BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1998|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1998
Author: Achadjian (R)
Amended: 5/25/12 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FINANCE COMMITTEE : 9-0, 6/28/12
AYES: Wolk, Dutton, DeSaulnier, Fuller, Hernandez, Kehoe,
La Malfa, Liu, Yee
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 5/30/12 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : County surplus property
SOURCE : County of Santa Barbara
DIGEST : This bill allows counties to directly donate
surplus computer equipment to social service recipients.
Specifically, it allows the county board of supervisors to
authorize the county welfare department to donate surplus
computer equipment directly to persons receiving public
benefits under one or more of the following programs:
CalFresh; California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to
Kids Act (CalWORKs); County Relief, General Relief, or
General Assistance; or, Medi-Cal. This bill requires the
board to make findings and declarations relating to the
public purpose served by the donation, and develop terms
and conditions to govern any donations made pursuant to
this bill.
ANALYSIS : State law regulates how and under what
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circumstances counties are allowed to acquire, use, and
dispose of county properties. Counties may sell, auction,
lease, or donate surplus real or tangible properties to
specified parties. A county board of supervisors may
donate or lease any property it deems to be surplus to any
public agency, school or community college district, a
county children and families commission, or an organization
exempt from taxation pursuant to specified provisions of
law. The board may impose any terms and conditions it
deems appropriate on the donation or lease.
The federal and state governments encourage service
agencies to use the Internet to provide clients with
greater access to their services. The Internet allows
clients to learn about services, apply for services,
recertify their eligibility, make appointments, update
their records, and contact county workers. A study in 2009
by the Public Policy Institute of California found that 25%
of Californians did not own a computer, with the Latino and
African American populations owning the least number of
computers.
This bill allows counties to directly donate surplus
computer equipment to social service recipients.
Specifically, it allows the county board of supervisors to
authorize the county welfare department to donate surplus
computer equipment directly to persons receiving public
benefits under one or more of the following programs:
CalFresh; CalWORKs; County Relief, General Relief, or
General Assistance; or, Medi-Cal. This bill requires the
board to make findings and declarations relating to the
public purpose served by the donation, and develop terms
and conditions to govern any donations made pursuant to
this bill.
This bill also requires a participating county welfare
department to:
1.Maintain a list of all eligible persons receiving public
benefits who have requested to receive surplus computer
equipment;
2.Establish a fair and impartial selection process by using
a random lottery;
3.Follow any rules and regulations adopted by the board;
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and,
4.Require the recipient of any surplus computer equipment
to sign an agreement prohibiting the recipient from
selling the equipment.
This bill prohibits a county welfare department from
donating surplus computer equipment to a person receiving
public benefits who is in sanction status or otherwise
noncompliant with the rules and regulations of his or her
benefits program.
Comments
According to the Senate Governance and Finance Committee
analysis:
Counties frequently update their technology. Although
figures differ across counties, Santa Barbara County
estimates it has around 100 computers in surplus each
year from its Department of Social Services, with
about half of those going to other county departments
and half going to social service recipients.
Currently, counties may not donate property directly
to social service recipients. If counties want to
donate computers to social service recipients, they
must donate the computers to a nonprofit, which can
distribute them to recipients. However, some counties
do not have a non-profit capable of distributing or
willing to distribute computers to social service
recipients. In other counties, nonprofits keep the
computers for their own use. Although some counties
want their surplus computers to reach eligible
families, current law does not give them the power to
ensure surplus computers get to people who need them
most.
Access to a computer and the Internet improves access
to public resources and employment information.
Current law allows counties to donate or lease surplus
property only to an organization, not to individuals.
AB 1998 gives counties the option to donate their
surplus computers directly to a social service
recipient, ensuring that donated technology gets into
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the hands of deserving recipients. AB 1998 is
optional and allows counties to create rules and
regulations as they see fit, giving counties
flexibility and discretion in how it designs its
program. By eliminating the nonprofit organization as
the middleman, this bill streamlines the steps of
donating surplus computer equipment to individual
recipients, allowing recipients to receive their
computers sooner. Counties that do not have a
nonprofit capable of or willing to distribute
computers to social service recipients will have the
ability to ensure their computers reach a recipient.
Counties also have greater control over where their
resources go. With approximately 20,000 families
qualifying for the CalWORKS, CalFresh, and Medi-Cal
programs, this bill gives counties a tool to help
thousands of low income families acquire a computer.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/29/12)
County of Santa Barbara (source)
California State Association of Counties
County Welfare Directors Association of California
Regional Council of Rural Counties
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
Urban Counties Caucus
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 5/30/12
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson,
Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth
Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Gorell, Grove,
Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger
Hern�ndez, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones,
Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor,
Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande,
Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel P�rez,
Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson,
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Torres, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A.
P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Fletcher, Valadao
AGB:n 7/3/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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