Bill Text: CA SB999 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended

California Senate Bill 999 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: CalFresh: student eligibility.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-05-23 - Held in committee and under submission. [SB999 Detail]

Download: California-2013-SB999-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 999	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 7, 2014
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MARCH 24, 2014

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Liu

                        FEBRUARY 13, 2014

   An act to add Article 7 (commencing with Section 79220) to Chapter
9 of Part 48 of Division 7 of Title 3 of the Education Code, and to
amend Section 18926.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating
to social services.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 999, as amended, Liu. CalFresh: student eligibility.
   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. Under
existing law, households are eligible to receive CalFresh benefits to
the extent permitted by federal law. Existing federal law provides
that a student who is enrolled at least half-time in an institution
of higher learning is not eligible to receive supplemental nutrition
assistance benefits, unless he or she meets one of several specified
exemptions.
   This bill would require the Office of the Chancellor of the
California Community Colleges and the Department of Social Services
 , to examine and interpret those exemptions and establish
clear and detailed guidelines identifying the categories of students
that may qualify for an exemption and the programs in which
enrollment may qualify a student for an exemption.  The bill
would state the Legislature's recommendation that the office of the
Chancellor of the California State University and the Office of the
President of the University of California, in conjunction with the
department, similarly examine and interpret those exemptions and
establish guidelines.  The bill would also require a community
college to provide documentation, as specified, to  a student
who is enrolled in a program potentially qualifying him or her for
  each student identified as qualifying   for
 an exemption. By imposing additional duties on community
colleges, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
   Existing law authorizes counties to participate in the CalFresh
Employment and Training  Program   program 
(CalFresh E&T), established by federal law 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. Existing law requires participating counties to
screen CalFresh work registrants to determine whether the registrants
will participate in, or be deferred from, the CalFresh E&T program.
Existing law requires a county that elects to participate in CalFresh
E&T to demonstrate how it is successfully using CalFresh E&T funds
for each component that it offers, which may include, among others,
work experience and training.
   This bill would authorize a county that elects to participate in
the CalFresh E&T program to enter into an agreement with a community
college or a California State University to establish 
subsidized employment opportunities   an employment and
training program  , financed using federal funds  or
federally matched funds  , for students attending those
postsecondary institutions  who are required to participate
in, or who have elected to voluntarily participate in, the CalFresh
E&T program   , if the agreement is approved by the
United States Departme   nt of Agriculture as part of the
CalFresh E   &   T program plan. The bill would
similarly authorize the Office of the Chancellor of the California
Community Colleges and the department to enter into an agreement with
a community college for those purposes  .
   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.  Article 7 (commencing with Section 79220) is added to
Chapter 9 of Part 48 of Division 7 of Title 3 of the Education Code,
to read:

      Article 7.  Student Eligibility for CalFresh


   79220.  The Office of the Chancellor of the California Community
Colleges and the Department of Social Services shall examine and
interpret the exemptions to the prohibition on student eligibility
for CalFresh benefits, identified in Section 2015(e) of Title 7 of
the United States Code and Section 273.5(b) of Title 7 of the Code of
Federal Regulations, and shall establish clear and detailed
guidelines identifying the categories of students that may qualify
for an exemption and the programs in which enrollment may qualify a
student for an exemption.  The Legislature recommends that the
Office of the Chancellor of the California State University and the
Office of the President of the University of California, in
conjunction with the Department of Social   Services, also
examine and interpret the exemptions identified in this section and
establish clear and detailed guidelines identifying the categories of
students that may qualify for an exemption and the programs in which
enrollment may qualify a student for an exemption. 
   79230.  A community college shall provide documentation to each
student  who is enrolled in a program that has been 
identified pursuant to Section 79220 as  a program
potentially  qualifying  him or her  for an
exemption to the prohibition on student eligibility for CalFresh
benefits, identified in Section 2015(e) of Title 7 of the United
States Code and Section 273.5(b) of Title 7 of the Code of Federal
Regulations, at the time that the student develops an education plan,
as required by Section 78215, and at any other time a student
requests that documentation.  To the degree possible, waiver
eligibility verification shall be satisfied by documentation already
provided to the students enrolled in school. 
  SEC. 2.  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, the CalFresh E&T program. If
deferred, a CalFresh work registrant may request to enroll in the
CalFresh E&T program as a voluntary participant. An individual shall
be deferred from a mandatory placement in the CalFresh E&T program 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, or if he or she is a
veteran who has been honorably discharged from the United States
Armed Forces.
   (2) For purposes of this section, "deferred" has the same meaning
as exempt.
   (c) (1) A county that elects to participate in the CalFresh E&T
program 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.
   (2) This section shall not be construed to require a county to
offer a particular component as a part of its CalFresh E&T plan.
   (d) This section does not 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) This section does not restrict the use of federal funds for
the financing of CalFresh E&T programs.
   (f)  (1)    A county that elects to participate
in the CalFresh E&T program may enter into an agreement with a
community college or a California State University in order to
establish  subsidized employment opportunities  
an employment and training program  , financed using federal
funds  or federally matched funds  , for students attending
those postsecondary institutions  who are required to
participate in, or who have elected to voluntarily participate in
 ,  if the agreement is approved by the United States
Department of Agriculture as part of  the CalFresh E&T program
 plan  . 
   (2) If the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges
and the State Department of Social Services elect, they may enter
into an interagency agreement authorizing the board to enter into an
agreement with one or more community colleges to establish an
employment and training program financed, in part, with federally
matched funds to support increased education and employment
opportunities for low-income students who are CalFresh recipients, if
the agreement is approved by the United States Department of
Agriculture as part of the CalFresh E&T program plan. 
   (g) This section shall not 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.
   (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.
  SEC. 3.  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.