(a) Current and future CalFresh benefits shall be reduced in accordance with subdivisions (c) and (d) to recover an overissuance caused by intentional program violation, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 273.16 of Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations, fraud, or inadvertent household error.
(b) Current and future CalFresh benefits shall be reduced in accordance with subdivisions (c) and (d) to recover an overissuance caused by administrative error if required by federal law or if the overissuance exceeds one hundred twenty-five dollars ($125) or the threshold established pursuant to subdivision (h), whichever is greater.
(c) A household’s CalFresh benefits shall not be reduced to recover an overissuance as required or authorized by subdivision (a) or (b) unless the household receives adequate and timely notice of the overissuance, including, but not limited to, the budget worksheet that includes the amount and calculation of the overissuance and the reason for the overissuance.
(d) (1) In recovering an overissuance caused by administrative error, a recipient household’s monthly CalFresh benefits shall not be reduced by more than 5 percent of the household’s monthly CalFresh benefits or ten dollars ($10), whichever is greater, unless the recipient elects for the benefits to be reduced at a higher rate.
(2) In recovering an overissuance caused by inadvertent household error, a recipient household’s monthly CalFresh benefits shall not be reduced by more than 10 percent of the household’s monthly CalFresh benefits or ten dollars ($10), whichever is greater.
(3) In recovering an overissuance caused by intentional program violation, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 273.16 of Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations, or fraud, a recipient household’s monthly CalFresh benefits shall be reduced by 20 percent of the household’s monthly CalFresh benefit or twenty dollars ($20), whichever is greater.
(e) If a household is no longer receiving CalFresh benefits, a CalFresh overissuance caused by administrative error shall not be established, and collection shall not be attempted, if the overissuance is less than one hundred twenty-five dollars ($125) or the threshold established pursuant to subdivision (h), whichever is greater.
(f) If a household is no longer receiving CalFresh benefits, collection shall be attempted if the overissuance is caused by inadvertent household error and the overissuance is thirty-five dollars ($35) or more. All overissuances caused by intentional program violation, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 273.16 of Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations, or fraud shall be collected as required by federal law.
(g) When an overissuance collection is attempted, reasonable cost-effective methods of collection shall be implemented. The department shall define reasonable cost-effective collection methods, which shall include adequate and timely notice of the overissuance, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(1) The amount and calculation of, and reason for, the overissuance.
(2) A statement of the monetary threshold described in this subdivision.
(3) Information about how to appeal the overissuance.
(4) Instructions for timely commencement of repayment.
(5) Consequences of delinquent payment.
(h) (1) No later than January 1, 2019, the department shall finalize an analysis and make a determination as to whether it has adequate information to set a minimum statewide cost-effective threshold for collecting CalFresh overissuances from former CalFresh recipients that are caused by administrative error that is higher than the threshold established by subdivision (e).
(2) Notwithstanding Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, if, upon finalization of the analysis, the department determines that it does not have adequate information to set a minimum statewide cost-effective threshold for collecting CalFresh overissuances, the department shall submit a report to the Legislature within three months of finalizing the analysis detailing the results of the analysis, as well as the data, methodology, and criteria used to reach the conclusions of the analysis. The report shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(3) If, at any time, the department determines that there is adequate information to set a statewide minimum cost-effective threshold greater than the threshold set in subdivision (e), that greater threshold shall be included in the state’s claims management plan submitted for approval by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food and Nutrition Service (FNS).
(4) The department shall establish a minimum statewide cost-effective threshold for collecting CalFresh overissuances from former CalFresh recipients that are caused by administrative error that is higher than the threshold set in subdivision (e), if a higher minimum cost-effective threshold has been included in the state’s claims management plan and that plan has been approved by the USDA FNS.
(i) Nothing in this section shall prevent a county from writing off or terminating an overissuance claim when it meets the provisions of paragraph (8) of subdivision (e) of Section 273.18 of Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(j) Nothing in this section shall prevent a county or the state from collecting all overissuances that are identified during a quality control review, as required by Section 275.12 of Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(k) Notwithstanding the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), the department may implement this section through all-county letters or similar instructions from the director no later than January 1, 2014, to allow for automation updates required by this section to be made in coordination with other scheduled updates.
(Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 388, Sec. 1. (SB 278) Effective January 1, 2018.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018