BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
COMMITTEE ANALYSIS
Senator Martha M. Escutia, Chair
BILL NO: AB 2417
A
AUTHOR: Firebaugh
B
AMENDED: June 21, 2000
HEARING DATE: June 28, 2000
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FISCAL: Appropriations
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CONSULTANT:
7
Margolis / cg
SUBJECT
Assistance for immigrants
SUMMARY
Repeals the September 30, 2000, sunset date on eligibility
for the California Food Assistance Program and Cash
Assistance Program for Immigrants benefits for legal
immigrants who entered the United States on or after August
22, 1996, thereby extending benefits to these immigrants
indefinitely.
ABSTRACT
Existing federal law:
Restricts the eligibility of lawfully present noncitizens,
who entered the United States on or after August 22, 1996,
for federal food stamps and Supplemental Security Income
(SSI) benefits to those noncitizens who have 40 qualifying
quarters of work or who become naturalized U.S. citizens.
Existing state law:
Establishes the California Food Assistance Program(CFAP)
and Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants (CAPI) to
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provide state-funded food stamps and state-funded SSI,
respectively, to:
1.Legal immigrants who entered the U.S. on or before August
21, 1996, and who are eligible for federal food stamps or
SSI but for their immigration status, and provides
eligibility indefinitely;
2.Legal immigrants who entered the U.S. on or after August
22, 1996, are otherwise eligible for federal food stamps
or SSI benefits, have a sponsor, and the sponsor is
deceased or disabled, or the immigrant is a victim of
abuse by the sponsor, and provides eligibility
indefinitely; and
3.Legal immigrants who entered the U.S. on or after August
22, 1996, are otherwise eligible for federal food stamp
or SSI benefits, and have either no sponsor or a healthy
sponsor, and provides eligibility only until September
30, 2000.
This bill:
Removes the sunsets of September 30, 2000 on both the CFAP
and CAPI programs such that all legal immigrants will be
eligible for both programs, regardless of their date of
entry into the United States and sponsorship status.
FISCAL IMPACT
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee
analysis, this bill would result in $5.6 million General
Fund cost in 2000-2001, $7.5 million annually thereafter to
continue CFAP benefits, and unknown costs beginning in
2001-2002 relating to the continuation of CAPI benefits.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Public Law 104-193, the federal welfare reform law, enacted
August 22, 1996, eliminated eligibility for federal food
stamps and SSI programs for most legal immigrants.
Subsequent federal legislation restored benefits for food
stamps and SSI benefits to legal immigrants who entered the
U.S. before August 22, 1996. AB 1576 (Bustamante), Chapter
278, Statutes of 1997, established CFAP and CAPI to provide
state-only food stamps and SSI benefits to immigrants who
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entered the U.S. before August 22, 1996, who would have
lost their benefits under federal welfare reform. AB 2779
(Aroner), Chapter 329, Statutes of 1998, and AB 1111
(Aroner), Chapter 147, Statutes of 1999, expanded CFAP and
CAPI to provide benefits to eligible immigrants who entered
the U.S. after the enactment of federal welfare reform.
The Governor's budget estimates an average monthly caseload
of 87,000 in CFAP and 11,000 in CAPI in the current fiscal
year.
According to the author, the extension of CFAP and CAPI
eligibility will provide needed benefits to vulnerable
populations of adults and children in California. A 1998
study conducted by California Food Policy Advocates showed
that legal immigrant households losing food stamp benefits
are far more likely to face hunger and food insecurity than
similar households maintaining food stamps benefits. The
sponsors of AB 2417 maintain that legal immigrants work and
pay taxes like other U.S. residents and that they should be
entitled to the same social safety net protections that are
afforded to citizens. According to information provided to
the committee by the author in 1997, the National Academy
of Sciences, comparing tax payments and the costs of public
benefits, found that the average immigrant household in
California makes a net contribution of $1,178 in taxes.
Currently, eligibility requirements for the programs are
complex and inequitable. A legal immigrant who entered the
U.S. on August 21, 1996 is eligible indefinitely for these
benefits, while a legal immigrant who entered the U.S. on
August 23, 1996 is only eligible through September 30,
2000, unless the person has a sponsor who is deceased,
disabled, or abusing the immigrant, in which case
eligibility is indefinite. This bill would simplify these
provision and, more importantly, create equity in
eligibility among legal immigrants.
Related legislation:
AB 2876 is the omnibus social services trailer bill which
provides for a one-year extension of the sunset that this
bill proposes to repeal. AB 2876 and AB 2417 appear to
have technical conflicts by amending the same Welfare and
Institutions Code Sections.
PRIOR ACTIONS
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Assembly Floor: 56 - 16 Pass
Assembly Appropriations: 14 - 6 Do Pass as Amended
Assembly Human Services: 5 - 1 Do Pass
POSITIONS
Support: California Immigrant Welfare Collaborative
(sponsor)
American Civil Liberties Union
Armenian Relief Society
Asian American Drug Abuse Program Inc.
Asian American Senior Citizens Service
Center
Asian Law Alliance
Asian Pacific Health Care Venture
Asian Pacific Islander American Health Forum
Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council
California Association Food Banks
California Catholic Conference
California Child, Youth and Family Coalition
California Food Policy Advocates
California Institute for Rural Studies
California Interfaith Coalition
California State Association of Counties
Cambodian Association of America
Casa Del Pueblo
Catholic Charities of California
Centro Shalom
Children's Advocacy Institute
County of Alameda
County of Los Angeles
County of Santa Clara
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County Welfare Directors Association of
California
Hillview Mental Health Center, Inc.
Immigrant Legal Resource Center
Immigrant Student Assessment Center
Instituto Sanchez-Mendoza
Jericho
Korean Health, Education, Information and
Research Center
Los Angeles Regional Food Bank
Maternal and Child Health Access
Mexican American Legal Defense and Education
Fund
Napa County Council for Economic Opportunity
National Korean- American Services and
Education Consortium
OCAPICA
Orange County Community Housing Corporation
Pacific Asian Language Services (PALS) for
Health
Pilipino Workers Center of Southern
California
Placentia Human Services
Planned Parenthood of San Diego and
Riverside Counties
Protection & Advocacy, Inc.
San Francisco Food Bank
Santa Ana Hospital Medical Center
Second Harvest Food Bank
Self-Help for the Elderly
Service Employer's International Union Local
660
South Central Family Health Center
Southern California Association of
Non-Profit Housing
Thai Community Development Center
United Lao Movement for Democracy
Urban Counties Caucus
Western Center on Law and Poverty
605 Citizenship Project
78 Individuals
Oppose: None received.
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