BILL ANALYSIS
AB 885
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Date of Hearing: May 20, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Kevin De Leon, Chair
AB 885 (Nestande) - As Amended: April 15, 2009
Policy Committee: Aging & LTC
Vote: 7-0
Human Services 6-0
Urgency: Yes State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill establishes a continuous appropriation from the
Federal Trust Fund to the California Department of Aging (CDA)
for the Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) and to the California
Department of Rehabilitation (DOR) for the Independent Living
Centers (ILC) in any year in which the state budget is not
enacted by July 1. Authorizes the Department of Finance to
reduce the applicable Budget Act allocations by the amount paid
pursuant to this bill.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)A continuous appropriation of federal funds to CDA and DOR in
years when the state budget has not been enacted by July 1.
The 2009-10 budget includes $150 million for CDA and $335
million for DOR (Federal Trust Funds). A portion of these
federal funds support AAA and ILC, respectively.
2)This bill and its urgency clause would have minimal impact on
the 2009-10 budget year. Due to recent budget actions,
California enacted a state budget for 2009-10 earlier this
year.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . This bill establishes a continuous appropriation to
CDA and DOR in the absence of a state budget. According to
the author, service providers face significant pressures when
the state fails to enact a budget in a timely manner. To avoid
service disruption or delays, some AAA have sought commercial
AB 885
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loans or lines of credit. Because state and federal funds may
not be used to pay for banking fees or interest, private funds
have been used. This bill is intended to mitigate the risk of
local service disruption and to avoid the use of private funds
to pay for fees associated with a delayed state budget.
2)Background . Current law establishes CDA as the state agency
that administers the federal Older Americans Act and 33 AAA as
the local administrators of a wide array of home- and
community-based services under the Older Californians Act.
About 90 % of AAA services are paid from the Federal Trust
Fund, while the remaining 10 % are paid from the state General
Fund. The DOR provides services to assist individuals with
disabilities with employment and independent living.
3)Related Legislation . Several Assembly and Senate bills
establishing continuous appropriations on behalf of CDA and
DOR have been introduced in prior years. Most of the measures
have been held on the Suspense File of this committee.
Analysis Prepared by : Mary Ader / APPR. / (916) 319-2081