Bill Text: CA AB1790 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 1790 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: CalWORKs: welfare-to-work.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Failed) 2016-11-30 - From committee without further action. [AB1790 Detail]

Download: California-2015-AB1790-Amended.html

BILL NUMBER: AB 1790	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 20, 2016
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 6, 2016

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Weber

                        FEBRUARY 4, 2016

   An act to add Section 11322.81 to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, relating to CalWORKs.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1790, as amended, Weber. CalWORKs: welfare-to-work.
   Existing law establishes the California Work Opportunity and
Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, under which each county
provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income
families using federal, state, and county funds. Existing law
requires a recipient of CalWORKs to participate in welfare-to-work
activities as a condition of eligibility. Existing law limits the
time period in which a participant may engage in certain
state-authorized work activities, in satisfaction of welfare-to-work
requirements, to 24 cumulative months during a participant's
lifetime, and requires the participant to engage in federally defined
work activities after that period expires. Existing law requires
that necessary supportive services be available to every participant
in order to participate in the program activity to which he or she is
assigned.
   This bill would require  an adult   the
county to deem a  recipient  who   to be in
compliance with CalWORKs' welfare-to-work requirements if the
recipient reports and the county verifies, or the county otherwise
discovers, that the recipient  meets the federally required
minimum average number  or   of  hours per
week of welfare-to-work  participation to be deemed to be in
compliance with CalWORKs' welfare-to-work hours requirements,
  participation,  as specified. The bill would
require the county to arrange for the provision of necessary
supportive services for these recipients, thereby imposing a
state-mandated local program. The bill would exempt these adults from
sanctions for failure or refusal to comply with welfare-to-work
program requirements. The bill would direct the department to issue
an all-county letter or similar instruction on or before January 1,
2018.
   Existing law continuously appropriates moneys from the General
Fund to defray a portion of county costs under the CalWORKs program.
   This bill would instead provide that the continuous appropriation
would not be made for purposes of implementing the bill.
   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 11322.81 is added to the Welfare and
Institutions Code, to read:
   11322.81.  (a) Notwithstanding any other law,  if  an
adult recipient  who meets   reports and the
county verifies, or the county otherwise discovers, that the
recipient is meeting  the federally required minimum average
number of hours per week of welfare-to-work participation as set
forth in Section 607 of Title 42 of the United States  Code
  Code, that recipient  shall be deemed to be in
compliance with Section 11322.8.
   (b) Necessary supportive services shall be provided to recipients
described in this section in accordance with Sections 11323.2 and
11323.4.
   (c) Recipients described in this section shall not be subject to
sanctions for failure or refusal to comply with program requirements
under Section 11327.4.
   (d) This section does not entitle a person to a corrective payment
issued pursuant to subdivision (k) of Section 11004 for any month
before January 1, 2017.
  SEC. 2.  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 State Department of Social Services shall implement this act
through an all-county letter or similar instruction from the
director. The all-county letter or similar instruction shall be
issued no later than January 1, 2018.
  SEC. 3.  No appropriation pursuant to Section 15200 of the Welfare
and Institutions Code shall be made for purposes of implementing 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.