BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
2374 (Nestande)
Hearing Date: 07/15/2010 Amended: 04/05/2010
Consultant: Jacqueline Wong-HernandezPolicy Vote: Human
Services 4-0
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BILL SUMMARY: AB 2374 would extend the commencement date from
January 1, 2009, to January 1, 2011, for an In-Home Supportive
Services (IHSS) pilot project that allows severely impaired IHSS
recipients the choice of receiving services through a public
authority or a contracting non-profit or proprietary agency.
Additionally, this bill would allow the project to be
established with fewer than five consenting counties.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Fund
IHSS pilot project $113
$107 $107 General
$113
$107 $107 Federal
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STAFF COMMENTS: This bill meets the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
AB 2374 would extend the commencement date of a
previously-approved pilot project that was never established,
because counties did not choose to participate in the optional
program. The authority to begin the pilot sunset on January 1,
2009, with the project having never begun. In the absence of
this bill, funding needed for the Department of Social Services
(DSS) to administer and report on the project would not be
spent; half of the funds would remain in the General Fund.
AB 1674 (Jones), Chapter 319, Statutes of 2008, required the
establishment of pilot projects in five consenting counties to
offer severely impaired IHSS recipients a choice of having
services provided by a contracting nonprofit or proprietary
agency or by an individual provider through a public authority.
The pilots were to expand consumer choices by allowing
recipients to choose whether to use a nonprofit or for-profit
contractor, or the existing system administered by public
authorities. The purpose of the legislation was to enable
recipients, particularly those with severe impairments who may
be less able to direct their services, to have an alternative in
which the contractor takes responsibility for hiring,
scheduling, and supplying back-up workers when needed.
This bill extends the start date of the pilot projects to
January 1, 2011, and requires the establishment of pilot
projects in "up to" five consenting counties, rather than in
five consenting counties, as stated in current law. Reducing the
number of counties needed to begin the project would make it
more likely to be implemented, and the costs to DSS would still
be comparable, and likely the exact same in 2010-11 because they
are costs to establish the pilot. The provisions of this bill
require DSS to establish requirements and conditions for
operation of the pilot project, and to actually administer the
project.