order to ensure that recipients have access to electronically issued benefits through systems such as automated teller machines, point-of-sale devices, or other devices that accept electronic benefits transfer transactions. Benefits provided under Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11200) of Part 3 shall be staggered over a period of three calendar days, unless a county requests a waiver from the department and the waiver is approved, or in cases of hardship pursuant to subdivision (l). (d) The system shall provide for reasonable access to benefits to recipients who demonstrate an inability to use, an electronic benefits transfer card or other aspect of the system because of disability, language, lack of access, or other barrier. These alternative methods shall conform to the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101, et seq.), including reasonable accommodations for recipients who, because of physical or mental disabilities, are unable to operate or otherwise make effective use of the electronic benefits transfer system. (e) The system shall permit a recipient the option to choose a personal identification number, also known as a "pin" number, to assist the recipient to remember his or her number in order to allow access to benefits. Whenever an institution, authorized representative, or other third party not part of the recipient household or assistance unit has been issued an electronic benefits transfer card, either in lieu of, or in addition to, the recipient, the third party shall have a separate card and personal identification number. At the option of the recipient, he or she may designate whether restrictions apply to the third party's access to the recipient's benefits. At the option of the recipient head of household or assistance unit, the county shall provide one electronic benefits transfer card to each adult member to enable them to access benefits. (f) The system shall have a 24-hour-per-day toll-free telephone hotline for the reporting of lost or stolen cards and that will provide recipients with information on how to have the card and personal identification number replaced. (g) A recipient shall not incur any loss of electronic benefits after reporting his or her electronic benefits transfer card or personal identification number has been lost or stolen. The system shall provide for the prompt replacement of lost or stolen electronic benefits transfer cards and personal identification numbers. Electronic benefits for which the case was determined eligible and that were not withdrawn by transactions using an authorized personal identification number for the account shall also be promptly replaced. (h) Electronic benefits transfer system consumers shall be informed on how to use electronic benefits transfer cards and how to protect them from misuse. (i) Procedures shall be developed for error resolution. (j) No fee shall be charged by the state, a county, or an electronic benefits processor certified by the state to retailers participating in the electronic benefits transfer system. (k) Except for food stamp transactions, a recipient may be charged a fee, not to exceed the amount allowed by applicable state and federal law and customarily charged to other customers, for cash withdrawal transactions that exceed four per month. (l) A county shall exempt an individual from the three-day staggering requirement under subdivision (c) on a case-by-case basis for hardship. Hardship includes, but is not limited to, the incurrence of late charges on an individual's housing payments. (m) No later than May 1, 2000, the department shall prepare and submit a report to the Senate Health and Human Services Committee and the Assembly Committee on Human Services. The report shall contain estimates of the number of counties that may opt to issue cash benefits provided under Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11200) of Part 3 by electronics benefits transfer and the amount of interest payments that would accrue to the counties pursuant to the three-day staggering requirement of subdivision (c). SEC. 2. Notwithstanding Section 17610 of the Government Code, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code. If the statewide cost of the claim for reimbursement does not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000), reimbursement shall be made from the State Mandates Claims Fund.