BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1190|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1190
Author: Hancock (D), et al.
Amended: 5/29/12
Vote: 21
SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE : 9-0, 4/11/12
AYES: Hernandez, Harman, Alquist, Anderson, Blakeslee, De
Le�n, DeSaulnier, Rubio, Wolk
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/24/12
AYES: Kehoe, Walters, Alquist, Dutton, Lieu, Price,
Steinberg
SUBJECT : Women, infants, and children's nutrition
SOURCE : California WIC Association
DIGEST : This bill requires the Department of Public
Health (DPH) to implement an electronic benefits transfer
(EBT) system for the California Special Supplemental Food
Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), as soon as
feasible.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Establishes WIC under the United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA), which provides grants to states for
supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition
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education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and
non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and
children up to age five who are found to be at
nutritional risk. Establishes WIC in California,
administered by DPH, for these purposes.
2. Establishes, in federal law, the Healthy, Hunger-Free
Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA), which requires, among other
provisions, that states implement EBT systems for WIC
programs by October 1, 2020, with specified exemptions.
3. Authorizes the Department of Health Services (DHS, now
DPH) to design, implement and fund an EBT system for the
WIC program. Requires DPH to study the feasibility of
implementing an EBT system for the WIC program and
report the findings to the Legislature by July 1, 2003.
Prohibits DPH from implementing an EBT system until the
feasibility study was completed and funding was
allocated in the annual Budget Act. Requires DPH to
obtain USDA's approval prior to the establishment of any
EBT system.
4. Authorizes the issuance of nutrition coupons by local
agencies to program recipients in order to exchange with
vendors for the purchase of approved nutritious foods.
Requires DPH to print specified information on each
coupon. Requires DPH to provide this information on the
coupons using optical scanning technology, to the extent
feasible, and requires DPH to report to the Legislature
on the feasibility and costs of using this technology by
July 1, 2003.
This bill:
1. Requires DPH to design, implement and maintain an EBT
system for WIC, as soon as feasible. Prohibits DPH from
implementing the EBT system until funding is provided in
the annual Budget Act.
2. Deletes the requirement that DPH complete a feasibility
study on implementing EBT and report findings to the
Legislature by January 1, 2003.
3. Extends the date by which DPH must report to the
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Legislature on the feasibility and costs of using
optical scanning technology for the nutrition coupons to
July 1, 2013. Additionally requires DPH to report on
which electronic card option the state will use to
implement the required EBT system.
4. States that DPH shall provide to the appropriate fiscal
and policy committees of the Legislature, the
Legislative Analyst's Office, and the Office of the
State Chief Information Officer quarterly briefings on
the development of the EBT system for the California
Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants,
and Children, pursuant to Section 123302. These
quarterly briefings shall be provided within 30 days of
the close of each quarter, with the first quarter
commencing January 1, 2013, and shall continue until the
EBT system is fully operational.
Background
WIC . WIC is a 100 percent federally-funded nutrition and
health program that provides nutrition education and food
for low-income pregnant women, new mothers, infants or
children under age five. The WIC food package is
specifically designed to meet the special nutritional needs
of its target population, and includes items like infant
formula, milk, breakfast cereal, cheese, eggs, fruits,
vegetables and legumes. Allocated quantities depend on the
age of the infant or child, and whether a mother is
pregnant, postpartum, and partially or fully breastfeeding.
WIC provides checks or coupons for buying healthy
supplemental foods from WIC-authorized vendors. The
coupons are required to be printed with specified
information, including the specific food item for which the
coupon may be used, the specific quantities of that food
item, the valid dates during which the coupon may be used,
and the maximum value for the coupon. In addition to
nutritious foods, WIC also provides nutrition education,
assistance with finding health care and other community
services, and support and information about breastfeeding.
EBT . EBT is the automated delivery, redemption and
reconciliation of benefits, most commonly used by the
federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known in
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California as CalFresh, the California Food Assistance
Program, and cash assistance benefits. EBT provides
recipients receiving public assistance with electronic
access to food and cash benefits through the use of
magnetic striped cards at point-of-sale (POS) devices at
stores and ATMs. EBT is used in all 50 states and in the
District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and
Guam. The California EBT system currently processes and
reconciles food and cash assistance benefit transactions
for over two million EBT cardholders per month. The state
does not own or operate its own EBT system. Instead, the
state contracts with ACS State & Local Solutions, Inc., a
Xerox Company.
There are two main models of electronic card options for
EBT that the WIC program could consider. An off-line model
is the most common approach, and uses "smart" cards with an
embedded chip that stores the contents of the WIC food
package on the card. Smart cards require that at least one
terminal at the grocery store be equipped to read the chip,
and infrastructure costs for this approach have so far
prohibited its widespread expansion. An on-line model uses
conventional magnetic stripe cards swiped in a common card
reader in any grocery store checkout lane. The recipient
enters an encrypted personal identification number to
securely validate their identity. The transaction flows
from the POS device to the central database, where the
contents of the recipient's individualized food package are
stored. This bill requires that DPH report to the
Legislature on which model is chosen by July 1, 2013 in
order to give the vendors and retailers time to prepare
accordingly.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, unknown
costs, likely in the tens of millions over the next several
years, to upgrade the current system for distributing
benefits (federal funds).
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/29/12)
California WIC Association (source)
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American Red Cross WIC Program
Antelope Valley Hospital WIC Program
Bay Region WIC Association
California Catholic Conference
California Food Policy Advocates
Community Resource Project, Inc. WIC Program of Sacramento
Fresno County Economic Opportunities Commission
Insight Center for Community Economic Development
Kings County WIC
Mono County WIC
Scripps Mercy WIC Program
Watts Healthcare Corporation
Western Center on Law and Poverty
WIC of Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino
Counties
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : Supporters such as the Kings
County Department of Public Health, Planned Parenthood of
Orange and San Bernardino Counties, Bay Region WIC
Association, and Antelope Valley Hospital WIC Program claim
that each day over 240,000 WIC checks are issued in 650
sites in California, and redeemed at over 5,500
WIC-authorized grocery stores. The State Treasurer's
Office processes over 4.8 million WIC checks monthly. They
argue that this paper check system used by the WIC program
is cumbersome and outdated for grocers, stigmatizing for
participants at the check stand, and costly to operate.
Community Resource Project, Inc. WIC Program says that the
current check system requires participants to purchase all
of their food on a single check at once, which causes a
hardship for families who travel by bus. They believe EBT
for WIC would have an especially positive impact on their
local WIC community because an EBT card would allow those
recipients that take multiple buses to get around to buy
their food in quantities that are more manageable on public
transportation.
Additionally, the American Red Cross WIC program claims
they hear firsthand about frustrations from using paper
checks at grocery stores, and how this draws negative
attention to WIC participants. Mono County WIC program
claims they have only one grocery store in their area, and
the cumbersome WIC check process can become a nightmare,
contributing to long lines and extended wait times at their
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sole grocery store.
CTW:do 5/29/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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