BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  SB 878
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   August 14, 2014

                            ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUDGET
                                Nancy Skinner, Chair
            SB 878 (Senate Budget and Fiscal Review) - As Amended:  August  
                                      12, 2014

           SENATE VOTE  :   Vote not relevant.
           
          SUBJECT  :   In Home Supportive Services

           SUMMARY  :   Expresses legislative intent to  make statutory  
          changes necessary to eliminate the 7 percent across-the-board  
          reduction to In Home Supportive Service (IHSS) hours imposed by  
          the settlement agreement of the Dominguez v. Brown and Oster v.  
          Lightbourne court cases.  

           FISCAL EFFECT  :   In its current form, this bill has no costs.    
          The 7 percent across-the-board cut is estimated to save $186.7  
          million General Fund per year ($398.7 million all funds). 

           COMMENTS  :   Two court cases, Oster v. Lightbourne, N.D. Cal.,  
          Case No. CV 09-04668 CW, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth  
          Circuit, Case No. 12-15366 (Oster); and Dominguez v. Brown, N.D.  
          Cal., Case No. CV 09-02306 CW, U.S. Court of Appeals for the  
          Ninth Circuit, Case No. 09-16359 (Dominguez), challenged budget  
          reductions made to the IHSS program.  A settlement agreement for  
          both cases was filed on March 13, 2013 that included a provision  
          for a 8 percent across-the-board reduction to service hours in  
          2013-14, which automatically was reduced to a 7 percent  
          across-the-board reduction in 2014-15.  This settlement  
          agreement was codified in SB 67 (Chapter 4, Statutes of 2013).

          This settlement agreement contained a provision that required  
          the Administration to submit proposed legislation to the  
          Legislature authorizing an assessment on home care services.    
          The goal of this new assessment is to generate additional  
          federal participation in the IHSS program, and these new funds  
          would be used to fully or partially offset the 7 percent  
          across-the-board reduction in IHSS hours.

          If this assessment is adopted by the Legislature, the  
          administration agreed to seek approval from the Center for  
          Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) by October 1, 2014.









                                                                  SB 878
                                                                  Page  2

          As of August 12, 2014, the Legislature has not received the  
          proposed legislation from the Administration.  This bill states  
          intent to be the vehicle that is used for this proposed  
          legislation, or other statutory changes necessary to restore the  
          7 percent across-the-board reduction.

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :

           Support 
           
          None on file
           
            Opposition 
           
          None on file

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Christian Griffith / BUDGET / (916)  
          319-2099