Food Assistance & Public Benefits Programs

CalFresh: student eligibility.

Expands CalFresh food benefits access by automatically qualifying all public college programs for student eligibility. Requires the Student Aid Commission to identify eligible students through its Grant Delivery System by January 2027. Establishes data sharing between colleges and social services to help students apply for food benefits. Launches student outreach programs at participating colleges starting in the 2027-28 academic year.

Disaster CalFresh: county resources: status.

Requires counties to create disaster plans and form mutual aid regions to ensure food assistance during emergencies. Mandates state maintenance of updated disaster materials and applications in all required languages. Establishes procedures for counties to request emergency food benefits during federally declared disasters. Provides counties with free mobile technology to issue emergency benefit cards in disaster-affected areas.

Taxation: federal conformity.

Fresh Start Grants: Personal Income Tax Law: credits.

Establishes the Fresh Start Grants Program to replace existing tax credits with direct grant payments starting January 2027. Requires county welfare departments to calculate and distribute grants to eligible CalFresh recipients. Mandates comprehensive data security protocols to protect recipient information, especially for undocumented individuals. Creates a continuously appropriated Fresh Start Grants Fund to ensure sustainable program funding.

CalAccount Program.

Establishes the CalAccount Program to provide Californians with free, federally-insured bank accounts and debit cards. Requires employers with over 10 employees to offer direct deposit into CalAccounts for workers who opt in. Creates a CalAccount Commission to oversee the program and select financial institutions to provide banking services. Mandates landlords to accept rent payments from CalAccounts and prohibits charging fees for electronic transfers.

CalWORKs.

Expands CalWORKs eligibility by exempting in-kind gifts and noncustodial parent income from benefit calculations. Removes the 100-hour work limit requirement for unemployed parents seeking CalWORKs assistance. Requires counties to prioritize subsidized job placements with employers having labor agreements and good safety records. Mandates a comprehensive study by 2027 to evaluate potential expansions of the CalWORKs program.

Pupil nutrition: particularly harmful ultraprocessed food: prohibition.

Prohibits schools from serving harmful ultraprocessed foods in meals and snacks by July 2035. Requires schools to begin phasing out harmful ultraprocessed foods by January 2028. Bans specific artificial food dyes like Red 40 and Yellow 5 from school foods by December 2027. Mandates vendors to report detailed food product information annually to state health officials through 2032.

CalFresh: maintenance of benefit level.

Guarantees CalFresh benefits will not fall below January 2025 levels even if federal funding decreases. Authorizes state funds to maintain CalFresh benefit levels when federal funding is insufficient. Requires a feasibility study on expanding CalFresh eligibility and benefits due by January 2027.

Public social services.

Reforms welfare fraud penalties by eliminating criminal charges for overpayments under $25,000 in public assistance programs. Requires counties to verify system errors before pursuing fraud cases and prohibits prosecution for administrative mistakes. Mandates qualified caseworker review of all overpayment claims before any collection efforts can begin. Limits overpayment recovery to incidents occurring within the previous 24 months of discovery.

CalWORKs: family violence option and gender-based violence information.

Expands CalWORKs protections for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Requires counties to waive program requirements that could endanger abuse survivors or their children. Mandates creation of standardized forms and materials to help abuse survivors access resources. Requires six-month reviews of requirement waivers and written notices for all waiver decisions.

Public social services: state of emergency or health emergency.

Guarantees continuous benefits for social services recipients during state emergencies or health crises. Requires counties to automatically extend benefits for at least 90 days during emergencies without requiring paperwork. Mandates immediate benefit restoration for affected recipients who report emergency impacts. Requires agencies to notify recipients about continued eligibility through mail, text, and electronic communications.

Qualified ABLE Program: CalABLE accounts: funding.

Expands the California ABLE Program to accept funding from philanthropic organizations and legislative sources. Enables taxpayers to deposit tax refunds directly into ABLE accounts for disability-related expenses. Authorizes the ABLE Board to target specific eligible groups and raise program awareness. Requires tax forms to include information about ABLE account deposit options.

