BILL ANALYSIS
AB 885
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 12, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Jim Beall, Jr., Chair
AB 885 (Nestande) - As Amended: April 15, 2009
SUBJECT : Area agencies on aging and independent living centers:
funding.
SUMMARY : Allows for the continuous appropriation of federal
funds for Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) and Independent Living
Centers (ILCs) in the absence of an enacted Budget Act.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the continuous appropriation of federal funds from
the Federal Trust Fund to the California Department of Aging
(CDA) and the Department of Rehabilitation (DOR) for the
administration of programs operated by the AAAs and ILCs in
any fiscal year in which the state Budget Act is not enacted
by July 1st.
2)Allows the Department of Finance to reduce the applicable
Budget Act allocations by the amount of payments made pursuant
to this bill.
3)Requires that payments made to AAAs and ILCs pursuant to this
section be made on July 15, and on the 15th of each month
thereafter, until the enactment of the annual Budget Act.
4)Includes an urgency clause in order to ensure that AAAs and
ILCs will be able to prevent interruptions in important
services provided to older adults and persons with
disabilities.
EXISTING LAW
1)Establishes the federal Older Americans Act which provides a
national network of state units on aging and AAAs to deliver
home and community-based programs for older adults. Programs
include nutrition, transportation, information and assistance,
elder abuse prevention, and caregiver support.
2)Establishes the Mello-Granlund Older Californians Act which
provides state-funded programs and services for older adults
and people with disabilities including Alzheimer's Day Care
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Resource Centers and the Multipurpose Senior Services Program.
3)Establishes CDA as the state unit on aging and oversight
entity for the 33 AAAs in California.
4)Establishes the federal Rehabilitation Act which creates the
ILCs and independent living services.
5)Establishes the DOR as the oversight entity for the 29
non-profit ILCs.
6)Establishes the Medical Providers Interim Payment Fund to
continuously appropriate funds to Medi-Cal providers, the AIDS
drug assistance programs, and developmental services programs
in the event the state budget is not passed on time.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : California has 33 AAAs which provide services that
are vital to the well-being of older adults such as basic
nutrition, transportation, in-home assistance, and caregiver
support. AAAs in communities across the state plan, coordinate
and offer services that help older adults remain in their home.
Funds for these programs come from the federal Older Americans
Act, the state level Older Californians Act, and county, city,
and grant sources. Approximately 80% of the money for AAA
programs is from federal sources.
California also has 29 ILCs which provide services to people
with disabilities enabling them to remain in their own homes and
communities. An ILC is a consumer-centered, community-based,
non-residential, private non-profit entity that is designed and
operated within a local community by individuals with
disabilities. One hundred percent of the funding for ILCs is
from federal sources.
The stream of funds to both AAAs and ILCs is dependent upon the
passage of the state budget. When the state budget is late, all
funds are frozen - including the federal funds. The Independent
Living Partnership contends that the health, well-being, and
survival of many older Californians should not be held hostage
during a budget stalemate and that federal funds are available,
but cannot be accessed due to what amounts to a technicality.
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Proponents argue that many of these programs operate on very
tight budgets and cannot continue unless their bills are paid in
a timely manner. In some cases, AAAs or local service providers
must secure lines of credit from banks in order to avoid
shutting down vital services. Although AAAs receive the funding
from the state after the budget is passed, they are not
reimbursed for the interest accrued on the lines of credit, nor
can they use the federal or state dollars to pay for the
interest accrued. Consequently, AAAs and service providers are
unable to secure such lines of credit, and services in their
areas are forced to close until the budget is signed and funds
are released.
According to the author, this bill ensures that vital services
to frail, elderly persons are not interrupted in the case of a
budget delay by continuing to appropriate federal funds for
these services if the annual state budget is not enacted by July
1 of the fiscal year. Specifically, federal funds will continue
to go to CDA for the AAAs and to the DOR for the ILCs.
Prior Legislation : Previous measures similar to this bill have
been held in both the Senate and Assembly Appropriations
Committees.
SB 657 (Ortiz) of 1999, AB 2552 (Daucher) of 2002, and AB 1
(Berg) of 2003, all allowed for the continuous appropriation of
federal funds for AAAs in the event of a state budget delay. SB
657 was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee and both AB
2552 and AB 1 were held in the Assembly Appropriation Committee.
AB 1928 (Berg) of 2006 and AB 322 (Anderson) of 2007 allowed for
the continuous appropriation of federal funds for both AAAs and
ILCs. Both bills were held in Assembly Appropriations.
AB 561 (Scott, Chapter 993, Statutes of 1998) enacted a funding
mechanism to protect Medi-Cal providers, developmental
disabilities service providers, and the AIDS drug assistance
program in the event of a budget delay. This measure provided
for a loan of up to $1 billion in state General Funds and up to
$1 billion in federal funds to the Medical Providers Interim
Payment Fund to continue making payments to specified providers
until the state budget is passed.
In 2003, AB 41 (Daucher) was introduced to establish a similar
mechanism, the Senior Citizens Interim Payment Fund. AB 41 was
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held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Aging Service of California
Area Agency on Aging, Napa & Solano
Area 4 Agency on Aging
CA Foundation for Independent Living Centers
Colorado River Senior Center
Congress of California Seniors
Independent Living Partnership
Inland Counties Legal Services
Kern County Commission on Aging
Multi-Purpose Senior Services Program (MSSP) Association
On-Lok Senior Health Services
Planning and Service Area 2 Area Agency on Aging
Professional Fiduciary Association of California
Riverside County Office on Aging
San Joaquin Co. Area Agency on Aging
SCAN Social HMO
Volunteer Center of Riverside County
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Frances Chacon / HUM. S. / (916)
319-2089