CSAC Bulletin Article

CSAC Opposes General Assistance Mandate in AB 85

June 29, 2017

CSAC, along with the County Welfare Directors Association, Urban Counties of California, and Rural County Representatives of California, recently moved to an oppose position on AB 85 (Rodriguez). This bill would require counties to alter their locally-established General Assistance (GA) or General Relief (GR) eligibility levels to provide additional county-funded assistance to veterans.

AB 85 presents a significant infringement on counties’ statutory GA authority by imposing a statewide mandate for a specific population without identifying a source of funding for the requirement. We recommended that the bill be amended to create a structure that offers counties funding to opt into a new Extended GA/GR for Veterans program, but the sponsor has not accepted our requests.

For more details, read our most recent joint opposition letter. AB 85 passed out of the Senate Human Services Committee on June 27 and will next be heard by the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.

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