Bill Text: CA SB282 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: CalFresh and CalWORKs.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2017-09-28 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 355, Statutes of 2017. [SB282 Detail]
Download: California-2017-SB282-Introduced.html
Bill Title: CalFresh and CalWORKs.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2017-09-28 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 355, Statutes of 2017. [SB282 Detail]
Download: California-2017-SB282-Introduced.html
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION
| Senate Bill | No. 282 |
| Introduced by Senator Wiener |
February 09, 2017 |
An act to amend Section 18926.5 of, and to add Section 18919 to, the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to CalFresh.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 282, as introduced, Wiener.
CalFresh.
Existing federal law provides for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known in California as CalFresh, formerly the Food Stamp Program, under which supplemental nutrition assistance benefits allocated to the state by the federal government are distributed to eligible individuals by each county. Existing state law authorizes a county to deliver CalFresh benefits through the use of an electronic benefits transfer (EBT) system. Existing federal law authorizes eligible counties to participate in the Restaurant Meals Program (RMP), which allows eligible recipients to purchase meals at qualified restaurants.
This bill, the Reducing Hunger Among Vulnerable Californians Act of 2017, would require the State Department of Social Services to issue an annual all-county letter providing guidance that lists which counties or regions
are eligible to participate in the Restaurant Meals Program and the instructions for how a county may choose to participate in RMP or appeal a noneligible determination by the department. The bill would also require the department to design the EBT system to, automatically and upon issuance of an EBT card, allow an eligible recipient of RMP to use his or her EBT card to purchase prepared meals at all participating restaurants.
Existing federal law limits a participant who is an able-bodied adult without dependents (ABAWD) to 3 months of CalFresh benefits in a 3-year period unless that participant has met specified work participation requirements. Existing law directs the State Department of Social Services to annually seek a federal waiver of this limitation, and provides that an eligible county is included in this waiver unless the county declines to participate in the waiver request.
Existing law authorizes counties to
participate in the CalFresh Employment and Training program (CalFresh E&T), established by federal law, and requires participating counties to demonstrate in its CalFresh E&T plan how it is effectively using CalFresh E&T funds for each of the specified components that the county offers, including work experience or training and job search.
This bill would include subsidized employment as a CalFresh E&T component that a county may offer, and would, to the extent permitted by federal law, require the State Department of Social Services to seek a federal waiver that would allow 50% federal reimbursement for eligible CalFresh E&T activities to be used to provide a wage subsidy for ABAWD participants in counties that do not participate in the waiver of the ABAWD time limit. The bill would also require the department to include a provision in the request to allow participants in the subsidized employment program to remain eligible for CalFresh benefits
for up to 6 months following the date their first subsidized paycheck was issued.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Reducing Hunger Among Vulnerable Californians Act of 2017.SEC. 2.
Section 18919 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:18919.
(a) Notwithstanding the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), the department shall issue an annual all-county letter providing guidance that lists which counties or regions are eligible to participate in the Restaurant Meals Program (RMP) because they meet the requirements established in Section 4014 of the federal Agricultural Act of 2014 (Public Law 113-79). The department’s all-county letter shall include instructions for how a county may choose to participate in RMP or appeal a noneligible determination by the department.(b) The department shall design the electronic benefits transfer (EBT) system established pursuant
to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 10065) of Part 1 to, automatically and upon issuance of an EBT card, allow an eligible recipient of RMP to use his or her EBT card to purchase prepared meals at all participating restaurants.
(c) Except for direct farm purchasing programs or where otherwise not required at a certified farmer’s market, a restaurant shall not operate as a vendor in the program unless the restaurant permits customers to make in-store purchases, maintains a current public health license, and complies with all federal, state, and local health and safety laws, regulations, and ordinances. For the purpose of this section, “in-store purchase” means any purchase that is not delivered to the purchaser.
(d) To the extent permitted by federal law, nothing shall preclude a county that elects to participate in RMP from determining the number, type, and location of
restaurants the county may choose to include as vendors to align with county administrative capacity or other factors, including, but not limited to, location of participating restaurants and recipient demand.
SEC. 3.
Section 18926.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:18926.5.
(a) For the purposes of this chapter, “CalFresh Employment and Training program” or “CalFresh E&T” means the program established under Section 6(d)(4)(B) of the federal Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. Sec. 2015), Section 273.7 of Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations, and associated administrative notices published by the United States Department of Agriculture with the purpose of assisting members of CalFresh households in gaining skills, training, work, or experience that will increase their ability to obtain regular employment.(b) (1) A county that elects to participate in the CalFresh Employment and Training (CalFresh E&T) program, as authorized by the federal Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. Sec. 2015),
shall screen CalFresh work registrants to determine whether they will participate in, or be deferred from, CalFresh E&T. If deferred, a CalFresh work registrant may request to enroll in CalFresh E&T as a voluntary participant. An individual shall be deferred from a mandatory placement in CalFresh E&T if he or she satisfies any of the criteria in Sections 273.7 and 273.24 of Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations, if he or she resides in a federally determined work surplus area, if he or she is a veteran who has been honorably discharged from the United States Armed Forces, or if he or she is a victim of domestic violence.
(2) For purposes of this section, “deferred” has the same meaning as exempt.
(c) (1) A county participating in CalFresh E&T shall be required to demonstrate in its CalFresh E&T plan how it is effectively using
CalFresh E&T funds for each of the components that the county offers, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
(A) Self-initiated workfare.
(B) Work experience or training.
(C) Education.
(D) Job search.
(E) The support services or client reimbursements needed to participate in subparagraphs (A) to (D), inclusive, as allowed by federal law and guidance.
(F) Subsidized employment, as set forth in subdivision (d).
(2) Nothing in this section
shall be construed to require a county to offer a particular component as a part of its CalFresh E&T plan.
(d) To the extent permitted by federal law, the department shall seek a federal waiver that would allow 50-percent federal reimbursement for eligible CalFresh E&T activities to be used to provide a wage subsidy for able-bodied adult without dependents (ABAWD) participants in counties that do not participate in the waiver of the ABAWD time limit pursuant to Section 18926. The department shall include a provision in the request to allow CalFresh E&T participants in the subsidized employment program established pursuant to this subdivision to remain eligible for CalFresh benefits for up to six months following the date their first subsidized paycheck was issued, even if their income or assets otherwise exceed CalFresh eligibility limits during the
six-month period.
(d)
(e) Nothing in this section shall limit a county’s ability to condition the receipt of nonmedical benefits under Section 17000 on an individual’s participation in an employment and training or workfare program of the county’s choice, even if that program is financed in whole or in part with CalFresh E&T funds or match funds.
(e)
(f) Nothing in this section shall restrict the use of federal funds for the financing of CalFresh E&T programs.
(f)
(g) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require a county to provide for workers’ compensation coverage for a CalFresh E&T participant. Notwithstanding Division 4 (commencing with Section 3200) of the Labor Code, a CalFresh E&T participant shall not be an employee for the purposes of workers’ compensation coverage, and a county shall have no duty to provide workers’ compensation coverage for a CalFresh E&T participant.
(g)
(h) Notwithstanding the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), the department may implement this section by all-county letters or similar instructions. Thereafter, the department shall adopt regulations to implement this section by October 1, 2013.
