SACRAMENTO , CA — Assemblyman Mark Leno’s Assembly Bill 1382, which would end the requirement that food stamp applicants get fingerprinted in order to qualify for benefits passed the Assembly Human Services Committee on a vote of 4 to 0.

“ California ’s childhood obesity rates have gone through the roof and our children, especially those in lower socio-economic backgrounds, are more vulnerable than ever to type 2-diabetes,” said Assemblyman Leno (D-San Francisco).  “By eliminating the burdensome and outdated requirements to our federally funded food stamp program, we can help California ’s struggling families get the nutrition they need and recover billions of federal dollars that California loses every year.”

AB 1382 would remove the requirement of fingerprinting and photographing every adult household member in order to qualify for food stamps, which is currently the case in only three other states.    California ’s finger imaging system has been made obsolete by tough work requirements and the emergence of more comprehensive and sophisticated fraud detection systems including the Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards that track each transaction. 

The rates of those who apply for the federally funded food stamp program vary greatly from state to state, even though the national eligibility requirements are the same everywhere.  While some states such as Missouri and Tennessee enroll more than 83% of eligible residents, California ranks last in the nation with only 46% of eligible residents and 34% of eligible working families receiving food stamps.  The national average is about 60%.  California loses out on an estimated $2 billion in federal funds each year because so few of those eligible apply for food stamps.  In addition, the State loses additional federal child welfare funding that is based upon the number of children receiving food stamps. 

“Removing this requirement will directly help working families who are eligible for the program receive food stamps,” said Paul Ash, Executive Director of the San Francisco Food Bank.  “Additionally, this bill would encourage better outreach efforts that would make it easier for working families to apply for food stamps, like online and mail-in applications.”

California ’s Legislative Analyst ' s Office has found that low- income families tend to use 45% of their income on taxed goods, and that sales tax from their freed up dollars could generate over $37 million in revenue for the state general fund and over $12 million for county coffers.

Similar measures were introduced in 2003 by then Assemblymember Darrell Steinberg and again in 2006 by then Assemblymember Judy Chu, whose bill was vetoed by the Governor.  AB 1382 will be heard next in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.