BILL NUMBER: AB 1452 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Stone
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Atkins)
JANUARY 8, 2014
An act to amend Sections 11450 and 11453 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code, relating to public social services.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1452, as introduced, Stone. CalWORKs: temporary homeless
assistance.
(1) 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 under which, through a combination of state and county funds
and federal funds received through the TANF program, each county
provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income
families. Existing law establishes maximum aid grant amounts to be
provided under the CalWORKs program, and generally prohibits
cost-of-living adjustments to those maximum aid grant amounts.
Under existing law, after a family has used all available liquid
resources in excess of $100, the family is entitled to receive an
allowance for nonrecurring special needs, including homeless
assistance in an amount of $65 per day for families of up to 4
members.
This bill would increase the amount of homeless assistance to $75
per day for families of up to 4 members, and would require that this
amount be adjusted annually to reflect any increases or decreases in
the cost of living. By increasing the amount of cash aid provided by
counties, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2) Existing law continually appropriates money from the General
Fund to pay for a share of aid grant costs under the CalWORKs
program.
This bill would declare that no appropriation would be made for
purposes of the bill pursuant to the provision continuously
appropriating funds for the CalWORKs program.
(3) 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. Section 11450 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, as
amended by Section 37 of Chapter 21 of the Statutes of 2013, is
amended to read:
11450. (a) (1) Aid shall be paid for each needy family, which
shall include all eligible brothers and sisters of each eligible
applicant or recipient child and the parents of the children, but
shall not include unborn children, or recipients of aid under Chapter
3 (commencing with Section 12000), qualified for aid under this
chapter. In determining the amount of aid paid, and notwithstanding
the minimum basic standards of adequate care specified in Section
11452, the family's income, exclusive of any amounts considered
exempt as income or paid pursuant to subdivision (e) or Section
11453.1, determined for the prospective semiannual period pursuant to
Sections 11265.1, 11265.2, and 11265.3, and then calculated pursuant
to Section 11451.5, shall be deducted from the sum specified in the
following table, as adjusted for cost-of-living increases pursuant to
Section 11453 and paragraph (2). In no case shall the amount of aid
paid for each month exceed the sum specified in the following table,
as adjusted for cost-of-living increases pursuant to Section 11453
and paragraph (2), plus any special needs, as specified in
subdivisions (c), (e), and (f):
Number
of
eligible
needy
persons
in Maximum
the same home aid
1.............................. $ 326
2.............................. 535
3.............................. 663
4.............................. 788
5.............................. 899
6.............................. 1,010
7.............................. 1,109
8.............................. 1,209
9.............................. 1,306
10 or more...................... 1,403
If, when, and during those times that the United States government
increases or decreases its contributions in assistance of needy
children in this state above or below the amount paid on July 1,
1972, the amounts specified in the above table shall be increased or
decreased by an amount equal to that increase or decrease by the
United States government, provided that no increase or decrease shall
be subject to subsequent adjustment pursuant to Section 11453.
(2) The sums specified in paragraph (1) shall not be adjusted for
cost of living for the 1990-91, 1991-92, 1992-93, 1993-94, 1994-95,
1995-96, 1996-97, and 1997-98 fiscal years, and through October 31,
1998, nor shall that amount be included in the base for calculating
any cost-of-living increases for any fiscal year thereafter.
Elimination of the cost-of-living adjustment pursuant to this
paragraph shall satisfy the requirements of former Section
11453.05, and no further reduction shall be made pursuant to that
section.
(b) (1) When the family does not include a needy child qualified
for aid under this chapter, aid shall be paid to a pregnant mother
who is 18 years of age or younger at any time after verification of
pregnancy, in the amount that would otherwise be paid to one person,
as specified in subdivision (a), if the mother, and child, if born,
would have qualified for aid under this chapter. Verification of
pregnancy shall be required as a condition of eligibility for aid
under this subdivision.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), when the family does not
include a needy child qualified for aid under this chapter, aid shall
be paid to a pregnant mother for the month in which the birth is
anticipated and for the three-month period immediately prior to the
month in which the birth is anticipated in the amount that would
otherwise be paid to one person, as specified in subdivision (a), if
the mother and child, if born, would have qualified for aid under
this chapter. Verification of pregnancy shall be required as a
condition of eligibility for aid under this subdivision.
