BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1560
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1560 (Fuentes)
As Amended May 25, 2012
Majority vote
HUMAN SERVICES 4-2 APPROPRIATIONS 12-5
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|Ayes:|Beall, Ammiano, Hall, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Blumenfield, |
| |Portantino | |Bradford, Charles |
| | | |Calderon, Campos, Davis, |
| | | |Gatto, Ammiano, Hill, |
| | | |Lara, Mitchell, Solorio |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Jones, Wagner |Nays:|Harkey, Donnelly, |
| | | |Nielsen, Norby, Wagner |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Requires the Department of Social Services, to the
extent permitted by federal law, to waive the CalFresh gross
income test for any individual who is categorically eligible for
CalFresh and who is a member of a household that receives, or is
eligible to receive, medical assistance under the Medi-Cal
program.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes California's CalFresh program to administer the
state's allocation of federal funds under the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly called food
stamps. Counties distribute CalFresh benefits to eligible
participants.
2)Establishes categorical eligibility for the CalFresh program
for needy households that meet all other federal SNAP
requirements in which all members receive or are eligible to
receive cash aid-principally, CalWORKs, general assistance or
general relief.
3)Provides that households without an elderly or disabled member
must meet both a gross and net income determination tests,
whereas households with an elderly or disabled member or where
all members receive cash aid must meet only the net income
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determination test.
4)Provides for the Medi-Cal program, administered by the
Department of Health Care Services, providing medical benefits
to low-income persons.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)Based on a 2012 Mathematica Policy Research estimate,
approximately 74,000 new households (227,000 individuals)
would become eligible for CalFresh. However, given
California's low participation rate, Mathematica's estimate
assumes that only 5,000 households (9,000 individuals) will
actually participate.
Administrative costs for those 5,000 new cases could be up to
$787,000 ($393,000 General Fund (GF)) per year and result in
approximately $8 million in additional federal Supplemental
Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) (CalFresh) funding.
Those federal benefits would generate over $200,000 in GF
revenue through increased sales taxes.
2)There are 1.2 million Medi-Cal recipients currently eligible
for CalFresh but not participating in the program. If
expanding categorical eligibility causes 5% of these
recipients to participate in CalFresh because a barrier to
participation is removed and it becomes easier to apply for
and receive benefits, it would result in an additional 60,000
individuals receiving nutrition benefits.
Administrative costs for those individuals would be
approximately $3 million ($1.5 million GF) and based on the
average monthly benefit for a non-CalWORKs CalFresh case
($335.34) this bill could result in up to $80 million in
additional federal SNAP (CalFresh) funding. Those federal
benefits would generate close to $2 million in GF revenue
through increased sales taxes.
COMMENTS : The intent of this legislation is to utilize an
enrollment strategy that streamlines CalFresh eligibility for
Medi-Cal recipients by removing the gross income test for
CalFresh for families that have at least one person who has
already been deemed eligible for Medi-Cal. Further, once
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enrolled in CalFresh, any children in those families would be
automatically certified for free school meals. The author
notes, however, that families will still be subject to a net
income test to determine both their eligibility and their
benefit level. Generally, families with high housing,
healthcare or child care costs would benefit from this
legislation. According to the author:
Aligning �Medi-Cal and CalFresh] will help to connect
low-income households receiving Medi-Cal to nutrition
assistance for healthy living, and directly certify
children in those households for free school meals,
eliminating excessive paperwork for parents. This
bill will boost CalFresh participation and draw down
federal nutrition benefits that will bolster the state
economy. Nationwide, California has the lowest
participation rate in nutrition assistance; this bill
can help to reverse that trend.
Background : The California Center for Research on Women and
Families cites data showing that, during federal fiscal year
(FFY) 2010, average monthly CalFresh participation was 3.2
million individuals. California's SNAP/CalFresh participation
rates have consistently ranked among the lowest in the nation.
From 2004 to 2008, CalFresh served approximately one-third of
California's eligible working poor and no more than half of all
eligible individuals in the state. From FFY 2002 to 2006,
CalFresh served no more than 11% of the state's eligible seniors
(individuals 60 years of age and older). Over 70% of CalFresh
households include children, and 75% have female heads of
households. Understanding Nutrition: Primer Module on CalFresh
(October 2011);
http://www.ccrwf.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/calfresh-module-c
crwf-nutrition-primer.pdf .
CalFresh eligibility is based on several factors including
income, disability, age, and citizenship status. The maximum
allowable gross income is 130% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines
(FPG). Households with elderly or disabled members are not
subject to gross income criteria but must have a net monthly
income at or below the FPG. Other households must meet both
gross and net monthly income tests.
Federal law gives states options to improve access to nutrition
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assistance. Families authorized to receive any benefit or
service funded by the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF) block grant can be deemed "categorically
eligible" for SNAP benefits and do not need to make a separate
application and meet additional eligibility or paperwork
requirements. While categorical eligibility, or Cat-El, based
upon receipt of cash aid was long a feature of federal policy,
in 1999 the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
issued guidance under the 1996 welfare reform law and expanded
the scope of the option to include receipt or eligibility for
services as well as cash (7 Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.)
Section 273.2(j)(2)). In addition, once eligible for food
stamps, the federal Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act
of 2004 provides that children are automatically certified to
receive free school meals (42 United Stated Code (U.S.C.)
Section 1758(b)(2)(C)(i)).
In 2008, California used Cat-El to successfully remove the asset
test from CalFresh (AB 433 (Beall), Chapter 625, Statutes of
2008). Other recent legislation removed additional barriers to
CalFresh by, for example, changing from quarterly to semi-annual
reporting, and eliminating finger imaging requirements (AB 6
(Fuentes), Chapter 501, Statutes of 2011).
Need for this bill : Although nutrition is a critical component
of health and wellbeing, the author notes, "not all Medi-Cal
recipients receive nutrition assistance through CalFresh. To
ensure that low-income households can support healthy living,
nutrition assistance should be offered hand-in-hand with public
health coverage."
Under current rules, the general gross income threshold for
CalFresh is 130% of FPG. Presently, Medi-Cal eligibility is not
connected with one specific income threshold; thresholds can
vary for different applicants. This bill would allow all
Medi-Cal recipients with gross incomes up to 200% FPG to be
automatically income-eligible for CalFresh. Alignment would
increase CalFresh participation among current Medi-Cal
recipients, and those who are newly eligible for Medi-Cal in
2014, when Medi-Cal eligibility will include people with incomes
up to 138% of FPG, in addition to select groups that were
previously covered (refugees, people with disabilities, seniors,
etc.). According to USDA data provided by CFPA, as of January
3, 2012, 43 states have used Cat-El to eliminate the asset test
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for SNAP eligibility, and 26 of those states have also raised
the income threshold for all recipients up to 200% of FPG. See,
http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/rules/Memo/BBCE.pdf .
By raising the income threshold only for Medi-Cal recipients,
California Food Policy Advocates (CFPA) notes, the
administrative costs of processing the additional cases would be
shared between the Medi-Cal and CalFresh programs. Moreover,
with Cat-El for CalFresh for Medi-Cal recipients, caseworkers
will no longer need to determine CalFresh income eligibility for
these individuals, resulting in less duplication and increased
efficiencies. In addition, parents will no longer need to fill
out an application for their children to receive free school
meals.
CPFA also points out that increasing federally funded CalFresh
benefits provides an immediate stimulus to the economy. The
USDA has shown that every dollar in SNAP/CalFresh expenditures
generates $1.79 in economic activities.
Analysis Prepared by : Eric Gelber / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089
FN: 0003926