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LEGISLATION COMMITTEE

Meeting Date:	04/02/2015
Subject: Request from IHSS Public Authority to Support State Prioritization of SSI/SSP Funding
Submitted For:	LEGISLATION COMMITTEE
Department:	County Administrator
Referral No.:	2015-06
Referral Name:	Request from IHSS Public Authority to Support State Prioritization of SSI/SSP Funding
Presenter:	L. DeLaney	Contact:	L. DeLaney, 925-335-1097

Information

Referral History:

On March 17, 2015, the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) Public Authority Advisory Committee sent a letter to the Board of Supervisors (Attachment 2) regarding support in the State Budget for the restoration of grant cuts and cost of living adjustment for the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and State Supplemental Payments (SSP) made by the State.

Referral Update:

Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment (SSI/SSP): One of the key attributes of the Social Security Act is the SSI/SSP combination program. The SSI portion of the program is a federally funded effort that provides income for those aged 65 or older, those who are blind or those who are disabled. California supplements the federal SSI payment with a State Supplementary Payment (SSP) Eligibility for both programs is determined by the Social Security Administration using the FPL as eligibility threshold. Benefits are in the form of cash assistance. About 1.3 million Californians receive SSI/SSP benefits. California's State SSP is $156.40. When combined with the federal benefit of $733, an individual could receive a total benefit of $889.40 with which to pay for housing, food, utilities, and transportation. In California, SSI recipients are ineligible for CalFresh/SNAP (Food Stamps) assistance.

California once provided a Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) on the total SSI/SSP amount. This COLA was repealed in 2009. Since then, the state contributions to the SSI grant for individuals have declined from $233 a month down to the federal minimum of $156 a month, a $77 a month, per person, reduction.

The issue of increasing the base grant for SSI/SSP and restore the COLA on the entire grant was considered at a special informational hearing of the Assembly Aging and Human Services Committee on March 17. (See Attachment 1.)

Regarding the state COLA issue as it relates to SSI/SSP grants in order to help clarify how the state COLA was applied historically (before it was eliminated beginning in state fiscal year 2010-11), when it was in effect, the state COLA was required to be calculated annually based on the year-over-year change in the California Necessities Index (CNI) The CNI reflects changes spending by low-income residents on food, clothing, fuel, utilities, rent, and transportation in two high-cost areas of the state: LA and the SF Bay Area.

In contrast, the federal COLA is calculated based on the year-over-year change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), a national measure of the change in prices paid by urban consumers for a "market basket" of goods and services. The California-specific CNI is typically larger than the national CPI.

Since there used to be two different COLAs - a state one and a federal one - the key question is how did they interact when determining maximum SSI/SSP grant levels? Here's what state law required:

1. A state COLA was calculated based on the total SSI/SSP grant. Let's say it works out to $30 per month for an individual grant.

2. The state then took into account the amount of the federal SSI COLA. Let's say the SSI COLA comes to $12 per month for an individual grant.

3. The state then subtracted the federal SSI COLA (#2) from the state COLA on the full SSI/SSP grant (#1) in order to determine the state's share of the total grant increase. In this case it would be $30 - $12 = $18 (the state's share of the monthly increase for an individual grant).

The Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) suggests that one choice for state policymakers would be to apply a state COLA solely to the state's SSP portion of the grant, rather than to the entire SSI/SSP grant. Applying the state COLA solely to the SSP grant would require a state law change since current law does not appear to authorize the state to base its adjustment on the SSP grant alone. However, applying a state COLA solely to the SSP portion would cost the state less simply based on the way the math works out.

For additional information about the SSI/SSP cash grants, see Attachment 3, the LAO report of March 11, 2015.

Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s):

CONSIDER recommending to the Board of Supervisors support for a State Budget item related to the restoration and COLA increase of SSI/SSP funding, as recommended by the IHSS Public Authority Advisory Committee.

Attachments
Attachment 1: Background Paper for Hearing
Attachment 2: Letter from IHSS PA AC
Attachment 3: LAO Overview