BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SR 54|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SR 54
Author: Mitchell (D), Beall (D), DeSaulnier (D), Jackson (D),
and Liu (D), et al.
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
SUBJECT : Maximum Family Grant Rule
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This resolution declares that twenty years ago this
week, Assembly Bill 473 (AB 473) was passed off of the floor of
the Assembly and the Senate, and enacted into law pursuant to
Chapter 196 of the Statutes of 1994, establishing a state law
that denies basic needs assistance to children born into a poor
family receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children.
ANALYSIS : This resolution makes the following legislative
findings:
1.The child exclusion policy established by AB 473 remains in
law today and is referred to as the Maximum Family Grant (MFG)
rule. The MFG rule denies help to poor infants and children
unless his/her parents disclose private medical information to
prove that their child was an accident, conceived as a result
of failed, state sanctioned, contraception, as defined in the
law, or a result of a rape, but only for a rape that was
reported to police no later than three months after the birth
of the child.
2.The MFG rule and similar child exclusion rules across the
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country were based on a racist stereotype about poor women who
received public help, their worthiness as individuals, their
fitness as mothers, and their motivations to become pregnant
or to carry a child to term.
3.AB 473 was leveraged in budget negotiations only after a
ballot proposition that would have enacted this policy failed
by a margin of 10 percentage points.
4.The contents of AB 473 were deleted and amended on the floor
of the Assembly and had no public hearing.
5.Twenty years ago, the program had a benefit equal to 80% of
the federal poverty line, now the maximum grant puts a family
at 40% of the federal poverty line.
6.Today, the repeal of the MFG rule is supported by a diverse
coalition of over 80 organizations, including the California
Catholic Conference, the Coalition for Women and Children,
Planned Parenthood, the American Civil Liberties Union,
California Partnership, and the Western Center on Law and
Poverty.
7.Today California has the highest rate of child poverty in the
nation, with more children in poverty than any other state,
and is one of only three states that had a growth in poverty
rates between 2011 and 2012.
8.Twenty years of scientific research on this failed social
experiment has shown that there is no connection between child
exclusion policies and the birth rate, as supporters of the
bill had purported.
9.Dozens of CalWORKs parents have testified in several hearings
during this two-year legislative session about the very real,
traumatic, and humiliating experiences their families have
suffered at the hands of the MFG rule.
This resolution declares that on the 20th anniversary of the
passage of the bill enacting the MFG rule, that this law should
be repealed as soon as legislatively possible.
FISCAL EFFECT : Fiscal Com.: No
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SUPPORT : (Verified 7/2/14)
ACCESS Women's Health Justice
American Civil Liberties Union
California Latinas for Reproductive Justice
California WIC Association
County Welfare Directors Association of California
East Bay Community Law Center
Western Center on Law and Poverty
Women's Foundation for California
JL:e 7/2/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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