March 9, 2006

by Assemblymember John Laird (D-Santa Cruz)

In Santa Cruz County, approximately 14,000 adults live in “food insecure” households, meaning they are not able to adequately put food on the table. Of those, more than 7,000 are eligible for food stamps, but are not receiving them. It’s no secret that complexity and red tape have reduced access to the food stamp program. The problem is that Californians are required to apply for food stamps using complex eligibility criteria, submit reports to the state every 3 months and re-certify by making in-person visits to state offices with inconvenient hours of operation.

Not only does the system throw unnecessary barriers in front of families who need food stamps, but the state passes up over $2 billion every year in federal food stamp funding—more than $7.5 million in Santa Cruz County alone.

To help knock down barriers to entering and staying in the food stamp program, I have introduced The Food Stamp Simplification Act (AB 3029), sponsored by the California Food Policy Advocates. The bill addresses access to food stamps in three ways:

1. Updating the application process: Income should be the sole eligibility criteria. However, the application process continues to use a wide and arcane range of factors including whether families have retirement savings and such rare things as whether families have oil, mining or mineral rights. My bill calls for development of a demonstration project to simplify the food stamp program, while still protecting the integrity of the program.

2. Simplifying reporting rules: California requires recipients to file reports every three months, twice as often as is required in nearly every other state. AB 3029 would move the state to a 6-month reporting system. Besides significantly streamlining the reporting requirement, more than 3 million pages of paperwork would be eliminated.

3. Reducing required office visits: California still requires food stamp recipients to visit an office in order to maintain benefits. Food stamp office hours mirror typical working hours of many recipients, forcing families to choose to miss work or keep their food stamps. My bill would help the state implement phone, fax, mail or computer as options for re-certifying.

Together as a community, we can do a lot more to get food on the table for local working families. To join me in taking this important step with The Food Stamp Simplification Act, you can read the bill description, register your support and track the bill’s progress by visiting http://www.cfpa.net/2006LegSession/2006legis.htm or http://www.leginfo.ca.gov.