BILL ANALYSIS
AB 873
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 21, 1999
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Dion Aroner, Chair
AB 873 (Villaraigosa) - As Introduced: February 25, 1999
SUBJECT : Social services programs: legal immigrants
SUMMARY : Repeals the sunset on the California Food Assistance
Program (CFAP) and Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants (CAPI)
and expands eligibility.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Removes the July 1, 2000, sunset of CFAP and extends the
program indefinitely.
2)Expands eligibility for CFAP to include:
a) Legal immigrants who entered the country on or after
August 22, 1996, and who are otherwise eligible for
benefits.
b) Battered immigrant spouses and children and the parents
or children of the battered immigrant.
c) Cuban or Haitian refugees under the federal Refugee
Education Assistance Act of 1980.
3)Repeals CFAP requirement that only individuals who entered the
country on or after August 22, 1996, and who are victims of
abuse by their sponsor or whose sponsors are dead or disabled
are eligible for benefits.
4) Requires CFAP recipients who do not also receive CalWORKs
benefits to meet the federal food stamp work requirements.
5) Removes the July 1, 2000, sunset of CAPI and extends the
program indefinitely.
6) Expands eligibility for CAPI to include legal immigrants who
entered the country on or after August 22, 1996, and who are
otherwise eligible for benefits.
7) Repeals CAPI requirement that only individuals who entered
the country on or after August 22, 1996, and who are victims
of abuse by their sponsor or whose sponsors are dead or
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disabled are eligible for benefits.
8) Requires that all federal and state laws and regulations
intended to protect Supplemental Security Income/State
Supplemental Payment (SSI/SSP) recipients apply to all CAPI
recipients.
9) States legislative intent to appropriate funds annually in
the Budget Act for CFAP and CAPI.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires the Department of Social Services (DSS) until January
1, 2000, to administer CFAP to provide state-funded food
stamps to legal immigrants who entered the country on or
before August 21, 1996, and who are eligible for federal food
stamp benefits but for their immigration status under Public
Law 104-193.
2)Provides that legal immigrants who enter the country on or
after August 22, 1996, are eligible for CFAP benefits only if
their sponsor is dead or disabled or he or she is a victim of
abuse by their sponsor.
3)Requires DSS, until July 1, 2000, to establish and supervise a
county-administered program, CAPI, to provide cash assistance
to aged, blind and disabled legal immigrants who entered the
country on or before August 22, 1996, and who are eligible for
SSI/SSP benefits but for their immigration status under Public
Law 104-193.
4)Provides that legal immigrants who enter the country on or
after August 22, 1996 are eligible for CAPI benefits only if
their sponsor is dead or disabled or they are victims of abuse
by their sponsor.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)The Food Stamp Program is a federal program administered by
the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) which provides food
coupons to low-income individuals to improve nutrition through
the purchase of food products. Under P.L. 104-193, most legal
noncitizen residents are permanently barred from receiving
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food stamps. In response to P.L. 104-193, California created
the CFAP program. Under this program, the state purchases
food stamp coupons from the federal government with General
Funds. The program provides benefits to legal immigrants who
would qualify for federal food stamp benefits but for the
federal legal immigrant restrictions. With limited
exceptions, only legal immigrants who entered the country
prior to August 22, 1996, are eligible. This bill would expand
the state-only food program to individuals regardless of the
date that they entered the country, provided that they are
otherwise eligible for benefits. It would also require
immigrants to be subject to the same work requirements as
citizens.
2) Although P.L. 104-193 denied SSI eligibility to most legal
immigrants, many of those cuts were restored in the federal
1997 Budget Reconciliation bill. Aged legal immigrants who
are not disabled and were not receiving SSI benefits before
August 22, 1996, even though they entered the country before
that date, are not eligible for SSI benefits. The CAPI
provides state-funded benefits for these individuals. Legal
immigrants who enter the country after August 22, 1996, are
not eligible for SSI or CAPI benefits. This bill expands CAPI
to those individuals, with benefits and eligibility criteria
identical to the SSI/SSP program.
3)The Sponsor of this bill, California Immigrant Welfare
Collaborative, states that almost 100,000 legal immigrants are
receiving CFAP benefits and over 11,000 are receiving CAPI
benefits. They assert that this bill is necessary to ensure
that low-income legal immigrants have an adequate and
dependable nutrition source and to allow elderly and disabled
immigrants to maintain their housing, nutrition and medical
care. Supporters state that the loss of CFAP benefits would
push thousands of families into hunger and further strain the
already burdened charitable food supply.
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Aids Legal Referral Panel
Asian American Drug Abuse Program, Inc.
Asian Law Alliance
Asian American Senior Citizens Service Center
Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center
Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations
Barron's Enterprises
California Church Impact
California Food Policy Advocates
California Immigrant Welfare Collaborative
California State Association of Counties
County of Los Angeles
County of San Barnardino
County Welfare Directors Association
Californians for Justice
Cambodian Association of America
Casa Del Pueblo
CARECEN - Los Angeles
Catholic Charities
Catholic Charities of California
Center on Poverty Law & Economic Opportunity
Centro Legal de la Raza
Charity Cultural Services Center
Children's Advocacy Institute/Center for Public Interest Law
Chinese American Citizens Alliance
Chinese Progressive Association
Citizenship Program
Santa Clara County
Cl?nica para las Am?ricas
County of San Benito
East Bay Citizenship Network
El Rescate
Emergency Services Network
Family Resource Center
Fresno Interdenominational Refugee Ministries
Friends Committee on Legislation of California
Global Exchange
Health Care Consortium of Central Los Angeles
Hillview Mental Health Center Inc.
ILRL
Immigrant Legal Resource Center
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Immigrant Legal Resource Center
IndoChinese Youth Center
Interfaith Coalition for Immigrant Rights
International Human Rights Law Clinic
International Institute of the East Bay
Khmer Parent Association
Korean American Coalition
Korean American Community Association
Korean Resource Center
L.A. Coalition to End Hunger and Homelessness
La Raza Centro Legal
Lao Vathana Association
Menno Nite Central Committee
Mercy Justice Coordinator WMW
National Center for Youth Law
National Lawyers Guild - SF Chapter
O.L.A. Raza Inc.
Parent and Student Assistance Center
Planning for Elders in the Central City
Rainbow Services Ltd.
Refugee Educators' Network/Southeast Asia Community Resource
Center
Rural Health Advocacy Institute
Sacred Heart Community Service
San Benito County Citizenship Project
San Francisco Women Against Rape
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
Santa Cruz County Citizenship Expansion Task Force
Scripps Otay Family Health Center
Senior Gleaners, Inc.
SEIU Local 660
SEIU Local 790
Services Immigrant Rights and Education Network
Sor Juana Ines Services for Abused Women
South Central Family Health Center
St. Anthony Foundation
St. Teresa's Church
Thai Community Development Center
The Women's Foundation
UCP of San Francisco
Vietnamese Senior Association Inc.
Vista Community Clinic
Wellspring Women's Center
Western Center on Law and Poverty
WRAP Agency
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Opposition : None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Curtis Child / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2247