BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2352
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Date of Hearing: May 9, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 2352 (Roger Hernandez) - As Introduced: February 24, 2012
Policy Committee: Human
ServicesVote:5 - 0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: Yes
SUMMARY
This bill exempts motor vehicles from the assets that must be
considered by county welfare departments when they are
determining a family's eligibility for CalWORKs.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)On-going savings in the CalWORKs program of $4 million
(TANF/MOE) per year.
a) Increased grant costs of $357,000 (TANF/MOE) for
2012-2013, increasing to $4.2 million (TANF/MOE) in 2014-15
due to an increased CalWORKs caseload.
b) Savings of $5 million (TANF/MOE) in 2012-2013, growing
to approximately $10 million (TANF/MOE) in 2014-2015 and
beyond due to reduced administrative workload.
2)Actual administrative savings would likely be less as the
CalWORKs program has not received funding increases to keep
pace with actual operations costs since 2001. In addition,
county welfare departments have sustained hundreds of millions
of dollars of cuts over the last several years. However,
reducing the workload associated with CalWORKs eligibility
would help relieve the funding pressures faced by county
welfare departments.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . The primary goal of the CalWORKs program is to move
families out of poverty toward self-sufficiency. One of the
AB 2352
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key components of the program is requiring that adult
participants either work or receive some type of training that
will help them get a job. The author and sponsors, the New
America Foundation, argue that limiting the family to an
automobile with a value of less than $4,650 is contrary to
that goal. Without reliable transportation parents are often
unable to get to work or job training and therefore are unable
to work their way out of poverty and off of the welfare rolls.
By eliminating the vehicle from consideration for
eligibility, parents will not be forced to choose between
reliable transportation and receiving much needed financial
assistance for their families.
2)California Asset Rules . CalWORKs asset rules were enacted in
1997 when the state implemented the 1996 federal welfare
reform act. Families are limited in the value of assets or
resources they may own. The program incorporates federal food
stamp rules, which limits resources to $2,000 per household,
or $3,000 if a family has a member who is aged or disabled.
Some assets, such as the family's home and $4,650 in value of
a motor vehicle, are excluded from consideration in the
determination of a family's resources. Also excluded are
assets that are not available to a household, such as the cash
value of life insurance policies and pension funds.
3)Related Legislation . In 2011, AB 1182 (Hernández), which was
virtually identical to this legislation, was vetoed. In his
veto message the governor noted, "In the last year, the state
has been forced to make steep reductions in many programs,
including the state's welfare-to-work program. As we go into
the new year, we may have to make additional cuts. Until we
better understand the fiscal outlook, we should not be making
changes of this kind."
AB 1058 (Beall), 2009, would have deleted the requirement that
county welfare departments assess the value of a vehicle when
determining a CalWORKs' application or recertification. That
bill was held on the Senate Appropriations Committee Suspense
File.
AB 2368 (Fuentes), 2008, would have exempted motor vehicles
from assets that must be considered by county welfare
departments when they are determining a family's eligibility
for CalWORKs. That bill was held on the Senate Appropriations
Committee Suspense File.
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Analysis Prepared by : Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916)
319-2081