BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 96|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 96
Author: Assembly Budget Committee
Amended: 3/14/11 in Senate
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE BUDGET & FISCAL REVIEW COMMITTEE : 11-5, 3/16/11
AYES: Leno, Alquist, DeSaulnier, Evans, Liu, Lowenthal,
Rubio, Simitian, Wright, Hancock, Wolk
NOES: Huff, Emmerson, Fuller, Anderson, La Malfa
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not relevant
SUBJECT : Budget Act of 2011: Human Services
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill makes statutory changes necessary to
implement Human Services-related portions of the 2011-12
Budget.
Senate Floor Amendments of 3/14/11 delete the prior version
of the bill and insert the current language to make
statutory changes necessary to implement Human
Services-related portions of the 2011-12 Budget.
ANALYSIS : This is the Human Services Budget Trailer
Bill. It contains provisions, including the following key
changes, that are necessary to implement the 2011-12
Budget:
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1. Adoptions
Suspension of Confidential Intermediary Program for
Sibling Contact : Delays, for one additional year, to
July 1, 2012, implementation of provisions enacted by AB
2488 (Leno), Chapter 386, Statutes of 2006, related to
disclosure of personal information between adoptees and
their biological siblings. Declares intent for
implementation to continue in the interim to the extent
possible.
2. Child Support Services
Recovery of Funds : Suspends, for one year, the county
share of child support funds that are recovered by the
government in cases where the custodial family has
received cash assistance. Those funds will instead be
retained by the state. This change results in $24
million General Fund (GF) savings in the 2011-12 fiscal
year.
3. California Work Opportunities and Responsibility to Kids
Program (CalWORKs)
A. Shortening of Time Limits for Adults to Receive
Aid : Effective June 1, 2011, or 90 days after
enactment of this legislation, whichever is later,
lowers the amount of time parents or caregiver
relatives can receive aid--from 60 to 48 months.
This change is anticipated to result in $156 million
ongoing, annual GF savings. Also makes related
changes, including deletion of self-sufficiency
reviews and revised time limit and sanction policies
that would otherwise take effect on July 1, 2011, as
enacted by AB 8 X4 (Evans), Chapter 8, Statutes of
2009-10 Fourth Extraordinary Session, that erode some
of those savings.
B. Reduction to Grants : Effective June 1, 2011 or 90
days after enactment of this legislation, whichever
is later, reduces the Maximum Aid Payment in effect
on July 1, 2009 by an additional eight percent. As a
result, maximum grants for a family of three in a
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high-cost county would be lowered from $694 to $638
per month. This change is anticipated to result in
$304 million ongoing, annual GF savings.
C. Additional Reductions to Grants In Specified
Circumstances : Effective June 1, 2011 or 90 days
after enactment of this legislation, whichever is
later, further reduces, by five percent increments
(for a maximum total reduction of 15 percent), grants
for children in cases without an aided adult who have
received assistance for more than 60, 72, and 84
months, respectively. This change is anticipated to
result in $100 million ongoing, annual GF savings.
D. Reduction of Funding for Child Care, Employment
Services and County Administration : Lowers funding
for these purposes in the counties' "single
allocation" by $427 million GF in the 2011-12 fiscal
year. Correspondingly, extends and expands upon
exemptions from welfare-to-work requirements for
parents of very young children (i.e., one child up to
the age of 35 months or two children under the age of
six years). Also grants counties flexibility to
redirect between and among specified funding for
employment assistance, substance abuse treatment, or
mental health services during that same year.
E. Suspension of CalLearn Program : Suspends for one
year the case management services and sanctions
otherwise available under the CalLearn program for
pregnant and parenting teenagers. These teenagers
would instead be eligible for regular welfare-to-work
services that are available in their counties. They
would also continue to be eligible for supplements or
bonuses related to progress in school, as specified.
These changes are anticipated to result in $45
million GF savings in the 2011-12 fiscal year.