(3) Paragraph (1) shall apply only when the Cal-Learn Program is
operative.
(c) The amount of forty-seven dollars ($47) per month shall be
paid to pregnant mothers qualified for aid under subdivision (a) or
(b) to meet special needs resulting from pregnancy if the mother, and
child, if born, would have qualified for aid under this chapter.
County welfare departments shall refer all recipients of aid under
this subdivision to a local provider of the Women, Infants and
Children program. If that payment to pregnant mothers qualified for
aid under subdivision (a) is considered income under federal law in
the first five months of pregnancy, payments under this subdivision
shall not apply to persons eligible under subdivision (a), except for
the month in which birth is anticipated and for the three-month
period immediately prior to the month in which delivery is
anticipated, if the mother, and the child, if born, would have
qualified for aid under this chapter.
(d) For children receiving AFDC-FC under this chapter, there shall
be paid, exclusive of any amount considered exempt as income, an
amount of aid each month which, when added to the child's income, is
equal to the rate specified in Section 11460, 11461, 11462, 11462.1,
or 11463. In addition, the child shall be eligible for special needs,
as specified in departmental regulations.
(e) In addition to the amounts payable under subdivision (a) and
Section 11453.1, a family shall be entitled to receive an allowance
for recurring special needs not common to a majority of recipients.
These recurring special needs shall include, but not be limited to,
special diets upon the recommendation of a physician for
circumstances other than pregnancy, and unusual costs of
transportation, laundry, housekeeping services, telephone, and
utilities. The recurring special needs allowance for each family per
month shall not exceed that amount resulting from multiplying the sum
of ten dollars ($10) by the number of recipients in the family who
are eligible for assistance.
(f) After a family has used all available liquid resources, both
exempt and nonexempt, in excess of one hundred dollars ($100), with
the exception of funds deposited in a restricted account described in
subdivision (a) of Section 11155.2, the family shall also be
entitled to receive an allowance for nonrecurring special needs.
(1) An allowance for nonrecurring special needs shall be granted
for replacement of clothing and household equipment and for emergency
housing needs other than those needs addressed by paragraph (2).
These needs shall be caused by sudden and unusual circumstances
beyond the control of the needy family. The department shall
establish the allowance for each of the nonrecurring special need
items. The sum of all nonrecurring special needs provided by this
subdivision shall not exceed six hundred dollars ($600) per event.
(2) Homeless assistance is available to a homeless family seeking
shelter when the family is eligible for aid under this chapter.
Homeless assistance for temporary shelter is also available to
homeless families which are apparently eligible for aid under this
chapter. Apparent eligibility exists when evidence presented by the
applicant, or which is otherwise available to the county welfare
department, and the information provided on the application documents
indicate that there would be eligibility for aid under this chapter
if the evidence and information were verified. However, an alien
applicant who does not provide verification of his or her eligible
alien status, or a woman with no eligible children who does not
provide medical verification of pregnancy, is not apparently eligible
for purposes of this section.
A family is considered homeless, for the purpose of this section,
when the family lacks a fixed and regular nighttime residence; or the
family has a primary nighttime residence that is a supervised
publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary
living accommodations; or the family is residing in a public or
private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular
sleeping accommodation for human beings. A family is also considered
homeless for the purpose of this section if the family has received a
notice to pay rent or quit. The family shall demonstrate that the
eviction is the result of a verified financial hardship as a result
of extraordinary circumstances beyond their control, and not other
lease or rental violations, and that the family is experiencing a
financial crisis that could result in homelessness if preventative
assistance is not provided.
(A) (i) A nonrecurring special need of sixty-five dollars
($65) a seventy-five dollars ($75) per day
shall be available to families of up to four members for the costs of
temporary shelter, subject to the requirements of this paragraph.
The fifth and additional members of the family shall each receive
fifteen dollars ($15) per day, up to a daily maximum of one hundred
twenty-five dollars ($125). County welfare departments may increase
the daily amount available for temporary shelter as necessary to
secure the additional bedspace needed by the family.
