Bill Text: CA AB868 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: State milkshake: date shakes.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-06-06 - In committee: Hearing postponed by committee. [AB868 Detail]
Download: California-2021-AB868-Amended.html
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Amended
IN
Senate
April 04, 2022 |
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Amended
IN
Senate
June 25, 2021 |
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Amended
IN
Assembly
May 24, 2021 |
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Amended
IN
Assembly
March 18, 2021 |
| Introduced by Assembly |
February 17, 2021 |
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
The California Emergency Services Act authorizes the Governor to declare a state of emergency when specified conditions of disaster or extreme peril to the safety of persons and property exist, and authorizes the Governor or the appropriate local government to exercise certain powers in response to that emergency.
This bill would require the State Department of Social Services to provide, to a person that applies for funeral expense assistance, for eligible funeral home contract costs, as defined, incurred by the person for a decedent who died due to COVID-19 on or after March 4, 2020, or who died as a result of an emergency that is the basis of a state of emergency declared by the Governor on or after January 1, 2022, as described. The bill would require a person seeking funeral expense assistance to contact a nonprofit organization selected
by the department to complete an application for such assistance. The bill would require a nonprofit organization selected by the department to conduct intake for funeral expense assistance, and to process applications, developed by the department, on a first-come-first-served basis. The bill would require the application to include specified information, including a certification that eligible funeral home contract costs have not been fully paid for by other public or private sources and that, for eligible funeral home contract costs related to COVID-19 or to a state of emergency also declared by the
federal government for which Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assistance is available, a certification that the applicant is ineligible for FEMA assistance due to immigration status. The bill would provide that any use, by an applicant, of false certification is punishable as a misdemeanor. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
This bill would require the department to review and approve completed applications by regions designated by the department and in the order the nonprofit organization assisted and completed the application for the person seeking funeral expense assistance. The bill would require the department to award, upon receipt of a completed application that
fulfills the bill’s requirements, $5,000 or the amount of the eligible funeral home contract costs for the decedent, whichever is less, for each decedent.
This bill would create the Emergency Funeral Expenses Fund for purposes of implementing the bill’s provisions. The bill would make moneys in the fund available only upon appropriation by the Legislature. The bill would also require the department to allocate moneys for each region designated by the department based on the percentage of low-income individuals in the region and to achieve equitable distribution of funds for underserved regions.
This bill would require the department to recapture an award of funds to cover funeral home contract costs that were improperly awarded to a person due to the person’s intentional or unintentional misrepresentation of information on their application
for funds. The bill would also require a person to pay an administrative fine of $100 if the person intentionally and materially misrepresents information on an application for funds pursuant to the bill’s provisions. The bill would require recaptured moneys and fines to be deposited into the Emergency Funeral Expenses Fund.
This bill would make the operation of these provisions subject to appropriation by the Legislature.
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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
