BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE HUMAN
SERVICES COMMITTEE
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
BILL NO: AB 2018
A
AUTHOR: Skinner
B
VERSION: May 5, 2010
HEARING DATE: June 22, 2010
2
FISCAL: Appropriations
0
1
CONSULTANT:
8
Hailey
SUBJECT
Food stamps: inter-county transfer of benefits
SUMMARY
Establishes an inter-county transfer process for food stamp
recipients who move from one county to another.
ABSTRACT
Current law
1) Establishes the federal supplemental nutritional
assistance program (SNAP), popularly known as the food
stamp program, to provide eligible households with an
electronic benefit for the purchase of food.
2) Establishes the welfare-to-work program, California
Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs), for
eligible families with children.
3) Establishes the Medi-Cal program to provide health care
coverage to eligible adults and children.
4) Provides for the inter-county transfer of benefits for
Continued---
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participants in CalWORKs and Medi-Cal who move from one
county to another within California.
T his bill
1) Requires the Department of Social Services (DSS) to
establish a process of inter-county transfer of eligibility
for benefits under the food stamp program when a recipient
moves from one county to another within the state; and
2) Specifies that, commencing no later than July 1, 2011,
for recipients of food stamp benefits who are also
participants in the CalWORKs program, the inter-county
transfer process utilized for CalWORKs shall be used; and
further specifies that, commencing no later than July 1,
2011, for recipients of food stamp benefits who are also
recipients of Medi-Cal benefits, but not recipients of
CalWORKs, the inter-county transfer process utilized for
Medi-Cal shall be used.
3) Requires that, commencing no later than January 1,
2012, for recipients of food stamp benefits who are neither
recipients of CalWORKs nor Medi-Cal benefits, an
inter-county transfer process shall be developed, as
specified.
4) Specifies that it is the responsibility of the
recipient changing residence from one county to another
within the state to notify the county currently paying food
stamp benefits of the move and to apply for
re-determination of eligibility within the new county of
residence.
5) Requires the recipient's old county of residence to
notify the new county of residence of the recipient's move
as soon as the recipient's location in the new county is
known, and would require the new county of residence to be
responsible for determining the recipient's continued
eligibility for food stamp benefits, and also to process
any pending applications or reports prior to transfer.
FISCAL IMPACT
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee,
one-time training costs of approximately $140,000 ($53,200
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from the 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 facilitate an inter-county transfer of a
recipient's food stamp benefits when the recipient moves
from one county to another, making the current
re-application process unnecessary. It is not known how
many recipients this bill would assist in transferring food
stamp benefits.
Currently, if a family participating in CalWORKs or
receiving Medi-Cal benefits moves from one county to
another, their case follows them to the new county without
a requirement to re-apply for benefits. These processes
ensure that families are not left without resources during
times of transition. Meanwhile, state law requires a
household to reapply for food stamp benefits when moving
from one county to another, which can result in a gap in
benefits while awaiting approval in the new county.
According to the author, this re-application process
results in vulnerable families losing benefits, and also
results in lost economic activity. The United States
Department of Agriculture estimates that for every $1 in
foods stamp benefits, a $1.84 in economic activity is
generated. Moreover, the author points out that it is
costly and time-consuming for counties to re-process a food
stamp application.
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 of eligibility and cash aid
authorization on the two counties involved in the transfer.
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
inter-county transfer.
Assembly votes
Floor 62-1
Appropriations13-0
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Human Services 4-0
POSITIONS
Support: California State Association of Counties
Western Center on Law and Poverty
Oppose: None received
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