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COUNTY OF SAN MATEOInter-Departmental Correspondence |
County Manager's Office |
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DATE: |
May 8, 2003 |
BOARD MEETING DATE: |
May 13, 2003 |
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TO: |
Honorable Board of Supervisors |
FROM: |
John Maltbie, County Manager |
SUBJECT: |
County Manager's Report #9-Resolutions in support of AB 1 (Berg) and AB 41 (Daucher), funding for area agencies on aging |
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Recommendation |
Adopt resolutions in support of AB 1 (Berg) and AB 41 (Daucher), funding for area agencies on aging. |
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Background |
AB 1 (Berg) and AB 41 (Daucher) share the common goal of providing a mechanism to address the possible disruption of services provided by the Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) when enactment of the budget is delayed by providing a continuous appropriation from the Federal Trust Fund.
AB 1 (Berg) would establish a continuous appropriation from the Federal Trust Fund to the California Department of Aging (CDA) for the AAA in any year in which the state budget is not enacted by July 1.
AB 41 (Daucher) would create the Senior Citizens Interim Payment (SCIP) Fund, which would be continuously appropriated for up to $22 million in Federal Trust Funds in any year in which the state budget is not enacted by July 1. This fund would pay for local administration of services to the elderly provided through the CDA and AAA in the absence of an enacted state budget.
Through differing mechanisms these bills would reduce the applicable Budget Act allocations by the amount paid out pursuant to the continuous appropriation. |
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Discussion |
According to Berg, in years when a state budget has not been enacted in a timely fashion, AAA have not been able to access state or federal funds. Author of AB 786, a San Mateo County proposal, Daucher notes that AAA funding is "frozen" if the state budget is not enacted on time despite the fact that approximately 90 percent of funding for local services administered by the AAA is from the Federal Trust Fund. While AAA (particularly nonprofit AAA) can obtain loans or lines of credit, loan fees and interest must be paid by private sources since state and federal funds cannot be used to pay for such costs. |
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Both of these bills are intended to mitigate the risk of a temporary delay in funding and avoid local service disruption. In San Mateo County, AAA is administered by the Health Services Agency. While the County has been able to advance any needed funding to ensure continuous service, these bills would provide continuous funding and eliminate the need for an advance. As illustration, San Mateo County is anticipating approximately $3.3 million ($700,000 state, $2.6 million federal) for AAA. A delay in enacting the state budget would require the County to advance approximately $275,000 per month. |
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These bills may be consolidated during the legislative process. |
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The Commission on Aging voted to recommend to the Board of Supervisors' Legislative Committee support of AB 1 (Berg) and AB 41 (Daucher). |
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The Legislative Committee has reviewed and recommends support of this bill. |
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Vision Alignment |
Support of AB 1 (Berg) furthers the County's commitment to ensure basic health and safety for all and supports Goal #8 to help vulnerable people-the aged, disabled, mentally ill, at-risk youth and others-achieve a better quality of life. |
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Fiscal Impact |
If passed as currently drafted, these bills would enable San Mateo County to avoid advancing funds for AAA costs, which for the 2003-2004 fiscal year can be as high as $275,000 per month. |