BILL NUMBER: AB 808AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 11, 2011 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 30, 2011 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Skinner FEBRUARY 17, 2011 An act to amend Section 18901.6 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to public social services. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 808, as amended, Skinner. CalFresh: transitional benefits and recertification. Existing law requires each county to provide cash assistance and other social services to needy families through the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program using federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) block grant program, state, and county funds. Existing federal law provides for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known in California as CalFresh, formerly the Food Stamp Program, under which food stamps allocated to the state by the federal government are distributed to eligible individuals by each county. Existing law requires county welfare departments to provide transitional CalFresh benefits to households terminating their participation in the CalWORKs program, to the maximum extent allowable by federal law. This bill would require the county welfare department to provide each household receiving transitional CalFresh benefits with a notice for recertification to continue to receive regular CalFresh benefits, which would include an appointment date and time, as specified. By imposing additional duties on counties administering CalFresh, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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. Section 18901.6 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read: 18901.6. (a) To the maximum extent allowable by federal law, each county welfare department shall provide transitional CalFresh benefits to households terminating their participation in the CalWORKs program. (b) (1) The Legislature finds and declares that 40 percent of CalWORKs recipients who receive transitional CalFresh benefits under subdivision (a) reapply to receive regular CalFresh benefits. (2) The county welfare department shall provide each household receiving transitional CalFresh benefits under subdivision (a) with a notice for recertification to continue to receive regular CalFresh benefits , within the first 5 business days of the last month of eligibility for transitional CalFresh benefits . The recertification notice shall specify an appointment date and time, which shall be scheduled to occur during the last month of receipt of transitional benefits. To the extent permitted by federal law, the recertification process designed pursuant to this paragraph shall be designed so as not to require recipients of transitional CalWORKs benefits to take time off from work or travel to the county welfare office, in order to maximize participation of eligible households. SEC. 2. 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.