(ii) This special need shall be granted or denied immediately upon
the family's application for homeless assistance, and benefits shall
be available for up to three working days. The county welfare
department shall verify the family's homelessness within the first
three working days and if the family meets the criteria of
questionable homelessness established by the department, the county
welfare department shall refer the family to its early fraud
prevention and detection unit, if the county has such a unit, for
assistance in the verification of homelessness within this period.
(iii) After homelessness has been verified, the three-day limit
shall be extended for a period of time which, when added to the
initial benefits provided, does not exceed a total of 16 calendar
days. This extension of benefits shall be done in increments of one
week and shall be based upon searching for permanent housing which
shall be documented on a housing search form; good cause; or other
circumstances defined by the department. Documentation of a housing
search shall be required for the initial extension of benefits beyond
the three-day limit and on a weekly basis thereafter as long as the
family is receiving temporary shelter benefits. Good cause shall
include, but is not limited to, situations in which the county
welfare department has determined that the family, to the extent it
is capable, has made a good faith but unsuccessful effort to secure
permanent housing while receiving temporary shelter benefits.
(B) A nonrecurring special need for permanent housing assistance
is available to pay for last month's rent and security deposits when
these payments are reasonable conditions of securing a residence, or
to pay for up to two months of rent arrearages, when these payments
are a reasonable condition of preventing eviction.
The last month's rent or monthly arrearage portion of the payment
(i) shall not exceed 80 percent of the family's total monthly
household income without the value of CalFresh benefits or special
needs for a family of that size and (ii) shall only be made to
families that have found permanent housing costing no more than 80
percent of the family's total monthly household income without the
value of CalFresh benefits or special needs for a family of that
size.
However, if the county welfare department determines that a family
intends to reside with individuals who will be sharing housing
costs, the county welfare department shall, in appropriate
circumstances, set aside the condition specified in clause (ii) of
the preceding paragraph.
(C) The nonrecurring special need for permanent housing assistance
is also available to cover the standard costs of deposits for
utilities which are necessary for the health and safety of the
family.
(D) A payment for or denial of permanent housing assistance shall
be issued no later than one working day from the time that a family
presents evidence of the availability of permanent housing. If an
applicant family provides evidence of the availability of permanent
housing before the county welfare department has established
eligibility for aid under this chapter, the county welfare department
shall complete the eligibility determination so that the denial of
or payment for permanent housing assistance is issued within one
working day from the submission of evidence of the availability of
permanent housing, unless the family has failed to provide all of the
verification necessary to establish eligibility for aid under this
chapter.
(E) (i) Except as provided in clauses (ii) and (iii), eligibility
for the temporary shelter assistance and the permanent housing
assistance pursuant to this paragraph shall be limited to one period
of up to 16 consecutive calendar days of temporary assistance and one
payment of permanent assistance. Any family that includes a parent
or nonparent caretaker relative living in the home who has previously
received temporary or permanent homeless assistance at any time on
behalf of an eligible child shall not be eligible for further
homeless assistance. Any person who applies for homeless assistance
benefits shall be informed that the temporary shelter benefit of up
to 16 consecutive days is available only once in a lifetime, with
certain exceptions, and that a break in the consecutive use of the
benefit constitutes permanent exhaustion of the temporary benefit.
(ii) A family that becomes homeless as a direct and primary result
of a state or federally declared natural disaster shall be eligible
for temporary and permanent homeless assistance.
(iii) A family shall be eligible for temporary and permanent
homeless assistance when homelessness is a direct result of domestic
violence by a spouse, partner, or roommate; physical or mental
illness that is medically verified that shall not include a diagnosis
of alcoholism, drug addiction, or psychological stress; or, the
uninhabitability of the former residence caused by sudden and unusual
circumstances beyond the control of the family including natural
catastrophe, fire, or condemnation. These circumstances shall be
verified by a third-party governmental or private health and human
services agency, except that domestic violence may also be verified
by a sworn statement by the victim, as provided under Section
11495.25. Homeless assistance payments based on these specific
circumstances may not be received more often than once in any
12-month period. In addition, if the domestic violence is verified by
a sworn statement by the victim, the homeless assistance payments
shall be limited to two periods of not more than 16 consecutive
calendar days of temporary assistance and two payments of permanent
assistance. A county may require that a recipient of homeless
assistance benefits who qualifies under this paragraph for a second
time in a 24-month period participate in a homelessness avoidance
case plan as a condition of eligibility for homeless assistance
benefits. The county welfare department shall immediately inform
recipients who verify domestic violence by a sworn statement pursuant
to clause (iii) of the availability of domestic violence counseling
and services, and refer those recipients to services upon request.
