Plain English Breakdown
The official status indicates the bill was vetoed, but it is unclear from the provided text whether lawmakers successfully overrode that veto.
Proposed Changes to CalWORKs Eligibility and Work Rules
This vetoed bill proposed changing how California determines if a family qualifies for cash aid by removing work-hour limits, allowing aid during strikes or lockouts within federal law limits, adding self-employment as a valid work activity, and setting new rules for subsidized job programs.
What This Bill Does
- Removes the rule that parents must have worked less than 100 hours in four weeks to qualify for aid based on unemployment.
- Allows families to receive cash assistance if a parent or caretaker is participating in a strike or lockout, subject to federal law limits.
- Includes self-employment as an approved activity for people required to participate in welfare-to-work programs.
- Requires counties planning subsidized jobs to prioritize employers with labor agreements and those without recent safety violations or legal penalties.
- Orders the State Department of Social Services to study how expanding CalWORKs eligibility would work and report findings by January 1, 2028.
Who It Names or Affects
- Low-income families with children under 18 who apply for or receive CalWORKs cash assistance.
- County governments that administer the CalWORKs program in their local areas.
- The State Department of Social Services, which would conduct a feasibility study and manage funding rules.
Terms To Know
- CalWORKs
- California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids; the state program that gives cash aid and benefits to qualified low-income families with children.
- Strike or Lockout
- A strike is when workers stop working together, while a lockout is when an employer stops employees from entering their workplace.
- Subsidized Employment
- Jobs where the government pays part of the worker's wage to help them gain experience or skills.
Limits and Unknowns
- The bill was vetoed by the governor, so these changes did not become law unless lawmakers later overrode that decision.
- Some new rules only apply if federal laws allow California to make those specific payments during strikes or lockouts.