BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE HUMAN
SERVICES COMMITTEE
Senator Elaine K. Alquist, Chair
BILL NO: AB 2192
A
AUTHOR: Bass
B
VERSION: June 21, 2006
HEARING DATE: June 27, 2006
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FISCAL: Appropriations
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9
CONSULTANT:
2
Hailey
SUBJECT
CalWORKs
SUMMARY
Permits persons convicted of felony crimes involving use or
possession of drugs to qualify for California Work
Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) under
specified circumstances.
ABSTRACT
Current law:
1) Federal law provides that any person convicted of a
controlled substance-related felony is ineligible for TANF
or Food Stamp benefits unless state legislation is enacted
after August 22, 1996 to explicitly permit them to be
eligible for these benefits.
2) State law denies CalWORKs eligibility to individuals
convicted of controlled substance-related felonies after
December 31, 1997.
This bill:
Continued---
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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.
2) Continues to deny CalWORKs benefits to 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 related to possession or
use 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;
b) Quarterly completion of a clean drug test following
receipt of benefits; or,
c) Other evidence that the illegal use of controlled
substances has ceased, pursuant to regulations adopted
by the State Department of Social Services (DSS).
4) Permits implementation by all-county letter on January
1, 2007, and requires regulations to be adopted no later
than July 1, 2007.
FISCAL IMPACT
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, there
are CalWORKs costs to the extent this bill adds adults to
CalWORKs caseloads. Assuming half of those currently
excluded become eligible under this bill, annual CalWORKs
costs would increase by more than $600,000. Additional
need for employment services and child care would increase
CalWORKs costs by up to $1.5 million. There could be
offsetting state General Fund savings due to a lower number
of parole returns and re-arrests and to the extent the
additional income helps stabilize families and reduce the
foster care caseload.
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BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
The federal ban and states' options
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 the state out of the ban as
applied to food stamps. This bill is identical to last
year's AB 855 (Bass), which was vetoed by the governor.
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.
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.
Additionally, the rule disparately affects persons of
color. According to the Sentencing Project, 46 percent of
women convicted of felony drug offenses are
African-American or Latina. (Supporters have also argued
that the lifetime ban imposes a 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.)
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, and 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 qualifying
conditions related to participation in or completion of
drug treatment programs.
Scope of the bill
According to DSS estimates, 373 persons are denied CalWORKs
each month because of the drug felon prohibition. As noted
above, the Assembly Appropriations Committee estimates that
about half of these individuals will qualify for cash aid
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under the provisions of this bill.
CalWORKs support services
The CalWORKs program includes substance abuse treatment as
a permitted welfare-to-work activity. Participants can be
referred for treatment after an assessment by a case
manager and an evaluation by a county drug and alcohol
program. The governor's 2006-07 budget requests $48.9
million in CalWORKs funds for substance abuse services.
The drug felon ban prevents a person from receiving
CalWORKs substance treatment services, or any other
welfare-to-work services; supporters of this bill believe
that these services assist individuals to become
employable, and that denying them services that will assist
their employability is, for society, self defeating.
Rationale of opponents
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.
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 child."
Legislative history
Prior to AB 855 of 2005, there have been several previous
legislative efforts to modify the CalWORKs ban. The first
was SB 659 (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 Governor Davis
vetoed it. Subsequent legislation also met with
gubernatorial veto: AB 767 (Goldberg), of 2001-2002, AB
1947 (Washington) of 2001-2002 (in final form limited to
food stamps), as well as last year's AB 855 (Bass).
In vetoing AB 855, Governor Schwarzenegger wrote:
I strongly support efforts to help people recover from
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drug addiction, and last year I signed legislation
providing food stamp benefits to addicts in recovery.
However, I cannot support this bill as it would
provide cash assistance without adequate public safety
protections.
California already provides resources to help meet the
needs of children whose parents are ineligible for
CalWORKs services because of their drug-related
felony. This bill would provide cash and benefits to
felony drug offenders, but does not provide adequate
assurances that these individuals are abstaining from
drug use. The Legislature failed to pass measures
that include reasonable public safety provisions such
as drug testing, use of voucher payment in lieu of
cash and mandatory treatment.
Finally, I am concerned 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 so an
expansion of cash assistance at this time is
premature. [Emphasis added.]
COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS
Answering the governor's veto message
In its current form, this bill is similar but not identical
to the one vetoed last year. To address the governor's
concerns, AB 2192 includes the use of voucher payments in
lieu of cash, and it does give counties the option of
requiring a quarterly drug test while an individual is
receiving benefits.
PRIOR ACTIONS
Assembly Floor 47 - 32Pass
Assembly Appropriations 13 -- 5Do pass
Assembly Human Services 4 -- 2Do pass
POSITIONS
Support: American Civil Liberties Union
AFSCME
Asian Pacific American Legal Center
California Alcohol and Drug Program
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Administrators Association
of California
California Catholic Conference
California Commission on the Status of Women
California Peace Officers' Association
California Police Chiefs Association
County Welfare Directors Association of
California
Families to Amend California's Three Strikes
Jericho
National Association of Social Workers,
California Chapter
National Center on Youth Law
A New Way of Life Re-entry Project
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
Western Center on Law and Poverty
Oppose:None received
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