BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE HUMAN
SERVICES COMMITTEE
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
BILL NO: AB 1914
A
AUTHOR: Davis
B
VERSION: May 26, 2010
HEARING DATE: June 22, 2010
1
FISCAL: Appropriations
9
1
CONSULTANT:
4
Hailey
SUBJECT
Public social services: food stamp benefits
SUMMARY
Clarifies the process for determining food stamp
eligibility and benefits if the applicant is awaiting
unemployment insurance benefits.
ABSTRACT
Current law
1) Establishes the federal supplemental nutrition
assistance program (SNAP), under which food stamp benefits
are allocated to the state for distribution by counties to
eligible households.
2) Provides for the payment of unemployment compensation
benefits to eligible individuals who are unemployed through
no fault of their own.
3) Provides the State Department of Social Services and
county welfare departments access to information maintained
in the files of the Employment Development Department in
order to determine if applicants or participants in the
Continued---
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2
CalWORKs welfare-to-work program are eligible for
unemployment insurance or disability insurance benefits.
This bill
1) States that unemployment insurance benefits, for
applicants applying to or receiving benefits from the food
stamp program, can be counted as income for purposes of
determining eligibility and calculating benefits only if
the county welfare department obtains a report from the
Employment Development Department specifying a start date
and amount of the unemployment insurance benefits.
2) Requires that a copy of the report be provided to the
food stamp program applicant or recipient if the county
welfare department takes any action based on the report.
FISCAL IMPACT
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, there
are no new costs associated with this legislation. The
committee also notes that 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.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
According to the author, reports from his constituents
indicate that county welfare departments are not applying
food stamp program rules correctly, resulting in a denial
of these benefits to families that are anticipating receipt
of unemployment insurance benefits. The author believes
that these constituents were denied food stamp benefits
while waiting for unemployment insurance benefits because
county welfare departments incorrectly considered the
anticipated unemployment benefits as income in-hand in
hand.
Income eligibility
For most households, California prospectively budgets food
stamps on a quarterly basis. The county determines a
household's eligible for benefits and the amount of food
stamps the household will receive based on the income the
STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 1914 (Davis) Page
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household reasonably anticipates during that upcoming
quarter. Regulations include standards for determining
what income can be reasonably anticipated: income the
household and county are almost certain the household will
receive.
For new sources of income, such as unemployment insurance
benefits, the household would have to know the amount and
starting date. If the household is unsure, regulations
direct the food stamp office not to count those new income
sources.
This bill would codify these regulatory provisions.
Arguments in support
Supporters state that current state food stamp regulations
stipulate that a new source of income cannot be anticipated
until there is certainty as to when it will begin and how
much it will be. This bill clarifies how this policy
should be interpreted for the purposes of counting
unemployment insurance benefits in the determination of
food stamp eligibility. Supporters add that ensuring that
applicants have secured unemployment insurance benefits
prior to counting this income during food stamp eligibility
determination will prevent newly unemployed households from
being further disadvantaged by needlessly experiencing
hunger.
Assembly votes
Human Services Committee 4-1
Appropriations Committee 10-5
Floor 45-28
POSITIONS
Support: California Catholic Conference
California Communities United Institute
California Labor Federation
Coalition of California Welfare Rights
Organizations
National Association of Social Workers,
California Chapter
Western Center on Law and Poverty
STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 1914 (Davis) Page
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Oppose: None received
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