BILL ANALYSIS
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 52|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 445-6614 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 52
Author: Cedillo (D)
Amended: 3/16/99 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE HEALTH & HUMAN SERV. COMMITTEE : 6-2, 6/16/99
AYES: Escutia, Figueroa, Hughes, Polanco, Solis,
Vasconcellos
NOES: Haynes, Mountjoy
NOT VOTING: Morrow
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 8-5, 9/1/99 (Roll Call
Not Available)
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 45-30, 6/1/99 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Noncitizens: eligibility for various health
programs
SOURCE : California Immigrant Welfare Collaborative
DIGEST : This bill provides that any person who would
have been eligible for various health programs on July 16,
1996, shall continue to be eligible, regardless of their
immigration status.
ANALYSIS : Existing law:
1.Establishes various programs to administer health and
mental health services to children and adults in
California.
CONTINUED
AB 52
Page
2
2.Provides for services to persons with developmental
disabilities through the State Department of
Developmental Services and regional centers.
3.Provides Medi-Cal benefits to documented aliens and
state-only long-term care to undocumented aliens.
4.Federal law precludes the provisions of federally funded
benefits, with specified exceptions, to certain aliens,
and precludes, with specified exceptions, these aliens
from receiving benefits funded exclusively from state or
local funds without enactment of new state legislation
after August 22, 1996.
This bill:
1.Provides that any person who would have been eligible for
the following health programs on July 16, 1996, shall
continue to be eligible regardless of their immigration
status, as long as he or she meets all other applicable
requirements:
A. California Children's Services
B. Genetically Handicapped Persons Program
C. Alzhemer's Disease Program
D. Traumatic Brain Injury Project
E. Brain Damaged Adults Program
F. Children's Mental Health Services
G. Services for the Developmentally Disabled
H. Adult and Older Mental Health System of Care
I. Community Mental Health Services
J. Early Mental Health Initiative
K. Medi-Cal long-term care
2.Specifies that the provisions of this bill continuing the
above programs, except for Medi-Care long-term care, are
declarative and confirming of existing law. Provides
that the Medi-Cal long-term care service provisions are
intended to reconfirm and be declaratory of existing law.
Comments
The federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
AB 52
Page
3
and Reconciliation Act of 1996 prohibits, with certain
exceptions, the payment of state or local public benefits
to nonqualified aliens unless the state enacts a law which
affirmatively provides for such eligibility. In response
to this federal legislation, then-Governor Wilson issued an
executive order instructing state agencies to implement
regulations terminating eligibility for nonqualified
aliens. More than 200 programs were identified but the
regulations were never implemented. This executive order
is still in effect.
This bill reintroduced AB 2031 (Cedillo), which was vetoed
by then-Governor Wilson last year. In his veto message,
the Governor stated that the bill violated the intent of
the federal policy to discourage illegal immigration by
removing incentives and the specific programs did not fall
within those he excluded for "compassionate reasons". AB
2031 passed the Senate 21-16, as follows:
AYES: Alpert, Ayala, Burton, Calderon, Dills, Greene,
Hayden, Hughes, Johnston, Karnette, Lockyer, O'Connell,
Peace, Polanco, Rosenthal, Schiff, Sher, Solis, Thompson,
Vasconcellos, Watson
NOES: Brulte, Costa, Haynes, Hurtt, Johannessen, Johnson,
Kelley, Knight, Kopp, Lewis, Maddy, McPherson, Monteith,
Mountjoy, Rainey, and Wright
NOT VOTING: Craven, Leslie, Vacancy
Current Senators who voted "AYE" for the bill as a member
of the Assembly were Baca, Bowen, Escutia, Figueroa, and
Murray. Those voting "NO" were Morrow and Poochigian.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 1999-2000 2000-01
2001-02 Fund
Various -- Unknown
potential costs -- General
AB 52
Page
4
The bill implements the state option to continue state
service to non-qualified aliens as defined in the 1996
federal welfare reform act. That bill requires states,
unless they enact legislation to the contrary, to stop
providing state and local public benefits to non-qualified
aliens. In general, this means undocumented persons.
Implementation of the federal requirement was begun under
the Wilson administration through executive order; however,
many of the programs identified in this bill were not
affected by that order.
The fiscal effect of this bill has two elements:
1.It avoids the cost of implementing citizenship
verification in each of these programs.
2.It also prevents reduction in spending programs where
excluding non-qualified aliens would reduce caseload and
thereby reduce state spending.
In many cases, disqualification for services in these
caseload driver programs will not save the state money
because the person will receive services under some other
program. For example, denying payment for long term care
in Medi-Cal will likely result in longer hospitalizations
or more emergency room treatment. Both of these services
are available to non-qualified aliens. Failure to provide
community mental health services will also increase
emergency room admissions, inpatient days, and jail and
prison populations.
Several of these programs receive annual appropriations
that are not based on caseload. Disqualifying
non-qualified aliens would not affect state spending.
These include Alzheimer's Disease Diagnostic and Treatment
Centers, Traumatic Brain Injury Project, Caregiver resource
centers, Children's Early Intervention Mental Health
Services, Community mental health services, Adult Mental
Health System of Care, and Children's Systems of Care.
SUPPORT : (Verified 9/1/99)
California Immigrant Welfare Collaborative (source)
AB 52
Page
5
Alzeimer's Association
Asian Pacific Islander American Health Forum
American Nurses Association California
California Catholic Conference
California Coalition of United Cerebral Palsy Associations
California Mental Health Directors
California Nurses Association
California Teachers Association
California Primary Care Association
City and County of San Francisco
County of Alameda
County Welfare Directors Association
Frank D. Lanterman Regional Center
Friends Committee on Legislation
Gray Panthers of Sacramento
Jericho
Mexican American Legal and Educational Fund
National Senior Citizens Law Center
Organization of Area Boards
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office
and the source, the California Immigrant Welfare
Collaborative (CIWC), unless the Legislature enacts this
bill, immigration screens will be imposed in programs that
are essential for the health of our most vulnerable
residents - seniors, persons with disabilities, and
children. CIWC states that denying these services will
force immigrants to survive without essential treatment and
thereby endanger all Californians, and will create an
administrative burden by requiring verification
requirements that will delay the delivery of critical
services for all consumers and increase the cost of
providing those services.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 45-30, 6/1/99
AYES: Alquist, Aroner, Bock, Calderon, Cardenas, Cardoza,
Cedillo, Corbett, Correa, Ducheny, Dutra, Firebaugh,
Florez, Floyd, Gallegos, Granlund, Hertzberg, Honda,
Jackson, Keeley, Knox, Kuehl, Lempert, Longville,
Lowenthal, Machado, Mazzoni, Migden, Nakano, Papan,
Reyes, Romero, Scott, Shelley, Soto, Steinberg,
Strom-Martin, Torlakson, Vincent, Washington, Wesson,
Wiggins, Wildman, Wright, Villaraigosa
AB 52
Page
6
NOES: Aanestad, Ackerman, Ashburn, Baldwin, Bates, Battin,
Baugh, Briggs, Campbell, Cox, Cunneen, Dickerson,
Frusetta, Havice, House, Kaloogian, Leach, Leonard,
Maddox, Maldonado, Margett, McClintock, Olberg, Oller,
Rod Pacheco, Pescetti, Runner, Strickland, Thompson,
Zettel
NOT VOTING: Brewer, Davis, Robert Pacheco, Thomson, Wayne
CP:cm 9/1/99 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****