BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
SB 1190 (Hancock) - Women, infants, and children's nutrition.
Amended: March 29, 2012 Policy Vote: Health 9-0
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: May 24, 2012 Consultant: Brendan McCarthy
SUSPENSE FILE. AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED.
Bill Summary: SB 1190 would require the Department of Public
Health to implement an electronic benefits transfer system for
the distribution of benefits in the WIC program by January 1,
2015.
Fiscal Impact: Minor costs to provide briefings (federal funds).
Background: Under current law, the Department of Public Health
implements the California Special Supplemental Food Program for
Women, Infants and Children (WIC). Under the program, low-income
women who are pregnant or have recently given birth, infants,
and children up to age five are eligible for certain benefits,
including supplemental foods, such as milk and fruit. Program
participants use coupons to purchase eligible foods at retailers
who accept WIC coupons. WIC is federally funded and has an
annual budget of about $1.5 billion.
Federal law requires state WIC programs to transition to an
electronic benefits transfer system by 2020. Under an electronic
benefits transfer system, information on a participant's benefit
package is either stored on the card or in a central database.
When a participant purchases eligible food items, the card is
swiped and the transaction is approved.
The development of a new system proceeds in steps. At each step,
the Department must get federal approval. First the Department
requests proposals for a vendor to develop an implementation
plan. The Department then selects a vendor to develop the
implementation plan. Once the implementation plan has been
approved by the Department and the federal government, the
Department will solicit bids and select a vendor to actually
develop the new system. The federal government estimates that
the planning process typically takes two to four years and
SB 1190 (Hancock)
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implementation takes three to eight years.
The Department of Public Health is in the early stages of the
process, and is waiting for federal approval of their request
for proposals to develop an implementation plan.
Proposed Law: SB 1190 requires the Department of Public Health
to design and implement an electronic benefits system for the
WIC program by January 1, 2015. The bill requires the Department
to report to the Legislature by July 1, 2013 on which type of
electronic benefits transfer system will be developed.
Related Legislation: AB 313 (Goldberg) Chapter 842/2001 required
the Department to report on the feasibility of developing an
electronic benefits transfer system by July 1, 2003. (That
report was completed in 2003.)
Staff Comments: The total costs to develop an electronic
benefits system for the WIC program will not be known until the
implementation plan has been prepared.
Given the long development timelines that the federal government
has estimated are necessary to design and implement an
electronic benefits transfer system, the Department is very
unlikely to meet the deadline required in the bill.
Staff notes that the state of Texas took approximately 10 years
to implement its system, at a total cost of about $60 million.
California has roughly 60 percent more program participants than
Texas and nearly twice as many participating stores.
Recommended Amendments: Staff recommends the bill be amended to
eliminate the required deadline and instead require the
Department to provide quarterly briefings to legislative staff
on the project's status.