Plain English Breakdown
The bill creates a mechanism but does not guarantee funding will be available until lawmakers appropriate money from other sources into this new fund.
CalFresh and WIC Contingency Fund
This law creates a special fund to help keep food benefits running if the federal government stops paying for them due to a shutdown or funding gap.
What This Bill Does
- Creates the CalFresh and WIC Contingency Fund, which can be used only after lawmakers approve spending it.
- Allows state departments to use money from this fund solely to keep CalFresh or WIC benefits running during a federal government shutdown or funding lapse.
- Lets the Department of Public Health get short-term loans or lines of credit to keep WIC services running without stopping benefits, subject to approval by the Director of Finance.
- Requires agencies to ask the federal government for money back after using the fund or paying off loans.
- Mandates that departments report how they used the money and submit a joint report to lawmakers.
Who It Names or Affects
- The State Department of Social Services, which runs CalFresh.
- The State Department of Public Health, which helps run WIC.
- County agencies that distribute benefits to low-income individuals.
- People who receive food assistance through CalFresh or the WIC Program.
Terms To Know
- CalFresh
- California's name for the federal program that gives money to buy food for low-income people, distributed by counties and run by the State Department of Social Services.
- WIC Program
- A state and federal program giving nutrition help to eligible low-income women, infants, and children at nutritional risk, administered by the State Department of Public Health and counties.
- Federal appropriations lapse
- When the federal government stops sending money for a specific time period, such as during a shutdown.
Limits and Unknowns
- The fund can only be used if lawmakers officially approve spending it.
- These rules stop working on January 20, 2029, except for parts needed to pay back loans or finish reports.
- Any money left in the fund after 2029 must go back into the state's General Fund.