California Assembly Bill AB2346 Introduced / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 2346INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Baker (Coauthor: Assembly Member Obernolte) FEBRUARY 18, 2016 An act to amend Section 10952.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to public social services. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2346, as introduced, Baker. Public social services: hearings. Existing law provides various public social services and requires that an applicant for, or recipient of, public social services be accorded an opportunity for a state hearing if, among other reasons, the applicant or recipient is dissatisfied with any action of the county department relating to his or her application for, or receipt of, public social services. Existing law requires, if regulations require a public or private agency to write a position statement concerning the issues in question in a fair hearing, or if the agency chooses to develop such a statement, the agency to make available to the applicant or recipient a copy of the agency's position statement at the county welfare department not less than two working days prior to the date of the hearing. Existing law excludes the State Department of Health Care Services and the State Department of Public Health from that requirement. This bill would additionally require a public or private agency to provide a copy of the agency's position statement to the applicant or recipient through electronic means and would require the State Department of Health Care Services to make its position statement available to the applicant or recipient and the State Department of Social Services through electronic means, as specified. The bill would also make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these provisions. 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. Section 10952.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read: 10952.5.  (a)    If regulations require a public or private agency to write a position statement concerning the issues in question in a fair hearing, or if the public or private agency chooses to develop  such a   that  statement, not less than two  working days prior to   business days before the date of a hearing provided for pursuant to this chapter, the public or private agency shall make available to the applicant for, or recipient of, public social services requesting a fair hearing, a copy of the public or private agency's position statement on the forthcoming hearing. The public or private agency shall make the copy available to the applicant or recipient at the county welfare department.   department and through electronic means.  A public or private agency shall be required to comply with  the provisions of  this section only if the public or private agency has received a 10-day prior notice of the date and time of the scheduled hearing.  If   (b)     If  the public or private agency does not make the position statement available not less than two  working days prior to   business days before  the hearing or if the public or private agency decides to modify the position statement, the hearing shall be postponed upon the request of the applicant or recipient,  provided   if an applicant or recipient agrees to waive the right to obtain a decision on the hearing within the deadline that would otherwise be applicable under regulations. A postponement for reason of the public or private agency not making the position statement available within not less than two  working   business  days shall be deemed a postponement for good cause for purposes of determining eligibility to any applicable benefits pending disposition of the hearing.  For purposes of this section "public or private agency" shall not include the State Department of Health Services.   (c) Subdivisions (a) and (b) shall not apply to the State Department of Health Care Services or the State Department of Pubic Health, except that the State Department of Health Care Services shall make its position statement available to the applicant or recipient and the State Department of Social Services through electronic means not less than two business days before the scheduled hearing.