BILL NUMBER: AB 69INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Beall DECEMBER 15, 2010 An act to add Section 18924 to the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to public social services. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 69, as introduced, Beall. Senior nutrition benefits. Existing federal law provides for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known in California as CalFresh (formerly the Food Stamp program), under which nutrition assistance benefits formerly referred to as food stamps, allocated to the state by the federal government, are distributed to eligible individuals by each county. Under existing law, the State Department of Social Services administers CalFresh at the state level, and has certain specified duties in that regard. This bill would require the State Department of Social Services to seek a federal waiver, demonstration project, or other authority to establish a pilot project in 2 areas of the state identified by the department utilizing existing information maintained by the Social Security Administration regarding low-income social security benefit recipients, and to more easily enroll eligible recipients into the CalFresh program. The bill would specify the department's duties in connection with establishment of the pilot project. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) Good nutrition is important for all Californians, especially for seniors, who may suffer from diet-related diseases, may require food with medication, or who are trying to maintain independence. (b) The University of California at Los Angeles estimates that approximately half a million older Californians living alone are unable to make ends meet. (c) Seniors on a fixed income find it difficult to afford nutritious food. (d) The federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), administered in California as CalFresh, should help many of these vulnerable seniors to meet their nutrition needs. However, only 10 percent of eligible seniors in California participate in the CalFresh program. (e) In California, only 5 percent of social security recipients eligible for CalFresh participate in the program. (f) The federal Social Security Administration has information that could help easily enroll eligible seniors for CalFresh benefits. A partnership between the state and the Social Security Administration to develop a more streamlined approach to enrolling this population is needed. (g) Many states have worked with the Social Security Administration to establish Combined Application Projects (CAPs) for other elderly populations, suggesting that similar action for social security recipients may be successful. (h) Enrolling more seniors into CalFresh not only draws more federal nutrition benefits to California, but also stimulates the economy. The United States Department of Agriculture estimates that every dollar in SNAP benefits generates $1.73 in economic activity. SEC. 2. Section 18924 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read: 18924. (a) The department shall seek a federal waiver, demonstration project, or other authority to establish a pilot project utilizing existing information that the Social Security Administration maintains regarding low-income social security benefit recipients, to more easily enroll eligible recipients into the CalFresh program administered pursuant to this chapter. (b) In establishing the pilot project described in subdivision (a), the department shall do all of the following: (1) Identify two areas of the state in which to operate the pilot project, in conjunction with local social security offices. (2) Work with the Social Security Administration to develop ways to target social security recipients eligible for CalFresh benefits. (3) Develop a streamlined application process for social security recipients eligible for CalFresh, which, to the extent feasible, shall be used to automatically or more easily enroll recipients of social security, 65 years of age and older, whose incomes qualify them for aid through the CalFresh program. (4) Consider for implementation as a component of the pilot project strategies used by other states to reduce paperwork and increase federal nutrition benefits, including, but not limited to, self-certification of key eligibility factors, standardization of benefits and deductions, and automation of the application process. (5) Consider other strategies to increase CalFresh participation among existing eligible seniors.