BILL NUMBER: SB 297 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 11, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 26, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Senator McGuire
FEBRUARY 23, 2015
An act to amend Section 18901.10 of, and to add Section
10508 to, the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to public
social services. relating to medical marijuana.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 297, as amended, McGuire. Public benefits: eligibility
determinations. Medical marijuana.
Existing law, the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, an initiative
measure enacted by the approval of Proposition 215 at the November 5,
1996, statewide general election, authorizes the use and cultivation
of marijuana for medical purposes. Existing law makes it a crime to
plant, cultivate, harvest, dry, or process marijuana, except as
otherwise authorized by law. Under existing law, qualified patients,
persons with valid identification cards, and the designated primary
caregivers of qualified patients and persons with identification
cards, who associate in order collectively and cooperatively to
cultivate marijuana for medical purposes, are not subject to criminal
sanctions solely on the basis of that fact.
This bill would state that it is the intent of the Legislature to
enact legislation that imposes an excise tax on medical marijuana at
the point of sale.
(1) Existing law provides for financial and food assistance
benefits to needy Californians including, among other programs, the
California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs)
program and CalFresh, under which each county provides for financial
and food assistance benefits to qualified individuals who meet
specified eligibility criteria.
This bill would require the State Department of Social Services to
develop and make available to the Statewide Automated Welfare System
an electronic verification process that allows county human services
agency eligibility workers to, at their option, access data
available electronically from public and private agencies and
programs for use in connection with the determination of eligibility
for specified means-tested public benefit programs.
(2) Existing federal law provides for the federal Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known in California as CalFresh,
formerly the Food Stamp Program, under which supplemental nutrition
assistance benefits allocated to the state by the federal government
are distributed to eligible individuals by each county. Under
existing law, county human services agencies administer CalFresh.
Existing law requires each county human services agency, to the
extent permitted by federal law, to exempt a household from complying
with face-to-face interview requirements at initial application and
recertification, and authorizes a person eligible for an exemption
from the face-to-face interview requirement to request a face-to-face
interview to establish initial eligibility or comply with
recertification requirements.
This bill would instead require a county human services agency to
conduct a telephone interview for purposes of determining eligibility
at initial application and recertification, except as provided, and
would require a county human services agency to facilitate submission
of required documents using electronic and telephone technologies to
the greatest extent possible. The bill would also expand the
circumstances under which a face-to-face interview is required, and
would authorize an electronic interview to be conducted if the county
human services agency and the applicant or recipient both have the
capacity to participate in an electronic interview. The bill would
require the department to issue guidance for recording and storing
electronic and telephonic signatures. By increasing the duties of
county human services agencies administering CalFresh, this bill
would impose a state-mandated local program.
The bill would require the State Department of Social Services to
coordinate with county human services agencies to make available a
standard technological solution that has the capacity to store
telephonic and electronic signatures, as specified.
(3) 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
no . State-mandated local program: yes
no .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. It is the intent of the Legislature to
enact legislation that imposes an excise tax on medical marijuana at
the point of sale.
SECTION 1. Section 10508 is added to the
Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:
10508. (a) In order to ensure timely and accurate decisions on
applications for means-tested public benefit programs under this
division, the department shall develop and make available to the
Statewide Automated Welfare System established pursuant to Section
10823, an electronic verification process that allows county human
services agency eligibility workers to, at their option, access data
available electronically from appropriate public and private agencies
and programs for use in connection with the determination of
eligibility for means-tested public benefit programs under this
division. In developing this electronic verification process, the
department shall consult with county human services agencies,
eligibility workers, representatives of the Statewide Automated
Welfare System, and client advocates. It is the intent of the
Legislature that the electronic verification process be utilized to
the greatest extent possible prior to requesting verification of data
elements from an applicant or recipient.
(b) The electronic verification process identified in subdivision
(a) shall be completed no later than the expiration of the federal
waiver for Office of Management and Budget Circular A-87, which
requires states to evenly allocate the development costs for systems
that are federally funded.
(c) (1) If the electronic verification process developed pursuant
to subdivision (a) includes information obtained from an agency that
is subject to the requirements of either the federal Fair Credit
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. Sec. 1681 et seq.) or the Consumer Credit
Reporting Agencies Act (Title 1.6 (commencing with Section 1785.1) of
Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code), the department shall report
to the Legislature regarding the ways in which the electronic
verification process guarantees the rights established under these
laws to protect individuals from negative actions resulting from
incorrect information.
(2) A report submitted pursuant to this subdivision shall be
submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
SEC. 2. Section 18901.10 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code is amended to read:
18901.10. (a) To the extent permitted by federal law, and except
as provided in paragraphs (1) and (2), each county human services
agency shall conduct a telephone interview for purposes of
determining eligibility at initial application and recertification
and shall facilitate submission of required documents using
electronic and telephone technologies to the greatest extent
possible.
(1) A face-to-face interview shall be conducted if any of the
following occur:
(A) A face-to-face interview is requested by the applicant,
recipient, or authorized representative.
(B) On a case-by-case basis, a face-to-face interview is deemed
necessary by the county to clarify a condition of eligibility.
(C) A face-to-face interview is required in order to make timely
and reasonable accommodations to serve a household with a person who
has a disability, is advanced in age, or is homeless. For purposes of
this subparagraph, the face-to-face interview shall be conducted in
a mutually acceptable location.
(2) An electronic interview may be conducted in place of a
telephone or face-to-face interview if the county human services
agency and the applicant or recipient both have the capacity to
participate in an electronic interview.
(3) A face-to-face, telephone, or electronic interview shall be
conducted by a county human services agency eligibility worker.
(b) (1) In order to facilitate submission of required information
by applicants and recipients, the department shall issue guidance for
recording and the storing of electronic and telephonic signatures.
(2) The department shall coordinate with county human services
agencies to make available a standard technological solution that has
the capacity to store telephonic and electronic signatures. The
department shall, in identifying this solution, work with county
human services agencies, client advocates, the Statewide Automated
Welfare System, and the Office of Systems Integration to ensure
maximum compatibility with the Statewide Automated Welfare System and
to provide that the telephonic and electronic signatures will be
stored within the Statewide Automated Welfare System, as appropriate.
(3) A county shall not be required to use the solution identified
pursuant to paragraph (2) if the county is complying with the
guidance established by the department pursuant to paragraph (1). It
is the intent of the Legislature that this section ensure that
applicants and recipients in all counties have the ability to utilize
telephonic and electronic signatures.
(c) The state shall not, nor shall any county, allow an
eligibility interview to be conducted by anyone other than a county
human services agency eligibility worker.
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.