BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1970
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1970 (Skinner)
As Amended April 19, 2012
Majority vote
HUMAN SERVICES 4-2 APPROPRIATIONS 12-4
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|Ayes:|Beall, Ammiano, Hall, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Blumenfield, |
| |Portantino | |Bradford, Charles |
| | | |Calderon, Campos, Davis, |
| | | |Gatto, Hall, Hill, Lara, |
| | | |Mitchell, Solorio |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Jones, Wagner |Nays:|Donnelly, Nielsen, Norby, |
| | | |Wagner |
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SUMMARY : Establishes the Social Services Modernization and
Efficiency (SSME) Act to modernize and remove barriers to
participation in social services programs, in anticipation of
possible upcoming automation changes to the California Work
Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) and CalFresh
programs as a result of the California Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires any state plan submitted by any department
administered by the Health and Human Services Agency to any
federal agency and any approved waiver requested or received
by any department, be electronically available to the public
on the department's Internet Web site.
2)Requires the Department of Social Services (DSS) to promulgate
regulations to allow for the delivery of notices and
communications pertaining to CalFresh and CalWORKs program
eligibility and benefit issuance electronically or both
electronically and by mail, as provided.
3)Requires DSS, in consultation with client and patient
advocates, representatives of county human services
departments, and representatives of county eligibility
workers, to develop a process whereby applicants and
recipients can affirmatively choose to receive notices of
action or other communications relevant to their case
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electronically.
4)Requires that all applicants and recipients of public social
services, including CalFresh benefits and any state health
subsidy program, be allowed to affirmatively choose to receive
communications and notices electronically, by U.S. mail, or
both subject to the following:
a) Upon choosing to receive communication electronically,
requires that the recipient be informed in writing of the
right to opt out of electronic communications;
b) Requires the administering agencies or departments to
respond to all undeliverable or rejected electronic
communications by unsubscribing the recipient from
electronic communications and reinstating mail delivery,
and to inform the recipient or head of household how to
request electronic delivery;
c) Provides that no notice or other communication shall be
sent electronically unless that method has been
affirmatively requested in writing, or electronically, with
an electronic signature, by the applicant or recipient, and
a record of such requests shall be maintained in the
individual's case file for three years;
d) Requires that all notices sent electronically be sent by
secured server, not be sent as an e-mail attachment, and
include information on the right to opt out of electronic
communication at any time, with instructions on how to do
so. If the administering agency or department does not
receive confirmation that the communication has been opened
or downloaded within seven days of being sent, requires the
agency or department to send an electronic reminder notice
to the recipient;
e) Requires that, notwithstanding provisions allowing for
electronic communication, notices terminating or
sanctioning benefits, or establishing an intentional
program violation for any household member or for
establishing or collecting an overpayment, underpayment,
overissuance or underissuance from recipients or former
recipients be sent by U.S. mail;
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f) Requires that every effort be made to maintain the
privacy and security of applicant or recipient information;
and,
g) Requires compliance with state security standards, which
shall be posted on the department's Internet Web site and
on the home page for all online applications.
5)Prohibits collection or use for any purpose, other than
transmitting information to the applicant or recipient as
provided, electronic data that identifies an applicant or
recipient, his or her permanent or temporary internet protocol
(IP) address, or the geographic location of the IP address or
mobile device.
6)Prohibits, notwithstanding existing fingerprint imaging
requirements to establish CalWORKs eligibility, a county from
requiring an applicant for or recipient of aid to provide
verification of information provided to the county unless
federally required and necessary to determine eligibility for
aid or to compute the amount of aid, and the information is
not already available to the eligibility worker.
7)Requires counties to maximize the use of electronic means of
verifying information that must be verified, except for
information that federal law permits to be verified through
self-attestation statement of the applicant or recipient.
8)Requires, if necessary information is not contained in the
county human services department files, and self-attestation
is not sufficient, the county human services department to
search all available and accessible databases to verify all
eligible information pursuant to protocols developed by DSS.
9)Requires, at a minimum, that the state work with designated
stakeholders to establish a statewide protocol enabling the
use of the electronic database developed for verification of
eligibility information related to the federal Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 for applicants for
and recipients of CalWORKs, CalFresh and other social services
programs, and to identify other available federal and state
databases, and establish protocols for searching those
databases for relevant information.
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10)Requires that applicants for or recipients of aid under
social services programs whose information is electronically
verified be given an opportunity to review and make
corrections to the electronically obtained information.
11)Requires all application and recertification issues for
public assistance programs to be conducted in person, by
telephone or through other electronic means to provide for
more efficiency and reduce associated transportation costs.
12)Except for applicants who may qualify for immediate CalWORKs
or CalFresh assistance, applicants and recipients shall
receive notice of the date, time, and place of application and
recertification interviews, which shall be scheduled at least
10 working days in advance and, if in person and the person
appears for the scheduled interview on time, shall be
conducted within 30 minutes of the scheduled interview time.