(iv) If a county requires a recipient who verifies domestic
violence by a sworn statement to participate in a homelessness
avoidance case plan pursuant to clause (iii), the plan shall include
the provision of domestic violence services, if appropriate.
(v) If a recipient seeking homeless assistance based on domestic
violence pursuant to clause (iii) has previously received homeless
avoidance services based on domestic violence, the county shall
review whether services were offered to the recipient and consider
what additional services would assist the recipient in leaving the
domestic violence situation.
(vi) The county welfare department shall report to the department
through a statewide homeless assistance payment indicator system,
necessary data, as requested by the department, regarding all
recipients of aid under this paragraph.
(F) The county welfare departments, and all other entities
participating in the costs of the CalWORKs program, have the right in
their share to any refunds resulting from payment of the permanent
housing. However, if an emergency requires the family to move within
the 12-month period specified in subparagraph (E), the family shall
be allowed to use any refunds received from its deposits to meet the
costs of moving to another residence.
(G) Payments to providers for temporary shelter and permanent
housing and utilities shall be made on behalf of families requesting
these payments.
(H) The daily amount for the temporary shelter special need for
homeless assistance may be increased if authorized by the current
year's Budget Act by specifying a different daily allowance and
appropriating the funds therefor.
(I) No payment shall be made pursuant to this paragraph unless the
provider of housing is a commercial establishment, shelter, or
person in the business of renting properties who has a history of
renting properties.
(g) The department shall establish rules and regulations ensuring
the uniform application statewide of this section.
(h) The department shall notify all applicants and recipients of
aid through the standardized application form that these benefits are
available and shall provide an opportunity for recipients to apply
for the funds quickly and efficiently.
(i) Except for the purposes of Section 15200, the amounts payable
to recipients pursuant to Section 11453.1 shall not constitute part
of the payment schedule set forth in subdivision (a).
The amounts payable to recipients pursuant to Section 11453.1
shall not constitute income to recipients of aid under this section.
(j) For children receiving Kin-GAP pursuant to Article 4.5
(commencing with Section 11360) or Article 4.7 (commencing with
Section 11385) there shall be paid, exclusive of any amount
considered exempt as income, an amount of aid each month, which, when
added to the child's income, is equal to the rate specified in
Sections 11364 and 11387.
(k) (1) This section shall become operative on April 1, 2013. A
county shall implement the semiannual reporting requirements in
accordance with the act that added this section no later than October
1, 2013.
(2) Upon implementation described in paragraph (1), each county
shall provide a certificate to the director certifying that
semiannual reporting has been implemented in the county.
(3) Upon filing the certificate described in paragraph (2), a
county shall comply with the semiannual reporting provisions of this
section.
SEC. 2. Section 11453 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
11453. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (c), the amounts set
forth in Section 11452 and subdivision (a) and clause (i) of
subparagraph (A) of paragrap h (2) of subdivision (f)
of Section 11450 shall be adjusted annually by the department
to reflect any increases or decreases in the cost of living. These
adjustments shall become effective July 1 of each year, unless
otherwise specified by the Legislature. For the 2000-01 fiscal year
to the 2003-04 fiscal year, inclusive, these adjustments shall become
effective October 1 of each year. The cost-of-living adjustment
shall be calculated by the Department of Finance based on the changes
in the California Necessities Index, which as used in this section
means the weighted average changes for food, clothing, fuel,
utilities, rent, and transportation for low-income consumers. The
computation of annual adjustments in the California Necessities Index
shall be made in accordance with the following steps:
(1) The base period expenditure amounts for each expenditure
category within the California Necessities Index used to compute the
annual grant adjustment are:
Food............................... $ 3,027
Clothing (apparel and upkeep)...... 406
Fuel and other utilities........... 529
Rent, residential.................. 4,883
Transportation..................... 1,757
Total............................ $10,602
(2) Based on the appropriate components of the Consumer Price
Index for All Urban Consumers, as published by the United States
Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, the percentage
change shall be determined for the 12-month period ending with the
December preceding the year for which the cost-of-living adjustment
will take effect, for each expenditure category specified in
subdivision (a) within the following geographical areas: Los
Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, San Francisco-Oakland, San Diego, and, to
the extent statistically valid information is available from the
Bureau of Labor Statistics, additional geographical areas within the
state which include not less than 80 percent of recipients of aid
under this chapter.
