CalFresh: maintenance of benefit level.

Assembly Member Sharp-Collins proposes maintaining CalFresh benefit levels against potential federal reductions through legislation that would establish a minimum threshold based on January 2025 payment rates. The bill requires the State Department of Social Services to preserve CalFresh benefits at or above levels set by the federal Thrifty Food Plan as of January 20, 2025, even if federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding decreases.

Under the measure, California would utilize state funds, subject to legislative appropriation, to maintain benefit levels when federal and existing non-federal funding proves insufficient. The bill also directs the department to examine options for expanding CalFresh eligibility and benefits through a feasibility study, with findings due to the Legislature and Joint Legislative Budget Committee by January 2027. These study provisions would expire on January 1, 2031.

The legislation comes as CalFresh serves over 40 million Americans with an average daily benefit of $6.16 per person, according to the bill's findings. The 2021 Thrifty Food Plan adjustment, which determines SNAP benefit amounts, currently guides these payment levels. The bill's authors note that federal proposals have emerged to reduce these benefits, prompting this state-level response to preserve assistance for California recipients.