BILL NUMBER: AB 1970	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 4, 2012
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 19, 2012

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Skinner
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Ammiano  and Portantino
  , Cedillo,   Hall,   Huffman, 
 Portantino,   and Williams  )

                        FEBRUARY 23, 2012

   An act to amend Sections  18901.6   10058,
11052.5, 18901.6,  and 18914 of, and to add Sections 10003,
11023.6, 11023.7, 11023.8, and 11322.81 to, the Welfare and
Institutions Code, relating to public social services.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1970, as amended, Skinner. Social Services Modernization and
Efficiency Act of 2012.
   Existing law provides for protection, care, and assistance for
people of the state, and the promotion of the welfare and happiness
of all people in the state by providing appropriate aid and services
to the needy and distressed. Programs established for this purpose
include CalWORKs, which provides cash assistance and other social
services to needy families, using federal Temporary Assistance for
Needy Families (TANF) block grant program, state, and county funds,
and CalFresh, whereby nutrition assistance benefits allocated to the
state federal government are distributed to eligible individuals by
each county. Counties administer the CalWORKs and CalFresh programs.
   This bill, the Social Services Modernization Act of 2012, would
require a final operational state plan submitted by any department
administered by the Secretary of California Health and Human Services
state agency to a federal agency in the context of providing public
social services to be electronically available on the relevant
department's Internet Web site, as specified.
   This bill would  , pending approval of any necessary federal
waivers,  require the State Department of Social Services to
promulgate regulations for delivery of notices and communications
pertaining to CalFresh eligibility and benefits electronically, or
both electronically and by mail, as specified. The bill would
authorize applicants and recipients to opt out of receiving
electronic notice, and would provide for the confidentiality of an
applicant's or recipient's electronic information, as specified.
   This bill would prohibit a county from requiring an applicant or
recipient for public benefits to verify information provided to the
county, except when the verification is required by federal law, or
is necessary to determine eligibility for aid or to compute the
amount of aid.  If the verification is inconsistent with other
verified information, this bill would require a county eligibility
worker to provide to the applicant or recipient a notice of action
specifying the type of verification required to verify eligibility,
as specified. 
   This bill would require county human services departments to
maximize use of electronic means of verifying applicant and recipient
information, and would require the state to work with counties to
develop a protocol enabling statewide use by applicants and
recipients of public social services programs of a specified
electronic database developed to verify eligibility information for
the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010.
   This bill would revise procedures relating to public social
services application and recertification interviews to require these
interviews to be conducted in person, by telephone, or by other
electronic means, to promote administrative efficiency and reduce
costs to applicants and recipients.
   Existing law, with certain exceptions, requires every individual,
as a condition of eligibility for aid under the CalWORKs program, to
participate in welfare-to-work activities.
   This bill would deem an adult CalWORKs recipient  whose
youngest child is under 6 years of age  to be in compliance
with existing welfare-to-work requirements if he or she  is
participating in at least 20 hours per week of federally eligible
welfare-to-work activities   meets the minimum federal
welfare-to-work requirements  . The bill would provide that a
person satisfying these requirements would be eligible for specified
support services, and would not be subject to sanction for failure or
refusal to comply with program requirements, as specified. 
   Existing law prohibits an applicant from being granted public
assistance, as specified, until he or she is personally interviewed
by the county welfare department or state hospital staff.  
   This bill would require the county to conduct the interview on the
same day of the initial application, to the extent it is cost
effective and administratively possible for the department. 
   Existing law requires a county welfare department, to the extent
provided by federal law, to provide CalFresh benefits on an expedited
basis to certain households.
   This bill would require the  department to seek necessary
federal waivers to postpone  expedited service 
interview to be postponed   interviews that have been
attempted and require that the interviews be conducted at the same
time as the interview for issuance of regular CalFresh benefits 
, as specified, if there is no information indicating the applicant'
s ineligibility for expedited service.
   Existing law requires county welfare departments to provide
transitional CalFresh benefits to households terminating their
participation in the CalWORKs program, to the maximum extent
allowable by federal law.
   This bill would require the State Department of Social Services to
implement the above requirement so as to maximize continued
enrollment of eligible recipients, pursuant to a specified federal
regulation.
   This bill would authorize the State Department of Social Services
to implement the bill by means of all-county letters or similar
instructions, by January 1, 2013.
   Existing law continuously appropriates moneys from the General
Fund to defray a portion of county costs under the CalWORKs program.
   This bill would declare that no appropriation would be made for
purposes of implementing the bill.
   Because this bill would increase duties of counties administering
public social services programs, the bill would impose a
state-mandated local program.
