Bill Text: CA AB271 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: CalWORKs: eligibility.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 18-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2013-09-03 - From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on APPR. [AB271 Detail]

Download: California-2013-AB271-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 271	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  SEPTEMBER 3, 2013
	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 12, 2013
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 24, 2013
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 10, 2013

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Mitchell
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Ammiano, Blumenfield, Buchanan, 
Dickinson,  Garcia, Lowenthal, Pan, V. Manuel Pérez, 
and Skinner   Skinner,   and Yamada  )
   (Coauthors: Senators  Beall,  Evans, Hancock,  Hill,
  Leno,   Liu,  and Yee)

                        FEBRUARY 7, 2013

   An act to add Section 11270.5 to, and to repeal Section 11450.04
of, the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to CalWORKs.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 271, as amended, Mitchell. CalWORKs: eligibility.
   Existing federal law provides for allocation of federal funds
through the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
block grant program to eligible states. Existing law provides for the
California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs)
program for the allocation of federal funds received through the TANF
program, under which each county provides cash assistance and other
benefits to qualified low-income families. Under existing law, for
purposes of determining a family's maximum aid payment under the
CalWORKs program, the number of needy persons in the same family is
not increased for any child born into a family that has received aid
under the CalWORKs program continuously for the 10 months prior to
the birth of the child, with specified exceptions.
   This bill would repeal that exclusion for purposes of determining
the family's maximum aid payment and would expressly prohibit the
denial of aid or denial of an increase in the maximum aid payment if
a child on whose behalf aid, or an increase in aid, is being
requested was born into an applicant's or recipient's family while
the applicant's or recipient's family was receiving aid under the
CalWORKs program. The bill would specify that an applicant or
recipient is not entitled to an increased benefit payment for months
prior to January 1, 2014, as a result of the repeal of that exclusion
or the enactment of that express prohibition. The bill would also
prohibit the department from conditioning an applicant or recipient's
eligibility for aid on the applicant or recipient's disclosure of
specified information regarding rape, incest, or contraception, as
specified.  The bill would make related findings and
declarations. 
   Existing law continuously appropriates moneys from the General
Fund to defray a portion of county aid grant costs under the CalWORKs
program.
   This bill would declare that no appropriation would be made for
purposes of the bill.
   To the extent that this bill affects eligibility under the
CalWORKs program, the bill would create a state-mandated local
program.
   The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
   This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
   
  SECTION 1.    The Legislature finds and declares
that this act is necessary to protect the reproductive and privacy
rights of all applicants for, and recipients of, aid under the
California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids Act
(CalWORKs). 
   SECTION 1.    The Legislature finds and declares the
following:  
   (a) Scientific research has demonstrated that young children
living in deep poverty experience lifelong cognitive impairments
limiting their ability to be prepared for, and succeed in, school.
 
   (b) Academic research has documented an increase in missed days of
school and an increase in visits to hospital emergency rooms by
children who live in deep poverty.  
   (c) The Maximum Family Grant rule was adopted to limit the length
of time a family could receive basic needs assistance, and to limit
the amount of assistance a family could receive, through the Aid to
Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program before the
implementation of welfare reform. At the time the rule was adopted,
there was no limit on the length of time a family could receive aid,
no work requirements, and the benefits provided were approximately 80
percent of the federal poverty level.  
   (d) Since the implementation of the Maximum Family Grant rule,
AFDC has been replaced with the California Work Opportunity and
Responsibility to Kids Act (CalWORKs), which imposes lifetime limits
on aid and requires adult CalWORKs participants to meet work
requirements in order to receive a maximum benefit of approximately
40 percent of the federal poverty level.  
   (e) The Maximum Family Grant rule makes poor children poorer,
reducing the income of families with infants to below 30 percent of
the federal poverty level.  
   (f) This act is necessary to protect infants born to families
receiving CalWORKs from experiencing lifelong cognitive impairments
due to the toxic stress of deep poverty and to ready those children
for participation in California's public school system.  
   (g) This act is also necessary to protect the reproductive and
privacy rights of all applicants for, and recipients of, aid under
CalWORKs. 
  SEC. 2.  Section 11270.5 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, following Section 11270, to read:
   11270.5.  (a) An applicant for or recipient of aid under this
chapter shall not be required as a condition of eligibility to do any
of the following:
   (1) Divulge that any member of the assistance unit is a victim of
rape or incest.
   (2) Share confidential medical records related to any member of
the assistance unit's rape or incest.
   (3) Use contraception, choose a particular method of
contraception, or divulge the method of contraception any member of
the assistance unit uses.
   (b) An applicant for or recipient of aid under this chapter shall
not be denied aid, nor denied an increase in the maximum aid payment,
for a child born into the applicant's or recipient's family during a
period in which the applicant's or recipient's family was receiving
aid under this chapter.
   (c) An applicant for or recipient of aid under this chapter shall
not be entitled to an increased benefit payment for any month prior
to January 1, 2014, as a result of the repeal of former Section
11450.04 (as added by Section 1 of Chapter 196 of the Statutes of
1994) or the enactment of this section.
  SEC. 3.  Section 11450.04 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
  SEC. 4.  No appropriation pursuant to Section 15200 of the Welfare
and Institutions Code shall be made for the purposes of this act.
  SEC. 5.  If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.