BILL ANALYSIS
Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
366 (Mullin)
Hearing Date: 8/18/03 Amended: 8/18/03
Consultant: Lisa Matocq Policy Vote: H & HS
11-0
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BILL SUMMARY: AB 366, an urgency bill, (1) requires,
rather than authorizes, the Department of Social Services
(DSS) to operate, until January 1, 2007, the substitute
employee registry (SER) for child care workers, (2)
authorizes DSS to operate it after that, (3) states
legislative intent that the SER be expanded statewide, and
(4) reappropriates $145,000 in the 2003 Budget Act for the
purposes of this bill.
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2003-04 2004-05
2005-06 Fund
SER program $145*+ annually, potentially offset by
fee General/
revenues, costs in outyears could be $300
Federal
DOJ Unknown, potentially $765 in 2003-04 and
Special**
$938 in outyears, offset by fee revenues
*Reappropriated from item 6110-196-0001 in the 2003 Budget Act.
$133,000 in General Funds is also included in the 2003 Budget Act.
**Fingerprint Fees Account/Child Abuse Fund
STAFF COMMENTS: This bill may meet the criteria for
referral to the Suspense File to the extent that the
program is expanded statewide. Current law authorizes DSS
to operate the SER pilot program, in order to make
available to child care providers lists of cleared
substitute child care staff. DSS may charge participants
an administrative fee, and may limit the pilot to 11
counties. The program was terminated in 2002 due to lack of
state-funded staffing. The 2003 Budget Act contains
$133,000 in General Funds for two new limited-term
positions to continue the program. The costs are to be
offset by fee revenues. This bill:
reappropriates, for the purposes of this bill, $145,000
of $2.7 million in federal funds appropriated to DSS in
the 2003 Budget Act for increased inspections of child
care facilities;
allows DSS to limit the number of participating counties
to seven; and
limits the amount of the fee that DSS may charge, to not
more than the annual licensing fee charged the largest
child care facility. It is unclear whether the fee
revenues would be sufficient to cover the costs.
The bill appears to duplicate an appropriation for this
program in 2003-04. STAFF RECOMMENDS that the bill be
amended to clarify whether the General or federal funds are
to be used for the program. To the extent that the program
is expanded statewide in future years, increased costs to
DSS would be about $300,000 annually, offset to some extent
by fee revenues. Increased costs to the Department of
Justice assume 20% of the estimated 66,067 child care staff
would require substitutes annually, and are offset by fee
revenues.