13)Requires the notice required by 12) above, to inform the
applicant or recipient of all options available in the county
for completing the interview prior to the scheduled
appointment, and requires the notice to be developed in
consultation with advocates, counties, and county eligibility
workers, and to be available in a language accessible to the
applicant or recipient.
14)Deems an adult CalWORKs recipient whose youngest child is
under six 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, and provides that such a person
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.
15)Requires DSS to implement requirements that county welfare
departments provide transitional CalFresh benefits to
households terminating participation in CalWORKs so as to
maximize continued enrollment of eligible recipients, pursuant
to applicable federal regulation.
16)Requires that expedited service interviews for CalFresh
benefits be postponed and conducted at the same time as the
interview for regular CalFresh benefits if the state or county
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human services department has no verifiable information
indicating the applicant's ineligibility for expedited
service, and requires DSS to seek all necessary waivers of
federal law to implement this requirement.
17)Provides that an eligible applicant shall not be denied
expedited services if he or she provides a valid social
security number unless it cannot be used to verify identity
through the Medi-Cal Eligibility Data system or other
available database, and further provides that once identify is
verified, all other verification shall be postponed for 30
days, if permitted by federal law.
18)Authorizes DSS to implement the SSME Act through all-county
letters or similar instructions to be issued no later than
January 1, 2014.
19)Declares that no appropriation would be made for purposes of
implementing the SSME Act.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
Costs associated with this legislation should be minor and
absorbable within existing DSS resources. Current updates
to the Statewide Automated Welfare System (SAWS) include
the capacity to deliver notices electronically. It is
expected that CalHEERs �the California Healthcare
Eligibility, Enrollment, and Retention System] will include
the capability to determine eligibility for the CalFresh
program. Therefore, all automation changes are underway.
In addition, this legislation primarily authorizes counties
to deliver notices electronically and establishes client
protections should they choose to do so. It does not
require counties to provide electronic notices.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "�t]he combination of
unprecedented demand in terms of caseload increases and
declining state and local capacity highlights the need for
program improvements to modernize social services programs."
The author further states, "Many California families' health and
well-being have been threatened as an effect of the economic
crisis, and are now seeking assistance through the state to
stabilize their livelihood. It is imperative that we remove
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unnecessary barriers to social services programs to help
guarantee that the neediest in our communities have greater
access to these programs. In these times of economic
uncertainty, we have to ensure that all those who qualify for
these vital social safety net programs are able to obtain access
to them."
Not only are many individuals not receiving needed aid for which
they are eligible, the low participation rate costs the state
federal dollars. In the CalFresh program, for example,
California annually loses out on $4.9 billion in federal funds
due to 3.5 million eligible non-participants (Lost Dollars,
Empty Plates: The Impact of CalFresh Participation on State and
Local Economies, California Food Policy Advocates (February
2012), p 3).
This bill is intended to make several changes to the
administration of social services program that would improve
services to the consumers of these programs and make the
programs more efficient. Among other things, this bill will
limit verification requirements to items required by federal
law, thereby reducing the paperwork that customers must provide
prior to enrollment. Consistent with federal law, this bill
permits electronic transmission of certain notices of action
between county human services departments and consumers. This
bill also seeks to establish alternatives to in-person
interviews for applications and redeterminations at the option
of the applicant or recipient. It also ensures transparency by
making copies of any state plan submitted by the Health and
Human Services Agency available to the public. The author says
that "�t]hese modernization changes will streamline human
services programs for recipients and counties, and serve to
illustrate the efficiencies to be gained from the use of modern
technology." This bill also provides privacy protections,
limiting counties' use of an applicant's or recipient's
electronic information for any purpose other than communicating
with the applicant or recipient.
The author reports that the idea for this bill came from months
of meetings among stakeholders, including DSS, discussing
options for achieving program simplification and removal of
access barriers, reducing administrative complexity, adding
linkages with and coordination among other state assistance
programs, providing stronger support for nutritious food choices
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and nutrition education, and encouraging program innovations.
Co-sponsor of this bill, Service Employees International Union -
California (SEIU), also emphasizes that this bill includes "a
set of program improvements agreed upon by client advocates,
counties and our front-line workers who operate the programs."
The coalition of sponsors and the author are continuing to work
with DSS on amendments to refine this bill.
In support of this bill, Legal Services of Northern California
says that, with current state and county budget constraints, "it
is imperative to take advantage of technological advances to
allow for a more effective and efficient means of establishing
public benefits eligibility. It will also prevent 'churning'
(reapplication after procedural denials) and the harm to
families who otherwise can go hungry and homeless."
The California District Attorneys Association (CDAA) opposes
this bill, asserting that allowing application and
recertification interviews for certain public benefits to be
conducted via telephone or other electronic means invites more
fraud into these systems.
Analysis Prepared by : Eric Gelber / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089
FN: 0003414