Counties Urge Legislature to Reject Proposed IHSS Cost Shift as Lawmakers Question Administration’s Rationale 

On Wednesday, the Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 1 on Health and the Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on Human Services convened a joint informational hearing on proposals impacting older adults included in the Governor’s Budget. Chief among the issues discussed was a proposal to shift hundreds of millions of dollars in In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) costs to counties. 

During the hearing, legislators from both subcommittees raised significant concerns, questioning the Administration’s rationale for imposing additional fiscal burdens on counties already facing mounting pressures from H.R. 1 implementation. 

“I consider this a cost shift to nowhere,” said Assembly Member Dawn Addis, Chair of Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 1. “With H.R. 1, it is misleading to suggest these costs can be absorbed by counties in the current environment.” 

The Governor’s proposal would shift responsibility for growth in IHSS authorized service hours from the state to counties, amounting to $233 million in new county costs beginning in 2027–28 and rising to more than $800 million annually by 2029–30. Under the proposal, counties with average authorized IHSS hours per case above a yet-to-be-determined statewide baseline would bear 100 percent of the nonfederal share of costs for hours growth exceeding that threshold. 

CSAC Senior Legislative Advocate Justin Garrett testified in opposition, urging lawmakers to reject the proposal. He warned that the cost shift disregards the 2019 maintenance-of-effort agreement and would force counties to cut other state-mandated health and human services for vulnerable residents. 

Ultimately, Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 Chair Dr. Corey Jackson announced that the Subcommittees plans to reject the proposal until the Administration engages in a series of stakeholder working groups to reassess IHSS-related reductions. “I do not intend to support proposals that continue shifting costs onto counties,” Jackson said, noting that many county budgets are already on “life support.” 

CSAC will continue working with the Administration, Legislature, and county partners to identify a path forward that preserves IHSS services without placing new, unsustainable financial pressures on counties. CSAC’s opposition letter to the proposed cost shift is available here.