   The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
   This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the
Social Services Modernization and Efficiency Act of 2012.
  SEC. 2.  Section 10003 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, to read:
   10003.  Any final operational state plan submitted by any
department administered by the Secretary of California Health and
Human Services to any federal agency and any approved waiver
requested or received by any department, shall be electronically
available to the public at all times on the relevant department's
Internet Web site.
   SEC. 3.    Section 10058 of the   Welfare
and Institutions Code   is amended to read: 
   10058.   "County department"   "County
welfare department," or "county human services department" 
means the county agency designated by the board of supervisors, or by
 such other   another  authority as may be
provided in the county charter, as responsible for the
administration of public social services.
   SEC. 3.   SEC. 4.   Section 11023.6 is
added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:
   11023.6.  (a)  The   Pending approval of
necessary federal waivers to implement this section, to the extent
that any waivers are necessary to implement this section, the 
State Department of Social Services shall promulgate regulations to
allow for the delivery of notices and communications pertaining to
CalFresh and CalWORKs eligibility and benefit issuance, as provided
in subdivision (c). The department shall seek all necessary waivers
of federal law to implement this section.
   (b) The Legislature recognizes that applicants or recipients may
not always have access to electronic mail or the Internet. In order
to ensure that due process and privacy of all applicants and
recipients are protected, the department, in consultation with client
and patient advocates, representatives of county human services
departments, and representatives of county eligibility workers, shall
develop a process whereby applicants and recipients can
affirmatively choose to receive notice of actions or other
communications relevant to their case electronically as provided in
paragraphs (1) to (6), inclusive, of subdivision (c).
   (c) All applicants and recipients of public social services,
including applicants and recipients of CalFresh benefits under
Section 18900 and any state health subsidy program shall be allowed,
at any time, to affirmatively choose to receive communications and
notices electronically, or both electronically and via the United
States Postal Service as provided by this section. Upon choosing to
receive communication electronically, the recipient shall be informed
in writing of his or her right to opt out of electronic
communications at any time, in accordance with paragraph (2). The
administering agencies or departments shall respond to all
undeliverable or rejected electronic communications by unsubscribing
the recipient from electronic communications and reinstating postal
service delivery of all notices and documents, beginning with the
notice that was undelivered or rejected electronically, and shall
inform the recipient or head of household how to request electronic
delivery of notifications and communications as established in this
section.
   (1) No notice or other form of communication shall be sent
electronically unless that method of communication has been
affirmatively requested in writing, or electronically, with an
electronic signature, by the applicant or recipient. A record of the
request required by this paragraph and of each notice and
communication sent electronically or otherwise shall be maintained in
the recipient's case file for three years, as required by Section
10851.
   (2) An applicant or recipient may opt out of receiving electronic
notices, in writing, in person, by telephone, or by electronic mail.
A request to opt out shall be processed  within 24 hours of
receipt   as soon as administratively possible  .
For victims of domestic violence, the county shall cease all
communication with the applicant or recipient until the request to
opt out of electronic communication has been processed.
   (3) All notices sent electronically shall be sent via secured
server. No notice shall be sent as an electronic mail attachment.
Each electronic communication shall include the information that the
recipient of the electronic communication has the right to opt out of
receiving electronic communication at any time, with instructions
for how to do so. For all notices sent via electronic communication,
administering agencies or departments shall have the ability to be
informed when  that electronic communication has failed, or 
the recipient has opened or downloaded the notice, and shall send an
electronic reminder notice to the recipient if the notice has not
been opened or downloaded within seven days of having been sent. 
The department and the administering agencies shall establish a pr
  ocess for ensuring timely receipt of case-related
information when an applicant or recipient has indicated a preference
for electronic communications, but electronic communication fails or
is rejected. 
   (4) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, in
addition to issuing notices of action pursuant to paragraph (3),
notices of action terminating benefits, sanctioning benefits, or
establishing an intentional program violation for any household
member or for establishing or collecting an overpayment,
underpayment,  overissuance   overissuance,
 or underissuance from recipients or former recipients shall be
sent via the United States Postal Service.
   (5) Every effort shall be made to maintain privacy and security of
applicant or recipient information at all times.
   (6) All electronic communication and data storage shall comply
with state security standards. The state security standards shall be
posted on the department's Internet Web site and on the home page for
all online applications.
   (d) Under no circumstances shall data that is available
electronically that identifies an applicant or recipient, the
permanent or temporary internet protocol (IP) address assigned to an
applicant or recipient, or the geographic location of the IP address
or mobile device, their Internet activity or any other information
that is available through the Internet, be collected or used for any
purpose other than transmitting information to the applicant or
recipient as authorized by this section.
