BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1233
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1233 (Aroner)
As Amended January 27, 2000
Majority vote
HUMAN SERVICES 5-2 APPROPRIATIONS 14-7
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|Ayes:|Aroner, Bock, Ducheny, |Ayes:|Migden, Cedillo, Davis, |
| |Dutra, | |Hertzberg, Kuehl, Papan, |
| |Strom-Martin | |Romero, Shelley, |
| | | |Steinberg, Thomson, |
| | | |Wesson, Wiggins, Wright, |
| | | |Aroner |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Ashburn, Olberg |Nays:|Brewer, Ashburn, Battin, |
| | | |Pescetti, Maldonado, |
| | | |Runner, Zettel |
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SUMMARY : Revises the education component of the California
Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Permits CalWORKs recipients enrolled in educational or
vocational training programs to count classroom preparation
time toward their 32-hour work participation requirement and
presumes that one hour of study time is required for each hour
of classroom instruction.
2)Conforms the allowable work activities for CalWORKs students
to the allowable work activities for other CalWORKs
recipients.
3)Provides that the operation of this act is conditioned upon an
appropriation in the annual Budget Act.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the CalWORKs program, which provides cash
assistance and supportive services to qualified low-income
families.
2)Provides that any CalWORKs recipient who, at the time he or
AB 1233
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she is required to participate in welfare-to-work activities,
is enrolled in any undergraduate degree or certificate program
may continue in that program if the county determines the
program is likely to lead to employment.
3)Requires that a CalWORKs recipient who is participating in
educational or vocational training and whose weekly hours of
classroom, laboratory, or internship activities total less
than 32 hours, must participate up to the required 32 hours in
other work activities which are more narrowly defined than for
other CalWORKs recipients.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : This bill was amended on the floor to delete the
previous CalWORKs program provisions. The provisions in the
current version of this bill were included in AB 1039 (Aroner)
of 1999, which was vetoed by the Governor. The veto message
stated that the bill was being vetoed by Governor Davis because
of an unrelated provision in that bill.
The author states that the purpose of this bill is to correct
discriminatory hourly requirements for CalWORKs recipients who
are self-initiated students. She states that a recent oversight
hearing by the Select Committee on Welfare Reform Implementation
on the role of community colleges in welfare reform determined
there are several barriers to CalWORKs recipients receiving an
education. One of the major barriers identified was the current
law requirement that students may not count their study time
towards their work participation hours.
Western Center on Law and Poverty, the bill's sponsor, notes
that current law puts student CalWORKs participants at a
distinct disadvantage by requiring more combined hours of work
activity than other participants. A single parent recipient in
a full-time education program must add 17-20 hours of employment
or other work activities to satisfy the CalWORKs requirement.
If that student's study time is two hours for each classroom
hour and he or she is taking 15 units, that student will have to
devote 62 hours per week of education or work activities to meet
the participation requirement since 30 hours are not counted.
This, the sponsor says, jeopardizes the well being and
development of the student's children and risks the educational
success of the student.
AB 1233
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Analysis Prepared by : Curtis Child / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2247
FN: 0004226