F. Changes to Earned Income Disregard : Amends the
state's current policy of disregarding the first $225
of earned income and 50 percent of each dollar earned
beyond $225 when calculating a family's monthly
grant. Instead disregards the first $112 of earned
income and then 50 percent of all other relevant
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earnings. As a result, some families who currently
have qualifying earnings would have their grants
reduced. This change is anticipated to result in $95
million ongoing, annual GF savings.
G. Changes to Subsidized Employment Program : Makes
cost-neutral changes to expand the state's
participation in an existing subsidized employment
program and align the program more closely with
operation of a related program that existed under the
federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of
2009's (Public Law 111-5) Emergency Contingency Fund.
As a result, the state would participate in half of
the costs of the subsidized employment participant's
wages, up to the amount that the state would instead
have paid for the family's assistance grant.
H. Program Delays : Delays to April 1, 2014 (from
April 1, 2013), the date by which the Work Incentive
Nutritional Supplement (WINS) program shall be fully
implemented. Delays to October 1, 2014 (from October
1, 2011), the date by which the Temporary Assistance
Program (TAP) must begin. Further, delays statewide
implementation of a CalWORKs county peer review
process to no later than July 1, 2014.
4. In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS)
A. Certification of Need by a Health Care
Professional : Requires applicants for and recipients
of IHSS to obtain certification from a licensed
health care professional, as specified, declaring
that the applicant or recipient is unable to perform
one or more activities of daily living independently,
and that without one or more IHSS services, the
applicant or recipient is at risk of placement in
out-of-home care. This change is anticipated to
result in $120 million ongoing, annual GF savings.
B. Community First Choice Medicaid Option (CFCO) :
Requires the Department of Health Care Services to
assess and determine whether it would be
cost-efficient for the state to exercise the CFCO
made available under section 1915(k) of the federal
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Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1396n(k)). This
new state plan option becomes available October 1,
2011. States that take up the option receive a six
percentage point increase in federal matching
payments for costs associated with the covered home
and community-based services programs. This change
is anticipated to result in $128 million ongoing,
annual GF savings.
C. Elimination of Mandate for Advisory Committees :
Authorizes counties to establish IHSS Advisory
Committees that submit recommendations to the county
board of supervisors on the preferred mode or modes
of service to be utilized in the county. Under
existing law, these Advisory Committees are instead
required. This change is anticipated to result in
$1.4 million ongoing, annual GF savings.
5. Medication Dispensing Pilot Project and Related Triggers
A. Pilot Project : Requires the Department of Health
Care Services to identify individuals who receive
Medi-Cal benefits on a fee-for-service basis and who
are at high risk of not taking their prescribed
medications. To the extent necessary, also requires
the Department to procure automated medication
dispensing machines to be installed in participants'
homes and monitored as indicated. Further requires
the Department to report on and evaluate the pilot
project. Also allows the Department to terminate the
pilot project under specified circumstances. These
changes are anticipated to result in $140 million
ongoing, annual GF savings.
B. Triggers Related to IHSS : If the Department of
Finance determines that data reported regarding the
pilot project does not demonstrate the ability to
achieve annualized net savings of $140 million GF
(after offsetting administrative costs), the director
shall notify the Legislature by April 10, 2012, and
request the passage of legislation by July 1, 2012
that provides alternative options for achieving any
additional savings needed to reach this target. If
the pilot and any subsequent legislation requested by
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the Department of Finance are not anticipated to
result in $140 million annualized GF savings,
requires the Department of Social Services to
implement an across-the-board reduction in IHSS
services beginning October 1, 2012, with specified
exceptions.
6. Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program
Funding : Includes costs associated with the Long-Term
Care Ombudsman Program among the authorized uses of
funds in the State Health Facilities Citation Penalties
Account.
7. Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment
(SSI/SSP) Program
Reduction to Maximum Individual Grants : Effective June
1, 2011, or 90 days after enactment of this legislation,
whichever is later, reduces to the minimum amount
required by federal maintenance of effort requirements,
as specified, the SSP portion of grants to individuals.
As a result, the maximum combined SSI/SSP grant for most
individuals would be reduced from $845 to $830. This
change is anticipated to result in $177 million ongoing,
annual GF savings.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
CTW:mw 3/17/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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