   SEC. 4.   SEC. 5.   Section 11023.7 is
added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:
   11023.7.  (a) Notwithstanding Section 10830, a county shall not
require an applicant for or recipient of aid pursuant  to 
this chapter to provide verification of information provided to the
county, unless verification is federally  required, 
 required  and necessary to determine eligibility for aid
or to compute the amount of aid, and the  information
  verification  is not already available to the
county eligibility worker. Additional information not required by
federal law or necessary to determine eligibility for aid or compute
the amount of aid may be requested from an applicant or recipient
 to determine eligibility for aid and the amount of aid  ,
but the individual's eligibility for aid shall not be delayed,
denied, or terminated due to his or her failure to provide this
information. 
   (b) If the county eligibility worker determines that the
verification secured under subdivision (a) is inconsistent with other
verified information in the possession of the county, then the
county eligibility worker shall specify to the applicant or recipient
the exact clarifying verification that is needed to verify current
eligibility. The county eligibility worker shall provide the
applicant or recipient with a notice of action specifying the
inconsistent verified information and the specific type of
information that the applicant or recipient needs to provide to
clarify the eligibility factor at issue. All requests pursuant to
this subdivision shall be approved in writing by the supervisor of
the county eligibility worker.  
   (b) 
    (c)  A county human services department shall maximize
the use of electronic means of verifying information required to be
verified for any applicant or recipient of aid pursuant to this
chapter, except for information that federal law permits to be
verified through  a  self-attestation statement of the
applicant or recipient. If the necessary information is not contained
in the county human services department case files, and
self-attestation is not legally sufficient, the county human services
department shall search all available databases accessible 
statewide  to county human services departments to verify all
eligible information, pursuant to statewide protocols developed by
the department as provided in this subdivision. At a minimum, the
state shall work with representatives of county human services
departments  and   ,  representatives of
county eligibility workers, and public benefits advocates to
establish a statewide protocol enabling the use of the electronic
database developed for verification of eligibility information for
applicants and recipients under the federal Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA) for applicants for and recipients
of CalWORKs, CalFresh, and other social services programs, and to
identify other available federal and state  databases,
  databases  and establish protocols for searching
those databases for information pursuant to this subdivision.

   (c) 
    (d)  An applicant for or recipient of aid under this
chapter whose information is electronically verified pursuant to this
section shall be given an opportunity to review the information
obtained electronically and to make corrections, as necessary. An
applicant or recipient of aid who disputes the accuracy of
electronically verified information that is federally required and
necessary to determine eligibility for aid or to compute the amount
of aid may be required to provide verification of the disputed
information.
   SEC. 5.   SEC. 6.   Section 11023.8 is
added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:
   11023.8.  (a) Notwithstanding any other law, all application and
recertification interviews shall be conducted in person, by
telephone, or through other electronic means to provide for more
efficiency in the administration of the program and to reduce the
transportation costs to applicants and recipients associated with
those interviews.
   (b) Except for applications from applicants who may be eligible
for benefits under Sections 11266 and 18914, the department or the
county  welfare   human services 
department  shall   may  schedule 
the  an  interview  at least 10 working
days in advance   that does not require face-to-face
interaction, such as a telephone interview  , and shall provide
a notice that contains the date, time, and place of the interview.
 If the scheduled interview is not an in-person interview that
would require   face-to-face interaction, such as a
telephone interview, the department also shall provide the applicant
or recipient with a notice that contains the date, time, and place
that would be available for an in-person interview that would require
face-to-face interaction, if the originally scheduled interview does
not take place.  If the applicant or recipient appears for the
scheduled interview on time, the interview shall be conducted within
30 minutes of the time that the interview was scheduled  , if
administratively possible  .
   (c) The notice required by subdivision (b) shall inform the
applicant or recipient of all options available in that county for
completing the interview prior to the scheduled appointment,
including telephone interview, online interview, and on-demand
telephone interview.
   (d) The notice required by subdivision (b) shall be developed in
consultation with advocates, counties, and county eligibility
workers, and shall provide this information in language that is
accessible to applicants and recipients, including those with limited
English proficiency. 
   (e) The department may seek a federal waiver to the extent
necessary to implement this section. 
   SEC. 6.   SEC. 7.   Section 11322.81 is
added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:
   11322.81.  Notwithstanding any other law, an adult recipient
 whose youngest child is under six years of age, and who is
participating in at least 20 hours per week of federally eligible
welfare-to-work activities,   who meets the minimum
federal welfare-to-work participation requirements  shall be
deemed to be in compliance with the requirements of Section 11322.8.
