Bill Text

Bill Information


Add To My Favorites | print page

AB-4 CalWORKs: maximum aid amounts: cost-of-living adjustments.(2003-2004)

SHARE THIS: share this bill in Facebook share this bill in Twitter
AB4:v99#DOCUMENT


CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2003–2004 5th Ext.

Assembly Bill
No. 4

Introduced  by  Assembly Member Haynes

November 25, 2003

An act to amend Section 11453 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to public social services, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 4, as introduced, Haynes. CalWORKs: maximum aid amounts: cost-of-living adjustments.
Existing law provides for 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 and individuals who meet specified eligibility criteria. Existing law establishes the maximum aid amounts and minimum basic standards of adequate care to be provided pursuant to the CalWORKs program, and further provides, with certain exceptions, that these amounts shall be adjusted annually to reflect any increases or decreases in the cost of living. Under existing law, these adjustments become effective July 1 of each year, except that adjustments made for the 2000–01 through 2003–04 fiscal years, become effective on October 1.
Existing law provides, however, that in any fiscal year commencing with the 2001–02 fiscal year through the 2003–04 fiscal year, when there is an increase in tax relief in the vehicle license fee, then the cost-of-living increase in CalWORKs maximum aid payment levels shall occur, and, with respect to any of those fiscal years in which there is no vehicle license fee tax relief, any cost-of-living increase shall be suspended.
This bill would require all cost-of-living adjustments in maximum aid amounts and minimum basic standards of care to become effective on October 1 of each year.
This bill would limit to the 2001–02 and 2002–03 fiscal years, the provisions requiring the occurrence of the cost-of-living adjustments in CalWORKs maximum aid payment levels to be determined by vehicle license fee tax relief. The bill would further provide that no cost-of-living adjustment in maximum aid payments shall be made for the 2003–04 fiscal year.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Vote: 2/3   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 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) 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 October 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. Elimination of the cost-of-living adjustment pursuant to this paragraph shall satisfy the requirements of 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 2002–03 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 2002–03 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 payments set forth in subdivision (a) of Section 11450 shall be made pursuant to this section for the 2003–04 fiscal year.
(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. 2.

 This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to make the necessary statutory changes to implement budget reductions relating to public social services during the 2003–04 fiscal year, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.