BILL NUMBER: SB 320 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 25, 2011
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 29, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Senator Wright
FEBRUARY 14, 2011
An act to add Sections 10968, 10968.5, 10969,
and 10970 10970, and 10971 to the
Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to public social services.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 320, as amended, Wright. Public social services: hearings.
Existing law authorizes an applicant for, or recipient of, public
social services who is dissatisfied with certain actions of the
county welfare department to request a hearing from the State
Department of Social Services.
This bill would require the county appeals representative to
review all evidence in the county's possession prior to the hearing
and, if the representative finds prescribed occurrences, to offer the
claimant a conditional withdrawal. This bill would require the
conditional withdrawal to specify the actions that the applicant or
recipient and the county is required to complete within 30 days of
the conditional withdrawal being signed by the claimant and received
by the county representative.
This bill would also require the county to issue aid paid
pending within 5 working days from the date of the filing of a
hearing, and if the county has not issued aid paid pending by the end
of the 4th business day, would require the county representative to
authorize the aid paid pending, as prescribed.
authorize the department to develop a policy for hearing settlements
that would be cost neutral or result in cost savings, including, but
not limited to, the timely issuance of aid paid pending.
This bill would authorize a claimant to request
the department to conduct a hearing by telephone
, and require the notice of action informing recipients of the right
to a hearing to inform the applicant or recipient of his or her
right to have a hearing in person, by telephone, or in the claimant's
home if the claimant is unable to attend an in-person hearing due to
a disability. This bill would provide that if a claimant does not
request that he or she prefers to have a hearing by telephone or an
in-person hearing, the department is required to schedule an
in-person hearing .
Existing law requires, if regulations require an agency to write a
position statement concerning the issues in question in a fair
hearing or if the agency chooses to develop such a statement, that
not less than 2 working days prior to the date of the hearing the
agency make available to the applicant for, or recipient of, public
social services a copy of the agency's position statement, with an
exception. Existing law requires the hearing to be postponed at the
request of the applicant or recipient if the position statement is
not made available as required.
This bill would require the county representative to
provide the administrative law judge with the county position
statement. This bill would require the administrative law judge to
determine based upon the position statement and a tentative hearing,
as prescribed, whether the county has met its burden of proof of
establishing a prima facie case. This bill would require the
administrative law judge to issue a decision fully favorable to the
claimant if the judge finds that the county has not met its burden,
and, if the county has met its burden, would require the decision to
set forth a finding of all the facts and laws that led to that
conclusion . authorize the
department to develop a policy for expedited adjudication of cases
where the county fails to meet its burden of proof as required by the
department, provided that the implementation of this policy would be
cost neutral or result in cost savings.
This bill would authorize the department to set up a prescribed
workgroup to meet with stakeholders.
By imposing a higher level of service on county appeals
representatives, this 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 no .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 10968 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, to read:
10968. The department may develop a policy for hearing
settlements that would be cost neutral or result in cost savings,
including, but not limited to, the timely issuance of aid paid
pending.
SEC. 2. Section 10969 is added to the
Welfare and Institutions Code , to read:
10969. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that the financial
cost of transportation to attend an administrative hearing prevents
claimants from accessing a hearing and exercising their full right to
due process of law. A hearing by telephone would enable the claimant
to have a hearing from the claimant's residence without incurring
the cost of traveling to the hearing location. Hearings by telephone
would also save the state taxpayer funds by making it unnecessary for
administrative law judges to travel to remote locations to conduct
hearings if a hearing by telephone is requested by the claimant.
(b) The department may conduct a hearing by telephone.
SEC. 3. Section 10970 is added to the
Welfare and Institutions Code , to read:
10970. The department may develop a policy for the expedited
adjudication of a case where the county fails to meet its burden of
proof, as required by the department, provided that the
implementation of this policy would be cost neutral or result in cost
savings.
SEC. 4. Section 10971 is added to the
Welfare and Institutions Code , to read:
10971. The department may set up a workgroup to
meet with stakeholders to develop policies pursuant to Sections 10968
and 10970.
10968. (a) Prior to the hearing, the county appeals representative
shall review all evidence in the county's possession relevant to the
state hearing claim.
