BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2192
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 4, 2006
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Noreen Evans, Chair
AB 2192 (Bass) - As Introduced: February 22, 2006
SUBJECT : CalWORKs; eligibility disqualification.
SUMMARY : Permits persons convicted of felony crimes involving
use or possession of drugs to qualify for CalWORKs under
specified circumstances. Specifically, this bill :
1)Opts California out of the lifetime prohibition on receipt of
benefits funded by the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
(TANF) block grant and establishes CalWORKs eligibility for
otherwise eligible persons convicted of a drug-related felony
subject to specified conditions.
2)Does not confer CalWORKs eligibility upon persons convicted of
unlawfully transporting, importing, selling, furnishing,
possessing for sale, manufacturing, cultivating or committing
similar acts related to controlled substances.
3)Requires that to be eligible for CalWORKs, a person convicted
of a drug-related felony must provide proof of one of the
following:
a) Completion, participation in, enrollment in or placement
on a waiting list for a government-recognized drug
treatment program; or
b) Other evidence that the illegal use of controlled
substances has ceased, pursuant to regulations adopted by
the State Department of Social Services.
4)Permits implementation by all-county letter on January 1,
2007, and requires regulations to be adopted no later than
July 1, 2007.
EXISTING FEDERAL LAW prohibits recipients of benefits funded by
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds from
qualifying for aid if they have been convicted of a felony crime
involving controlled substances, but allows states to opt out of
the disqualification in whole or part.
AB 2192
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EXISTING STATE LAW:
1)Provides that persons convicted of specified felonies related
to controlled substances are ineligible for aid under the
CalWORKs and food stamp programs if the conviction occurred
after the provisions' effective dates.
2)Permits otherwise eligible applicants for food stamps to
qualify for benefits if they have been convicted of a
drug-related felony involving possession or use of controlled
substances if they meet specified conditions regarding
treatment or cessation of use.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to analyses of last year's AB 855,
increased benefit costs of $1.2 million (assuming half of
currently ineligible persons qualify) would be partially offset
by savings due to improved success in parole and avoidance of
incarceration, estimated by the Little Hoover Commission at
approximately $700,000 taking into account the nature of the
population and success rates of treatment programs.
COMMENTS : This bill partially opts California out of the
lifetime ban on CalWORKs benefits for persons convicted of
drug-related felonies to the same extent that AB 1796 (Leno),
Chapter 932, Statutes of 2004, opted out of the ban as applied
to food stamps. It is identical to last year's AB 855 (Bass),
which passed the Legislature and was vetoed by the Governor.
Historical background. The lifetime ban on food stamps and
TANF-funded benefits for persons with felony drug convictions
was included in the 1996 federal welfare reform bill, as Section
115 of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
Reconciliation Act. There is little legislative history
explaining the provision, since it was first raised in a floor
amendment and not the subject of committee hearings.
The federal provision gives states the ability to opt out of the
disqualification. California declined to include any opt-out
provision when it implemented welfare reform in 1997. According
to a 2005 report of the Sentencing Project, 11 states plus the
District of Columbia have entirely opted out of the TANF ban,
including Michigan, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma and Oregon. An
additional 14 states have partially opted out of the ban on
TANF-funded benefits,, either by limiting the ban to certain
offenses (such as sale or trafficking) or establishing
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qualifying conditions which relate to participation in or
completion of drug treatment programs.
According to the Department of Social Services (DSS) estimates,
373 persons are denied CalWORKs each month because of the drug
felon prohibition.
CalWORKs substance treatment services. The CalWORKs program
itself includes substance abuse treatment as a permitted
welfare-to-work activity. Section 11325.8 of the Welfare &
Institutions Code establishes a process for identifying persons
in need of treatment and providing them with services.
Participants can be referred for treatment after an assessment
by a case manager and an evaluation by a county drug and alcohol
program finding that substance abuse will "impair the ability of
the participant to obtain and retain employment." The
Governor's 2006-07 budget appropriates $48.9 million in CalWORKs
funds expressly to be used for substance abuse services.
The drug felon ban disqualifies a parent or guardian from
receiving aid and services under CalWORKs, although needy
children are still eligible. Thus, current policy prevents a
person from receiving CalWORKs substance treatment services, or
any other welfare-to-work services, she or he may need to become
employable.
Restricted payments. The rationale supporting the drug felon
ban derives in part from a concern that persons with felony drug
convictions are likely to misuse public benefits to support a
substance abuse habit. The ban, however, requires no such
showing and makes no allowances for those who present no risk.