(3) Calculate a weighted percentage change for each of the
expenditure categories specified in subdivision (a) using the
applicable weighting factors for each area used by the State
Department of Industrial Relations to calculate the California
Consumer Price Index (CCPI).
(4) Calculate a category adjustment factor for each expenditure
category in subdivision (a) by (1) adding 100 to the applicable
weighted percentage change as determined in paragraph (2) and (2)
dividing the sum by 100.
(5) Determine the expenditure amounts for the current year by
multiplying each expenditure amount determined for the prior year by
the applicable category adjustment factor determined in paragraph
(4).
(6) Determine the overall adjustment factor by dividing (1) the
sum of the expenditure amounts as determined in paragraph (4) for the
current year by (2) the sum of the expenditure amounts as determined
in subdivision (d) for the prior year.
(b) The overall adjustment factor determined by the preceding
computation steps shall be multiplied by the schedules established
pursuant to Section 11452 and subdivision (a) of Section 11450 as are
in effect during the month of June preceding the fiscal year in
which the adjustments are to occur and the product rounded to the
nearest dollar. The resultant amounts shall constitute the new
schedules which shall be filed with the Secretary of State.
(c) (1) No adjustment to the maximum aid payment set forth in
subdivision (a) of Section 11450 shall be made under this section for
the purpose of increasing the benefits under this chapter for the
1990-91, 1991-92, 1992-93, 1993-94, 1994-95, 1995-96, 1996-97, and
1997-98 fiscal years, and through October 31, 1998, to reflect any
change in the cost of living. For the 1998-99 fiscal year, the
cost-of-living adjustment that would have been provided on July 1,
1998, pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be made on November 1, 1998.
No adjustment to the maximum aid payment set forth in subdivision (a)
of Section 11450 shall be made under this section for the purpose of
increasing the benefits under this chapter for the 2005-06 and
2006-07 fiscal years to reflect any change in the cost of living.
Elimination of the cost-of-living adjustment pursuant to this
paragraph shall satisfy the requirements of former Section
11453.05, and no further reduction shall be made pursuant to that
section.
(2) No adjustment to the minimum basic standard of adequate care
set forth in Section 11452 shall be made under this section for the
purpose of increasing the benefits under this chapter for the 1990-91
and 1991-92 fiscal years to reflect any change in the cost of
living.
(3) In any fiscal year commencing with the 2000-01 fiscal year to
the 2003-04 fiscal year, inclusive, when there is any increase in tax
relief pursuant to the applicable paragraph of subdivision (a) of
Section 10754 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, then the increase
pursuant to subdivision (a) of this section shall occur. In any
fiscal year commencing with the 2000-01 fiscal year to the 2003-04
fiscal year, inclusive, when there is no increase in tax relief
pursuant to the applicable paragraph of subdivision (a) of Section
10754 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, then any increase pursuant to
subdivision (a) of this section shall be suspended.
(4) Notwithstanding paragraph (3), an adjustment to the maximum
aid payments set forth in subdivision (a) of Section 11450 shall be
made under this section for the 2002-03 fiscal year, but the
adjustment shall become effective June 1, 2003.
(5) No adjustment to the maximum aid payment set forth in
subdivision (a) of Section 11450 shall be made under this section for
the purpose of increasing benefits under this chapter for the
2007-08, 2008-09, and 2009-10 fiscal years.
(6) For the 2010-11 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter,
no adjustment to the maximum aid payment set forth in subdivision (a)
of Section 11450 shall be made under this section unless otherwise
specified by statute.
(d) Adjustments for subsequent fiscal years pursuant to this
section shall not include any adjustments for any fiscal year in
which the cost of living was suspended pursuant to subdivision (c).
SEC. 3. No appropriation shall be made pursuant to Section 15200
of the Welfare and Institutions Code for purposes of this act.
SEC. 4. 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.