(1) If the hearing concerns a claimant's eligibility for a benefit
or service and the county representative finds that certain acts or
evidence would establish the claimant's eligibility for that benefit
or service, that the county has rescinded the proposed adverse
action, or concludes that the county erred, then the county
representative shall offer the claimant a conditional withdrawal
ordering the county to issue the benefits or provide the service for
which the claimant is eligible after the claimant meets conditions,
if any, of the conditional withdrawal.
(2) If the hearing concerns the validity of a CalWORKs overpayment
or CalFresh benefit overissuance allegation and the county
representative does not find evidence adequate to support the
validity of the overpayment or overissuance allegation then the
county representative shall shall offer the claimant a conditional
withdrawal ordering the county both to cancel permanently the
overpayment or overissuance allegation, and to refund to the claimant
any money already collected toward repayment of the alleged
overpayment or overissuance.
(b) A conditional withdrawal pursuant to this section shall
specify the actions that both parties shall complete within 30 days
from the date the conditional withdrawal form signed by the claimant
is received by the county appeals representative. The county shall
issue a compliance notice describing its compliance with the terms of
the conditional withdrawal, as well as any adequate, timely, and
language-compliant notices required by program rules for the action
at issue, within 30 days following the county hearing representative'
s receipt of the signed conditional withdrawal. If the county fails
to issue the compliance notice within 30 days, the claimant shall be
deemed to have prevailed on all of his or her claims. Upon receiving
a timely compliance notice from the county, the claimant shall have
90 days, subject to the good cause provisions of Section 10951, to
file for a state hearing if the claimant is dissatisfied with the
terms of the compliance notice.
SEC. 2. Section 10968.5 is added to the Welfare
and Institutions Code, to read:
10968.5. The county shall issue aid paid pending within five
working days from the date of the filing of a hearing, as
appropriate. If the county has not issued aid paid pending by the end
of the fourth business day from the date of the filing of a hearing
pursuant to this division, the county appeals representative shall
authorize aid paid pending, as appropriate, in accordance with both
federal and state laws and regulations.
SEC. 3. Section 10969 is added to the Welfare
and Institutions Code, to read:
10969. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that the financial
cost of transportation to attend an administrative hearing prevents
claimants from accessing a hearing and exercising their full right to
due process of law. A telephone hearing would enable the claimant to
have a hearing from the claimant's residence without incurring the
cost of traveling to the hearing location.
(b) An applicant or recipient who requests a hearing pursuant to
this chapter shall have the right to have a hearing conducted in
person, or, in the case of disability, an in-person hearing in the
claimant's home. A claimant may request a hearing by telephone. The
notice of action informing recipients under this division of the
claimant's right to a hearing under this chapter shall inform the
applicant or recipient of his or her right to have a hearing in
person, by telephone, or in the claimant's home if the claimant is
unable to attend an in-person hearing due to a disability.
(c) The department shall accept the claimant's selection of
hearing type. The election by the applicant or recipient of any type
of hearing shall not affect the time period for setting the hearing.
(d) The notice informing the claimant of the time and place of the
hearing shall inform the claimant how to submit evidence and other
documents if the claimant will be appearing by telephone.
(e) For applicants or recipients who request either a hearing by
telephone or a home hearing, the county responsible for the
administrative hearing shall prepare and mail the position statement,
if any, to the claimant and the designated representative so that
the position statement will be received at least two working days
prior to the hearing, in accordance with Section 10952.5.
(f) If a claimant does not request that he or she prefers to have
a hearing by telephone or an in-person hearing, the department shall
schedule an in-person hearing.
SEC. 4. Section 10970 is added to the Welfare
and Institutions Code, to read:
10970. (a) The county representative shall provide the
administrative law judge with a copy of the county position
statement.
(b) If the county position statement and any attachments to it
contain enough information to satisfy the county's burden of proof of
establishing a prima facie case, then the hearing shall go forward
and the administrative law judge shall set forth in his or her
decision a finding of all of the facts and laws that led to the
conclusion that the county met its burden of proof prior to the
commencement of the hearing.
(c) If the county position statement and its attachments do not
meet the county's burden of proof, then the administrative law judge
shall hold a limited hearing for the purposes of announcing the
tentative finding that the county has failed to meet its burden and
to hear any testimony regarding why the county believes its position
statement states a prima facie case. If the administrative law judge
upholds his or her tentative determination that the county has not
met its burden, the administrative law judge shall issue a decision
after the limited hearing fully favorable to the claimant.
SEC. 5. 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.