Current law, at Welfare & Institutions Code Section 11251.3(b),
provides that when the drug felon disqualification is applied,
the aid payment on behalf of the eligible family members be paid
through vouchers or vendor payments for at least rent or
utilities, preventing the excluded parent from having access to
that portion of the monthly grant.
Apart from the rules pertaining to disqualified drug felons,
state law currently provides that counties may provide
"restricted payments" on behalf of a recipient to the provider
of shelter and utilities if the "county determines that the
recipient has demonstrated such an inability to manage funds
that payments to the [parent or relative caretaker] have not
been or are not currently used in the best interest of the
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child." A presumption of misuse occurs when a parent has
previously failed to pay rent. In these cases payments are made
directly to the landlord or utility company, or to a third party
payee. Thus, counties have the ability to avoid misuse of
benefits under current law when there is reason to believe that
assistance payments are not being used in the best interest of
the children.
Criticism of the lifetime ban. The drug felon rule has been the
subject of much criticism by drug treatment providers, advocates
for the poor and law enforcement organizations because it
permanently disqualifies otherwise needy persons from receiving
assistance and may interfere with their current or continued
recovery. A person may be disqualified even if they are in a
treatment program and need a healthy diet to succeed, or if the
conviction occurred long before the time they needed assistance,
or if they have no current substance problem.
The Sentencing Project report concluded, "The lifetime welfare
ban . . . makes the possibility of returning to their
communities as productive members more difficult than before
their conviction, and in some cases improbable." It also noted
a disparate impact of the rule on women of color, since 46% of
women convicted of felony drug offenses are African-American or
Latina.
Supporters of AB 2192 observe that Proposition 36 of 2000
demonstrated the voters' intention to take a remedial,
non-punitive approach to substance abuse. Moreover, as stated
by Western Center on Law and Poverty, AB 2192 saves foster care
and group home costs because it "helps give children who are in
foster care or might otherwise go into foster care a permanent
placement."
Supporters have also argued that it imposes a special penalty
only upon persons poor enough to need public assistance; those
convicted of such crimes who do not need cash aid face no added
financial penalty beyond the criminal consequences.
Previous efforts to modify the lifetime ban. Prior to AB 855 of
2005, there have been several previous legislative efforts to
modify the CalWORKs ban. The first was SB 659 (C. Wright) of
1999-2000, which applied to all drug felonies and created a set
of exceptions to the bar similar to those contained in AB 2192.
The bill passed the Assembly 60-8 and the Senate 30-4, but was
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vetoed by Governor Davis. AB 767 (Goldberg), 2001-2002, adopted
the basic framework of SB 659 but applied only to convictions
for possession and use. It also was vetoed by Governor Davis.
AB 1947 (Washington) of 2001-2002 created an exception to the
ban only for persons enrolled in Proposition 36 treatment
programs. As introduced it applied to both CalWORKs and food
stamps, but in final form was amended to cover only food stamps.
Again, it met with Governor Davis' veto.
As previously noted, AB 1796 (Leno) of 2004 was limited from its
inception to food stamps and contained the limitations and
qualifications currently in AB 2192. It was signed by Governor
Schwarzenegger and became effective on January 1, 2005.
AB 855 veto. The Governor's veto message of last year's AB 855
stated that the bill "does not provide adequate assurances that
these individuals are abstaining from drug use. ? such as drug
testing, use of voucher payment in lieu of cash and mandatory
treatment." As noted by Western Center on Law and Poverty,
current law on restricted payments "already addresses this
concern," and "the likelihood of needing to utilize this
provision is significantly reduced by the requirement in AB 2192
that the applicant be in treatment or have completed treatment."
The message also observed that "not enough time has passed to
determine whether providing food stamps to drug felons improves
individuals' ability to maintain sobriety and become more
self-sufficient ?"
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC)
A New Way of Life Re-entry Project
California Alcohol and Drug Program Administrators Association
of California (CADPAAC)
California Catholic Conference
California Commission on the Status of Women
California Peace Officers' Association
California Police Chiefs Association
County Welfare Directors Association of CA (CWDA)
Families to Amend California's Three Strikes
National Association of Social Workers, CA Chapter (NASW-CA)
National Center on Youth Law (NCYL)
AB 2192
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Western Center on Law & Poverty
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Casey McKeever / HUM. S. / (916)
319-2089