Existing federal law establishes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known in California as CalFresh, under which supplemental nutrition assistance benefits allocated to the state by the federal government are distributed to eligible low-income individuals by each county, as administered by the State Department of Social Services.

Existing law establishes the California Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC Program), which is administered by the State Department of Public Health and counties and under which nutrition and other assistance are provided to eligible low-income individuals who have been determined to be at nutritional risk.

This bill would create the CalFresh and WIC Contingency Fund. Under the bill, moneys in the fund would be available, upon appropriation, to the above-described departments for CalFresh and WIC programs, respectively, solely for the purpose of maintaining continuity of CalFresh or WIC benefits, as applicable, during a federal government shutdown or other federal appropriations lapse, subject to certain conditions.

The bill would authorize the State Department of Public Health, during a federal government shutdown or other federal appropriations lapse affecting the WIC Program, to obtain a temporary loan, line of credit, or other short-term financing arrangement for the purpose of maintaining uninterrupted WIC services and benefit issuance. The bill would authorize receipt of a loan for this purpose, subject to approval by the Director of Finance, from certain sources. The bill would set forth terms and conditions for repayment of the loan.

The bill would require the departments to seek federal reimbursement for expenditures made from the fund or for loan repayments. Under the bill, any federal reimbursements received would, as applicable, be used for the loan repayments or be deposited into the fund until the fund is restored to its prewithdrawal balance.

If either of the departments uses moneys in the fund, the bill would require the department to subsequently report that use to the Legislature. The bill would also require the departments to submit a joint report to the Legislature and the Department of Finance detailing certain information.

The bill would make these provisions severable. The bill would make the provisions inoperative on January 20, 2029, and would repeal them as of January 1, 2030. However, the bill would resume any provisions necessary to effectuate the repayment of loans, the receipt of federal reimbursements, or the preparation and submission of required reports, until those obligations are fully satisfied.

The bill would require the Department of Finance to determine the amount of unencumbered funds subject to reversion and to effectuate the transfer to the General Fund as soon as practicable following January 20, 2029.