Public assistance payments and unemployment compensation benefits: electronic fund transfer: qualifying accounts.

Existing law provides for protection, care, and assistance for people of the state, and the promotion of the welfare and happiness of all people in the state by providing appropriate aid and services to the needy and distressed. Programs established for this purpose include the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) Program, which provides cash assistance and other social services to needy families, using federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant program, state, and county funds, and CalFresh, whereby nutrition assistance benefits allocated to the state by the federal government are distributed to eligible individuals by each county. Counties administer the CalWORKs and CalFresh programs. Existing law authorizes the State Department of Social Services to provide for the delivery of public assistance payments at any time during the month and authorizes any person entitled to the receipt of public assistance payments to authorize payment to be directly deposited by electronic fund transfer into the person's account at a financial institution of his or her choice under a program of direct deposit by electronic transfer established by the county treasurer. Existing law requires each county treasurer to make an agreement with one or more financial institutions participating in the Automated Clearing House and to, by December 1, 2001, establish a program for the direct deposit by electronic fund transfer of payments to any person entitled to the receipt of public assistance benefits who authorizes the direct deposit of the benefits into the person's account at the financial institution of his or her choice. This bill would instead authorize a person entitled to receipt of public assistance payments to authorize payment to be directly deposited by electronic fund transfer to a qualifying account, as defined, at a financial institution of his or her choice under a program for direct deposit by electronic transfer, as established by the bill. The bill would require qualifying accounts to meet specified requirements. The bill would provide that each county treasurer has no obligation to determine whether the account at the financial institution of the person's choice is a qualifying account, as specified. Existing law also provides for unemployment compensation benefits to eligible persons who are unemployed through no fault of their own. These provisions are generally administered by the Employment Development Department. This bill would, if unemployment compensation benefit payments are directly deposited to an account of the recipient's choice, require that the payments only be deposited to a qualifying account, as defined. The bill would provide that the Employment Development Department has no obligation to determine whether an account at the financial institution of the recipient's choice is a qualifying account, as specified. This bill would prohibit a person or entity that issues a prepaid card or maintains or manages a prepaid card account, as defined, from accepting or facilitating the direct deposit of public assistance payments or unemployment compensation benefits to a prepaid card account that does not meet the requirements of a qualified account.