BILL ANALYSIS
AB 873
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 873 (Villaraigosa)
As Amended June 2, 1999
Majority vote
HUMAN SERVICES 5-3 APPROPRIATIONS 14-7
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|Ayes:|Aroner, Bock, Ducheny, |Ayes:|Migden, Cedillo, Davis, |
| |Dutra, Strom-Martin | |Hertzberg, Kuehl, Papan, |
| | | |Romero, Shelley, |
| | | |Steinberg, Thomson, |
| | | |Wesson, Wiggins, Wright, |
| | | |Aroner |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Ashburn, Kaloogian, |Nays:|Brewer, Ashburn, Battin, |
| |Olberg | |Pescetti, Maldonado, |
| | | |Runner, Zettel |
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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:
3)Legal immigrants who entered the country on or after August
22, 1996, and who are otherwise eligible for benefits.
4)Battered immigrant spouses and children and the parents or
children of the battered immigrant.
5)Cuban or Haitian refugees under the federal Refugee Education
Assistance Act of 1980.
6)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.
7)Requires CFAP recipients who do not also receive CalWORKs
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benefits to meet the federal food stamp work requirements.
8)Removes the July 1, 2000, sunset of CAPI and extends the
program indefinitely.
9)Deletes the requirement that an individual must be disabled to
be eligible for CAPI.
10)Provides that any individual who entered the United States on
or after August 22, 1996, is eligible for the CAPI program
only if he or she:
a) Has a disability as defined by the federal Supplemental
Security Income (SSI) program;
b) Is a sponsored immigrant and either the sponsor has died
or is disabled; or,
c) Is a victim of abuse by the sponsor or is the spouse of
the sponsor.
11)Requires applicants to provide verification of the basis of
eligibility.
12)Incorporates the definition of abuse used in the CalWORKs
program and provides that a sworn statement is sufficient to
establish abuse if accompanied by additional items of
evidence, including police or other agency records, statements
from individuals with knowledge of circumstances or physical
evidence of abuse.
13)Provides that federal deeming of income and resources rules
and exemptions governing the SSI program shall apply to the
CAPI program, except for immigrants who enter the United
States on or after August 22, 1996, for which a five year
deeming requirement applies.
14)Excludes from the deeming requirements immigrants who are
victims of abuse by their sponsor or their sponsor's spouse
and incorporates the definition of abuse used in the CalWORKs
program and provides that a sworn statement is sufficient to
establish abuse if accompanied by additional items of
evidence, including police or other agency records, statements
from individuals with knowledge of circumstances or physical
evidence of abuse
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15)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.
16)Requires, to the extent permitted by federal law, the deeming
of an immigrant's sponsor's income and resources to the
immigrant for a period of five years.
17)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 P.L.
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 P.L.
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 : The Assembly Appropriations Committee found
General Fund costs of $105.8 million, effective 2000-2001, to
continue the CFAP and CAPI programs beyond the current sunset
date and $11.9 million in 1999-2000 to expand food stamp program
eligibility. Unknown costs to expand CAPI eligibility.
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COMMENTS : 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 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.
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. 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 disabled individuals and
those who have lost or are being abused by a sponsor, with
benefits and eligibility criteria identical to the SSI/SSP
program.
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.
Analysis Prepared by : Curtis Child / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2247
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FN: 0001697