In addition, necessary supportive services for these participants
shall be provided in order to participate in activities or employment
pursuant to Sections 11323.2 and 11323.4, and these participants
shall not be subject to sanction for failure or refusal to comply
with program requirements under Section 11327.4.
   SEC. 8.    Section 11052.5 of the   Welfare
and Institutions Code   is amended to read: 
   11052.5.   (a)    No applicant shall be granted
public assistance under Chapters 2 (commencing with Section 11200)
and 5 (commencing with Section 13000) of this part until he or she is
first personally interviewed by the office of the county department
or state staff for patients in state hospitals. The personal
interview shall be conducted promptly following the application for
assistance. If an applicant is incapable of acting in his or her own
behalf, the county department shall verify this fact by personal
contact with the applicant before aid is authorized. As used in this
section, the term public assistance does not include health care as
provided by Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 14000). 
   The 
    (b)     In order to achieve administrative
savings and efficiency, the county human services department shall
conduct the interview required by this section on the same day as the
initial application, to the extent that doing so would be cost
effective and administratively possible for the county human services
department. The  interview conducted pursuant to this section
shall occur  within   no later than  seven
days after the time of application unless there are extenuating
circumstances that justify further delay.
   SEC. 7.   SEC. 9.   Section 18901.6 of
the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:
   18901.6.  (a) The Legislature finds and declares that 40 percent
of CalWORKs recipients who receive transitional CalFresh benefits
reapply to receive regular CalFresh benefits.
   (b) To the maximum extent allowable by federal law, each county
 welfare   human services  department shall
provide transitional CalFresh benefits to households terminating
their participation in the CalWORKs program. The department shall
implement this section so as to maximize continued enrollment of
eligible recipients, pursuant to Section 273.31(b) of Title 7 of the
Code of Federal Regulations.
   SEC. 8.   SEC. 10.   Section 18914 of
the Welfare and Institutions Code, as amended by Section 88 of
Chapter 227 of the Statutes of 2011, is amended to read:
   18914.  (a) To the extent provided by federal law, the county
 welfare   human services  department shall
provide CalFresh benefits on an expedited basis to households
determined to be in immediate need of food assistance.
   (b) At the time an applicant initially seeks assistance, the
county  welfare   human services 
department shall screen all expedited service applications on a
priority basis. Applicants who meet the federal criteria for
expedited service shall receive either a manual authorization to
participate or automated card or the immediate issuance of CalFresh
benefits no later than the third day following the date the
application was filed. To the maximum extent permitted by federal
law, the amount of income to be received from any source shall be
deemed to be uncertain and exempt from consideration in the
determination of eligibility for expedited service. For purposes of
this subdivision, a weekend shall be considered one calendar day.
   (c) The State Department of Social Services shall develop and
implement for expedited issuance a uniform procedure for verifying
information required of an applicant.
   (d) The  expedited service interview that has been
attempted shall be postponed and conducted   department
shall seek federal waivers to the extent necessary to postpone
expedited interviews that have been attempted and conduct the
interviews  at the same time that the interview for regular
issuance of CalFresh benefits is scheduled pursuant to Section
11023.8,  if   when  there is no verifiable
information at the disposal of the state or county human services
department that indicates the applicant's ineligibility for expedited
service.  The department shall seek all necessary waivers of
federal law to implement this section. 
   (e) If the applicant meets expedited service eligibility
requirements, the applicant shall not be denied expedited services if
 his or her identity has been verified consistent with the
standards of verifying identity for the Medi-Cal program under the
federal Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-171), as
modified by the federal Children's Health Insurance Program
Reauthorization Act of 2009 (Public La   w 111-3), or 
he or she provides a valid social security number  unless
  that  the county human services department is
 unable   able  to use  this number
 to verify identity through the Medi-Cal Eligibility Data
System (MEDS) or any other database available to the county human
services department. Once identity is verified, all other
verification shall be postponed for 30 days, if permitted by federal
law.
   SEC. 9.   SEC. 11.   Notwithstanding the
rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter
3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title
2 of the Government Code), the department may implement this act
through an all-county letter or similar instruction from the
director. The all-county letter or similar instruction shall be
issued no later than January 1, 2014.
   SEC. 10.   SEC. 12.   No appropriation
pursuant to Section 15200 of the Welfare and Institutions Code shall
be made for purposes of this act.
   SEC. 11.   SEC. 13.   If the Commission
on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by
the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for
those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section
17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.