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AB-1004 CalWORKs eligibility: income exemption: census.(2021-2022)

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Date Published: 07/16/2021 09:00 PM
AB1004:v96#DOCUMENT

Assembly Bill No. 1004
CHAPTER 99

An act to amend Section 11157 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to CalWORKs, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

[ Approved by Governor  July 16, 2021. Filed with Secretary of State  July 16, 2021. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1004, Calderon. CalWORKs eligibility: income exemption: census.
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.
Under existing law, any income or stipend paid by the United States Census Bureau, a governmental entity, or a nonprofit organization for temporary work related to improving participation in the decennial census that is earned during the year preceding a decennial census and during the year of the decennial census is exempt from consideration as income for purposes of determining eligibility and aid amount.
This bill would delete the conditions that the income or stipend be related to participation improvement and be earned during those years. The bill would instead exempt the income or stipend if the temporary work is related to the decennial census and would make this provision retroactive and applicable to income or a stipend paid by any of the above entities for temporary work related to the most recent decennial census. By expanding the scope of CalWORKs eligibility, and thereby increasing the duties of counties administering the CalWORKs program, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The bill would authorize the State Department of Social Services to implement, interpret, or make specific these provisions through all-county letters or similar instructions from the department until regulations are adopted, as specified.
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 above provisions.
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 the statutory provisions noted above.
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: YES  

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 11157 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, as amended by Chapter 5 of the Statutes of 2021, is amended to read:

11157.
 (a) Notwithstanding Section 11008, all lump-sum income received by an applicant or recipient shall be regarded as income in the month received, except nonrecurring lump-sum social insurance payments, which shall include social security income, railroad retirement benefits, veteran’s benefits, workers’ compensation, and disability insurance.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in this part, for purposes of this chapter and Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11200), “income” shall be deemed to be the same as applied under the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program on August 21, 1996, except that the following are exempt from consideration as income:
(1) Income that is received too infrequently to be reasonably anticipated, as exempted in federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) regulations.
(2) Income from a college work-study program under Title IV of the federal Higher Education Act or Article 18 (commencing with Section 69950) of Chapter 2 of Part 42 of Division 5 of Title 3 of the Education Code or college work-study program, as established in the annual Budget Act, for individuals receiving aid under Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11200).
(3) (A) Except as provided for in subparagraph (B), an award or scholarship provided by a public or private entity to or on behalf of a dependent child based on the child’s academic or extracurricular achievement or participation in a scholastic, educational, or extracurricular competition.
(B) For purposes of Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11200), an award or scholarship provided by a public or private entity to or on behalf of a dependent child.
(c) (1) For purposes of Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11200), any income or stipend paid by the United States Census Bureau, a governmental entity, or a nonprofit organization for temporary work related to the decennial census shall not be considered income.
(2) Paragraph (1) shall be retroactive and shall apply to any income or stipend paid by the United States Census Bureau, a governmental entity, or a nonprofit organization for temporary work related to the most recent decennial census.
(3) 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, interpret, or make specific this subdivision by means of all-county letters or similar instructions from the department until regulations are adopted. These all-county letters or similar written instructions shall have the same force and effect as regulations until the adoption of regulations.
(d) (1) Any federal pandemic unemployment compensation, as described under Subchapter 2 (commencing with Section 9021) of Chapter 116 of Title 15 of the United States Code, is exempt from consideration as income and resources for the purposes of determining initial and continued eligibility and grant amount for the CalWORKs program.
(2) The exemption described under paragraph (1) shall remain in effect so long as federal pandemic unemployment compensation is exempt as income for purposes of establishing eligibility for the CalFresh program (Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 18900) of Part 6), pursuant to the federal Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 or any other law.

SEC. 2.

 No appropriation pursuant to Section 15200 of the Welfare and Institutions Code shall be made for purposes of implementing this act.

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.

SEC. 4.

 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 California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to ensure that the exemptions described in this act are in effect for qualified workers temporarily employed for postenumeration survey operations related to the 2020 Census, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.