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Assembly advances bill to share employer hours to verify work requirements for Medi‑Cal and CalFresh
Summary
SB1054 would require EDD to collect hours‑worked data from employers and share it with DHCS and CDSS to streamline verification of federal HR1 work requirements, aiming to prevent eligible recipients from losing benefits and to improve workforce program evaluation.
Sen. Marc Cabaldon presented SB1054 to the Insurance Committee, describing the bill as a two‑part solution: improving workforce program evaluation by adding hours‑worked to existing wage reporting, and enabling automated work verification for Medi‑Cal and CalFresh recipients required to meet HR1 work standards.
Justin Garrett of the California State Association of Counties said counties need better data to keep residents enrolled in benefits and to avoid unnecessary coverage losses. ‘‘This bill puts an important tool in the toolbox of counties…to prevent vulnerable Californians from unnecessarily losing their health care and nutrition assistance,’’ Garrett said.
The bill would direct the Employment Development Department to collect hours data from employer wage reporting systems and facilitate secure sharing with the Department of Health Care Services and the Department of Social Services. Sponsors argued that automated verification will reduce paperwork, lower county administrative burden and reduce the risk that people lose benefits despite meeting work requirements.
Support and next steps: The California EDGE Coalition and counties testified in support; no witnesses in opposition appeared in committee. The committee voted to pass SB1054 as amended to the Committee on Labor and Employment. The committee clerk recorded the motion and roll call on the record; the bill advances for further fiscal and policy review.
