BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE HUMAN
SERVICES COMMITTEE
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
BILL NO: AB 643
A
AUTHOR: Skinner
B
VERSION: June 1, 2009
HEARING DATE: June 23, 2009
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FISCAL: To Appropriations
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3
CONSULTANT:
Lane
SUBJECT
Public aid programs: eligibility: change of residence
SUMMARY
Requires county welfare offices to transfer a food stamp
recipient's benefits from one county to another without
requiring the recipient to reapply.
ABSTRACT
Current law
1.Establishes a statewide program to enable eligible
low-income persons to receive food stamps under the
federal food stamp program, now called supplemental
nutrition assistance program or SNAP.
2.Requires counties to implement the program, including
determining eligibility and distributing food stamps.
3.Requires a recipient to reapply for food stamp benefits
when moving from one county to another.
4.Requires, under the California Work Opportunity and
Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, that there be
Continued---
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no overlapping or interruption of aid as a result of a
recipient moving from one county to another.
5.Requires that the counties involved in the transfer of
aid be responsible for determining eligibility and cash
aid authorization.
6.Requires counties to achieve an error rate under the
national average when processing food stamp applications
and provides for the assessment of penalties if a state
is found out of compliance.
This bill
1.Specifies that aid, for purposes of the provisions
relating to a recipient's change of residence, includes
benefits under the food stamp program, thereby requiring
county welfare offices to transfer a food stamp
recipient's benefits from one county to another without
requiring the recipient to reapply.
FISCAL IMPACT
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee,
automation costs would be less than $25,000 ($8,500 General
Fund) if the necessary automation changes can be included
in existing automation maintenance and operations
schedules; there would also be a one-time training costs in
excess of $140,000 ($53,200 General Fund) to train
eligibility workers in the new inter-county transfer
process.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
According to the author, this bill would require county
welfare offices to conduct an inter-county transfer of a
recipient's food stamp benefits when the recipient moves
from one county to another making the current reapplication
process unnecessary.
Currently, when recipients move to a new county, they are
required to reapply for food stamp benefits. The author
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argues that this can be a burden because it creates hurdles
for families in need of uninterrupted benefits. She also
argues that it is a costly and time-consuming process for
counties to re-process these applications.
The author notes that other county-administered programs
such as CalWORKs and Medi-Cal allow inter-county transfers.
In the CalWORKs program, an inter-county transfer places
the responsibility on the two counties involved in the
transfer for ensuring a client's eligibility and the
authorization for cash aid. The recipient's responsibility
is to notify the county in which they currently reside of
their intended move and file a form and any other related
changes that may affect the transfer.
Previous votes
Assembly Floor 48-28
Assembly Appropriations 12-5
Assembly Human Services 5-2
QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS
County Welfare Directors Association request for a phase-in
The County Welfare Directors Association (CWDA) has
expressed concern that a rapid implementation of the bill
could lead to errors that would affect counties' food stamp
error rate. To address potential problems, CWDA suggests
giving DSS and counties a few months to prepare for the
change and to look for best practices in states that
operate on a county system like California. The committee
may want to recommend an amendment providing an
implementation date of July 1, 2010, giving all parties six
months to prepare for the change.
POSITIONS
Support: Coalition of California Welfare Rights
Organizations, Inc. (sponsor)
American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees
California Catholic Conference of Bishops
EMQ Families First
Food Bank of Monterey County
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Hunger Action Los Angeles
Kinship Center
Orange County Food Bank
Oppose: None received
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