BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                          AB 873
                                                          Page  1

Date of Hearing:   May 12, 1999

              ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS 
                    Carole Migden, Chairwoman

    AB 873 (Villaraigosa) - As Introduced: February 25, 1999 

Policy Committee:                              Human  
ServicesVote:5 - 3

Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local  
Program:YesReimbursable:   Yes

  SUMMARY  

This bill repeals the July 2001 sunset for the California Food  
Assistance Program and Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants.   
In addition, the bill expands eligibility for the two programs.

For the food stamps program, eliminates the requirement in  
current law that non-elderly or disabled adult food stamp  
recipients meet work requirements under the CalWORKs program.   
In addition, the bill expands eligibility for the program to  
include:

1)Legal immigrants who entered the country after August 21,  
  1996, and who would otherwise be eligible for food stamp  
  benefits under federal law.  

2)Battered immigrant spouses and children and the parents or  
  children of the battered immigrant. 

3)Cuban or Haitian refugees under the federal Refugee Education  
  Assistance Act of 1980.

For the cash assistance program, the bill expands eligibility to  
include legal immigrants who entered the country after August  
21, 1999.

  FISCAL EFFECT  

The Department of Social Services estimates the following annual  
General Fund costs: 

1)$105.8 million, effective in 2000-01, to continue the programs  








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  beyond the current sunset date.

2)$11.9 million in 1999-00 to expand food stamp program  
  eligibility.

3)$401.6 million to expand cash assistance eligibility.    
  Roughly $40 million of these costs will be incurred in  
  1999-00; costs will increase over the following few fiscal  
  years until the full estimated caseload of 51,000 immigrants  
  becomes eligible.  It should be noted that costs may not reach  
  the projected level to the extent more restrictive federal  
  immigration income screening results in fewer eligible  
  individuals in later years.

  COMMENTS
  
  1)Legal Immigrants and Food Stamps  .  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 the federal welfare reform law, most legal  
  non-citizen residents are permanently barred from receiving  
  food stamps.  In response, California created a "state only"  
  food stamps program that 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 for the state-only  
  program. 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)Assistance to Aged, Blind, or Disabled Legal Immigrants  .  Also  
  due to changes in federal law, legal immigrants who are  
  elderly but not disabled, and who were not receiving benefits  
  as of August 21, 1996 are barred from the federal SSI program.  
   The state-only cash benefit program currently provides  
  benefits to these individuals.  However, legal immigrants who  
  entered the country after August 21, 1996, are not eligible  
  for either program.  This bill expands the state program to  
  cover those individuals. 

  3)Sponsor's Argument  .  The sponsor of this bill, California  








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  Immigrant Welfare Collaborative, states that almost 100,000  
  legal immigrants are receiving state food stamp benefits and  
  over 11,000 are receiving state cash assistance.  The sponsor  
  asserts 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 also argue  
  the loss of food stamp benefits would push thousands of  
  families into hunger and further strain the already burdened  
  charitable food supply.

  Analysis Prepared by : William Wehrle / APPR. / (916) 319-2081