CalWORKs.

Extends CalWORKs aid eligibility for parents whose children are placed in out-of-home care beyond six months. Requires counties to integrate welfare-to-work activities into child reunification plans. Ends immunization verification penalties when a child enters out-of-home care. Implements changes only if determined to be cost-neutral or generate savings.

California Food Assistance Program: sponsor deeming rules.

Removes federal income eligibility rules from the California Food Assistance Program for immigrants. Requires counties to develop new procedures for determining food assistance eligibility. Mandates state reimbursement to counties for costs of implementing the new eligibility rules.

State-funded assistance grants and contracts: advance payments.

Requires state agencies to provide advance payments for all grants and contracts advertised after January 1, 2026. Mandates disclosure of advance payment percentages in all grant solicitations and registrations. Limits advance payments to 25% of total grant funds unless recipients justify a larger amount. Requires recipients to submit quarterly progress reports and return any unused advance funds.

CalFresh Fruit and Vegetable Supplemental Benefits Program.

Establishes a permanent program providing bonus CalFresh benefits for fruit and vegetable purchases. Requires retailers to integrate supplemental benefits into their existing payment systems. Creates a grant fund to help small retailers implement the program technology. Mandates quarterly public reporting of program usage and benefit distribution data.

Nonminor dependents: county of residence.

Reduces the required time to establish county residency for foster youth from one year to six months. Allows nonminor dependents to request jurisdiction transfers by showing connections to the new county. Requires courts to issue transfer orders within 60 days of a youth's request. Mandates courts to consider transfer requests during all review hearings for nonminor dependents.

State government grants and contracts: payment of claims and grantees’ indirect costs.

Requires state agencies to reimburse nonprofits' indirect costs in grant programs at federally approved rates. Mandates penalties for state agencies that fail to pay grant claims within 45 days of receiving undisputed invoices. Establishes standardized reimbursement options for indirect costs across all state grant programs. Requires annual reporting of late payment penalties paid to businesses and nonprofits by state agencies.

State Healthy Food Access Policy.

Expands California's food access policy to prioritize locally grown and raised food for all residents. Requires state agencies to consider local food sources when creating food distribution policies. Defines food insecurity as lack of access to healthy food due to insufficient resources. Maintains existing state obligations without requiring additional funding or infrastructure.

Community Violence Interdiction Grant Program.

Establishes a new grant program to fund local community initiatives that reduce neighborhood and school violence. Prioritizes funding for areas most impacted by violence and gang activity through competitive grants. Creates school-based health centers and youth intervention programs during peak violence periods. Funds the program using savings generated from state prison closures starting July 2026.

Stop Child Hunger Act of 2025.

Establishes a statewide online application system for families to access summer food benefits by 2027. Requires school districts to provide meal applications in multiple languages and protect student privacy. Mandates collaboration between Education and Social Services departments to maximize program participation. Creates new protections to prevent discrimination against students receiving free meals.

Pupil health: school nutrition.

Makes technical changes to state declarations about school meal nutrition standards.

Office of Farm to Fork: California Farm to School Program.

Establishes the California Farm to School Program to connect local farms with school meal programs. Requires schools to increase procurement of California-grown foods for student meals. Creates a grant program to support farm-to-school initiatives and hands-on food education. Establishes a dedicated Farm to School Account to fund program activities through various sources.

The California Guaranteed Income Statewide Feasibility Study Act.

Requires California to study implementing a permanent statewide guaranteed income program by 2028. Establishes a steering committee of program operators and participants to guide research and recommendations. Mandates data sharing between state agencies to analyze impacts on vulnerable populations. Prioritizes funding for groups including foster youth, domestic violence survivors, and low-income seniors.

Emergencies proclaimed by the Governor: school employee catastrophic leave.

Expands school employee catastrophic leave programs to include charter schools and state emergencies. Allows employees to donate vacation and sick leave to colleagues affected by catastrophic events. Requires employees to exhaust their paid leave before receiving donated leave credits. Limits the use of donated leave to 12 consecutive months with a minimum donation of 8 hours.