SB152 - Human services.

Amended IN Assembly June 26, 2026 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION Senate Bill No. 152 Introduced by Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review January 23, 2025 An act relating to the Budget Act of 2025. An act to amend Section 8260 of, and to add Section 13074.1 to, the Government Code, to amend Section 1796.47 of, to amend, repeal, and add Sections 1796.37, 1796.49, and 1796.55 of, and to add Chapter 3.66 (commencing with Section 1597.80) to Division 2 of, the Health and Safety Code, to amend Sections 224.72, 2200, 9002, 10072, 10072.3, 11450.025, 12301.61, 12306.19, 13300, 13301, 13302, 13304, 13305, 15204.35, 16121, 16121.5, 18930, 18997, and 18997.4 of, to add Sections 10553.16, 16121.3, 16121.4, 16121.41, and 18928.6 to, to add Chapter 16.5 (commencing with Section 18998) to Part 6 of Division 9 of, and to add and repeal Section 18906.55 of, the Welfare and Institutions Code, and to amend Section 29 of Chapter 43 of the Statutes of 2023, relating to human services, and making an appropriation therefor, to take effect immediately, bill related to the budget. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 152, as amended, Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review. Budget Act of 2025. Human services. (1) Existing law establishes the Department of Finance with the general powers of supervision over all matters concerning the financial and business policies of the state. Existing law requires the department to calculate changes in cost of living or annual adjustment factors in connection with various state programs and policies, including programs and policies relating to human services. This bill would, if the department is required by law to make a calculation related to cost of living or annual adjustment factors and necessary data is unavailable, authorize the department to use a reasonable estimate of that data to perform the calculation, as specified. (2) Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to license and regulate various community care facilities and programs, including, among others, residential care facilities for persons with chronic, life-threatening illness, residential care facilities for the elderly, childcare centers, and home care services. This bill would authorize users of information technology systems and services under the jurisdiction of the department, as specified, to use electronic signatures and to electronically pay any fee or civil penalties assessed by the department, as specified. The bill would require a user who elects to make an electronic payment to be responsible for any associated payment processing costs, as specified. The bill would authorize the department to adopt, amend, or repeal any rules and regulations that may be necessary or proper to carry out these provisions. (3) Existing law, the Home Care Services Consumer Protection Act (act), provides for the licensure and regulation of home care organizations by the State Department of Social Services and the registration of home care aides. Under the act, administration of the program is fully supported by fees and not civil penalties. The act authorizes the provision of initial costs to implement the act’s provisions through a General Fund loan that is to be repaid in accordance with a schedule provided by the Department of Finance. Except for General Fund moneys that are otherwise transferred or appropriated for the initial costs of administering the act, or specified penalties, the act generally prohibits the use of General Fund moneys for any purpose under the act. Existing law makes an additional exception by authorizing use of General Fund moneys as appropriated by the Budget Act of 2023 and the Budget Act of 2024. This bill would authorize, beginning July 1, 2026, the appropriation of General Fund moneys to help support the program, along with fee revenues. The bill would delete the above-described provision concerning the repayment of the General Fund loan for initial costs. Existing law authorizes the department to issue a license to a home care organization, and requires the license to be renewed every 2 years. Existing law requires a home care organization to pay an initial license fee and a 2-year license renewal fee, each of which is determined by the department. A violation of the act is a misdemeanor. This bill would, commencing January 1, 2029, make various changes to transition license renewal for home care organizations from every 2 years to annually. The bill would also generally establish the initial license fee as $5,603. The bill would, until January 1, 2029, generally establish the 2-year license renewal fee as $5,603 and would, beginning January 1, 2029, establish the annual license fee as $2,802. The bill would also, beginning January 1, 2029, establish a late fee, a payment processing fee, and a fee for monitoring a licensee on probation. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires the department to adopt regulations, on or before January 1, 2026, to require biennial inspections to ensure that licensed home care organizations possess specified policies. This bill would instead require the department to adopt those regulations on or before January 1, 2028. (4) Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services, subject to an appropriation in the annual Budget Act, to administer the California Guaranteed Income Pilot Program to provide grants to eligible entities for the purpose of administering pilot programs and projects that provide a guaranteed income to participants. Existing law requires the department to review and evaluate the pilot programs and projects funded to determine the economic impact of the programs and projects and their impact on the outcomes of individuals who receive guaranteed income payments, as specified. Existing law requires the department to submit a report to the Legislature regarding this review and evaluation and requires the department to post a copy of the report on its internet website. Existing law makes these provisions inoperative on January 1, 2028, and repeals these provisions on January 1, 2029. This bill would require the department to submit the above-described report and post a copy of the report on its internet website by no later than June 1, 2028. The bill would extend the inoperative date of these provisions to January 1, 2029, and would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2030. (5) Existing law establishes the California Hope, Opportunity, Perseverance, and Empowerment (HOPE) for Children Trust Account Program to provide a trust fund account for eligible children, defined to include minor California residents who are specified dependents or wards under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court in foster care with reunification services terminated by court order, or who have a parent, Indian custodian, or legal guardian who died due to COVID-19 during the federally declared COVID-19 public health emergency and meet the specified family household income limit. Existing law prohibits funds deposited and investment returns accrued in a HOPE trust account from being considered as income or assets when determining eligibility and benefit amount for any means-tested program until an eligible youth withdraws or transfers the funds from the HOPE trust account, as specified. Existing federal law, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, enacted July 4, 2025, provides for a tax-deferred investment account for children known as a “Trump account.” This bill would similarly prohibit funds deposited and investment returns accrued in a Trump account from being considered as income or assets when determining eligibility and benefit amount for any means-tested program until an account beneficiary withdraws or transfers the funds from the account, as specified. The bill would make these provisions operative on July 1, 2026, or on the date that the State Department of Social Services notifies the Legislature that the California Statewide Automated Welfare System or the California Automated Response and Engagement System (CWS-CARES) can perform the necessary automation to implement these provisions, whichever date is later. To the extent that the bill would expand county duties, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (6) Existing federal law provides for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known in California as CalFresh, under which supplemental nutrition assistance benefits allocated to the state by the federal government are distributed to eligible individuals by each county. Existing law requires each county to pay 30% of the nonfederal share of costs of administering the CalFresh program. This bill would cap the amount the county is required to contribute during the 2026–27 to 2028–29 fiscal years, inclusive, to the lower of the amount the county expended in its contribution in the 2024–25 fiscal year or the amount the county was required to contribute to receive its full allocation of General Fund moneys under the Budget Act of 2024, and would require the county to receive the full General Fund allocation for administration of CalFresh once the county has reached that amount. This bill would make those provisions inoperative on July 1, 2030, and would repeal them as of January 1, 2031. Existing law requires the department to also establish the California Food Assistance Program (CFAP) to provide nutrition benefits to households that are ineligible for CalFresh benefits solely due to their immigration status, as specified. Existing law requires that CFAP benefits be equivalent to SNAP benefits. Under existing law, operative on the date that the department notifies the Legislature that the Statewide Automated Welfare System can perform the necessary automation for this purpose, an individual 55 years of age or older is eligible for CFAP benefits, subject to an appropriation. Existing law requires that current and future CalFresh benefits be reduced in order to recover an overissuance caused by intentional program violation, fraud, or inadvertent household error. Existing law sets forth certain procedures and criteria for a county when establishing a claim for recovery of that overissuance of CalFresh benefits. This bill would require, commencing October 1, 2027, or once the Statewide Automated Welfare System can perform specified automation activities, that CalFresh and CFAP overissuance claims arising out of the same error or intentional program violation be recovered through minimum allotment reductions consecutively, as specified. By expanding county duties relating to the administration of benefits, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires the department to establish the County Administrative Cost Control Plan and requires the plan to establish standards and performance criteria, including workload, productivity, and support services standards. This bill would require the department to utilize certain information that is necessary to assess performance of, monitor the efficacy and impact of administrative funding of, facilitate technical assistance with county welfare departments related to, and inform the public about service delivery in, the CalFresh program. The bill would require county welfare departments and the California Statewide Automated Welfare System Consortium to provide the information and access to necessary data identified by the department within 60 days, as specified. By increasing county duties, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would appropriate $344,000 from the General Fund to the State Department of Social Services for the 2026–27 fiscal year for the purpose of implementing CalFresh transparency initiatives, and would make these funds available for encumbrance or expenditure until September 30, 2029. (7) Existing law establishes the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, under which each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families using federal, state, and county funds. Existing law establishes maximum aid grant amounts to be provided to each family receiving aid under CalWORKs. Existing law, commencing October 1, 2024, increases the maximum aid payments in effect on July 1, 2024, by 0.3%. This bill would, commencing October 1, 2026, increase the maximum aid payments in effect on July 1, 2026, by 1.8%. 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 bill. Existing law provides for the establishment of a methodology to develop the CalWORKs single allocation annual budget. Existing law also requires the State Department of Social Services to reconsider the costs of county operations for county administrative costs in the CalWORKs single allocation for the 2024–25 fiscal year and every 3rd fiscal year thereafter. This bill would instead require the department to do the above-described reconsideration for the 2024–25 fiscal year, the 2028–29 fiscal year, and every 3rd fiscal year thereafter. (8) Existing law establishes the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program, administered by the State Department of Social Services and counties, under which qualified aged, blind, and disabled persons are provided with services in order to permit them to remain in their own homes. Existing law requires the department to review the budgeting methodology used to determine the annual funding for county administration of the IHSS program and examine the ongoing workload and administrative costs to counties as part of the review beginning with the 2025–26 fiscal year and every 3rd fiscal year thereafter. This bill would instead require the department to do the above-described review and examination for the 2025–26 fiscal year, the 2029–30 fiscal year, and every 3rd fiscal year thereafter. Existing law requires each county to act as, or establish, an employer for in-home supportive service providers. Existing law authorizes a county board of supervisors to elect to contract with a nonprofit consortium or establish a public authority to provide for the delivery of in-home supportive services. Existing law requires a specified mediation process, including a factfinding panel recommending settlement terms, to be held if a public authority or nonprofit consortium and the employee organization fail to reach agreement on a bargaining contract with IHSS workers. Existing law subjects a county to a withholding of 1991 Realignment funds if, among other things, the county does not reach an agreement with the employee organization within 30 days after the release of the factfinding panel’s recommended settlement terms and the collective bargaining agreement for IHSS providers in the county has expired. This bill, be [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]