BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 138
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 13, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 138 (Beall) - As Introduced: January 13, 2011
Policy Committee: Aging and Long
Term Care Vote: 4 - 2
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill requires the California Department of Aging (CDA) and
Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) to utilize Elder Economic Security
Standard Index (Elder Index) data to report in their state plan
on the effectiveness of the programs in each services area.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires CDA to report the Elder Index data for each service
area in its state plan.
2)Requires each AAA to use the Elder Index to specify the costs
in the private market of meeting the basic needs of elders in
each planning and service area, and to specify the number of
elders living at or below the standard.
3)Requires each AAA to use the Elder Index to track the progress
of participants in the Senior Community Service Employment
program.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Unknown, likely minor administrative costs to the extent CDA
and AAAs are required to work with UCLA to disaggregate the
data in order to identify the standard and associated data for
each service area.
2)No direct fiscal impact to CDA to administer the Index if the
data and analysis is provided by the University of California,
Los Angeles (UCLA) Center for Health Policy Research.
3)Unknown, likely minor administrative savings to AAA to the
AB 138
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extent use of the Index reduces duplicative planning efforts
and increases the reliability of quantitative analyses of
local information.
4)While this bill clearly states that nothing in the bill shall
be construed to mandate changes in means tested programs or in
the current funding allocations, applying the Elder Index as a
standard measure for planning purposes would likely bring tens
of millions of dollars in cost pressure to bear on these
programs because under that measure approximately one-half of
the seniors in California fall below the specified economic
security threshold.
COMMENTS
1) Rationale . This bill is co-sponsored by the Insight Center
for Community and Economic Development and the American
Association of Retired Persons (AARP) and supported by dozens
of advocacy groups. The Insight Center is a national
research, consulting, and legal organization dedicated to
building economic health in vulnerable communities. This
bill, by adding the Index to planning efforts, provides CDA
and AAA local agencies with more specific and uniform
demographic and financial data with respect to elderly
Californians and their service needs.
2) Background . The 33 AAAs coordinate an array of services for
seniors and adults with disabilities at the community level
and serve as a focal point for local aging programs. Under
current law, local jurisdictions undertake periodic detailed
planning. Many of these efforts rely on the federal poverty
level (FPL), an index used by federal and state governments
in programs such as Medi-Cal, food stamps, and CalWORKs. The
FPL is based on a "basket" of living costs established
decades ago.
The proportion of spending, for example, attributable to
housing needs does not reflect the costs of living in many
Californians communities. In 2009, 100% of FPL was $10,830
for a single person in annual income. Because this FPL is so
low, many means-tested programs must rely on multipliers-200%
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and 300% of FPL, for example. According to the author and
sponsors FPL has lost much of its meaning in high-cost
California. The Index, in contrast, relies on numerous
factors to update such costs and demographic factors that
reflect local variation and needs of older Californians. This
bill, by shifting the focus to the Index, provides local
communities and the consumers served by programs with more
accurate information for planning efforts.
3) Committee Concern . 10 of the AAAs in the state are in small
rural communities. The UCLA data combines larger geographic
areas in their analysis. It is unclear that CDA or the AAAs
would be able to disaggregate the data so that it can be used
by the smaller AAAs.
4) Related Legislation . AB 2114 (Beall) of 2010 would have
required CDA and AAA's to utilize the Elder Index in their
service planning. AB 2114 was held on the Senate
Appropriations Suspense File.
AB 324 (Beall) in 2009 also addressed the Elder Index, but
included several other more substantial provisions than those
contained in AB 2114. AB 324 was vetoed. The veto message
indicated local agencies are already authorized to use the
Index in planning efforts. The author indicates AB 2114 is
needed to ensure uniform adoption of this approach to
planning.
Analysis Prepared by : Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916)
319-2081