BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1914
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1914 (Davis)
As Amended April 12, 2010
Majority vote
HUMAN SERVICES 4-1 APPROPRIATIONS 10-5
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|Ayes:|Beall, Ammiano, Hall, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Ammiano, Coto, |
| |Swanson | |Davis, Bonnie Lowenthal, |
| | | |Hall, Skinner, Solorio, |
| | | |Torlakson, Hill |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Tom Berryhill |Nays:|Conway, Harkey, Miller, |
| | | |Nielsen, Norby |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Codifies and clarifies existing regulations for
persons that are applying to the Food Stamp Program (FSP) and
awaiting Unemployment Insurance benefits (UI benefits).
Specifically, this bill states that UI benefits, for applicants
applying to or receiving benefits from the FSP, can only be
counted as income for purposes of FSP eligibility determination
and calculation of the benefit level only if the county welfare
department obtains a report from the Employment Development
Department (EDD) specifying a start date and amount of the UI
benefits; and, further requires a copy of the report be provided
to the FSP applicant or recipient if the county welfare
department takes any action based on the report.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)As this bill clarifies existing law and codifies regulations,
there are no new costs associated with this legislation.
2)To the extent applicants have been denied food stamps based on
anticipated unemployment insurance benefits, this bill could
result in an increase in the amount of federal food stamp
benefits flowing to the state.
COMMENTS : According to the author, reports from his
constituents indicate that county welfare departments are not
AB 1914
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applying FSP program rules correctly resulting in a denial of
these benefits and hunger within these households. The author
states that these constituents applied for food stamps while
waiting for UI benefits but were denied the food stamps because
county welfare departments incorrectly considered the
anticipated UI benefits income in the calculation of the
eligibility determination even though the applicant had not yet
received the income.
Background on income eligibility : For most households,
California "prospectively budgets" food stamps on a quarterly
basis. This means that the county decides whether a household
is eligible and the amount of food stamps based on the income
the household "reasonably anticipates" it will get in the
upcoming quarter.
There are strict and specific regulatory standards for when
income can be "reasonably anticipated." Basically, the county
can only count income the household and county are almost
certain the household will receive. That is, the income must
have been or will be approved or authorized within the upcoming
quarter; and the household is otherwise reasonably certain that
the income will be received within the quarter; and the amount
of the income is known.
For new sources of income, such as UI benefits, this means that
the household must know the amount and start date of the income.
If the household is not sure when it will receive new income or
how much it will get, the food stamp office cannot count it.
For example, a family applies for UI benefits but has not
received a letter indicating when the benefits will start and
how much the benefit will be. Therefore, this scenario does not
meet the definition of anticipated income.
Support : The Western Center on Law & Poverty, one of the
sponsors of this bill, states that current state food stamp
regulation asserts that a new source of income cannot be
anticipated until there is certainty about when it will begin
and how much it will be. This bill clarifies how this policy
should be interpreted for the purposes of anticipating UI
benefits in the determination of food stamp eligibility.
AB 1914
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Ensuring that applicants have secured UI benefits prior to
counting this income during food stamp eligibility determination
will prevent many newly unemployed households from being further
disadvantaged and from needlessly experiencing hunger.
Analysis Prepared by : Frances Chacon / HUM. S. / (916)
319-2089
FN: 0004081