(The Center Square) – California legislators are seeking to raise the felony threshold for welfare fraud from $950 to $25,000, which one lawmaker says would effectively “legalize welfare fraud.”
Senate Bill 560, sponsored by state Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas, D-Los Angeles, would raise the existing $950 threshold to $25,000 for felony charges for welfare obtained and retained fraudulently. The bill would also prohibit a person from being additionally charged with perjury based solely on a statement made to a county welfare department, if they are subject to prosecution for overpayment or overissuance pursuant to these provisions.”
Each case would also have to be “reviewed by a “qualified caseworker” before “administrative penalties” are applied.
Assemblyman Carl DeMaio, R-San Diego, says the proposed bill would not only “legalize welfare fraud,” but would also undermine the key programs relied upon by vulnerable Californians.
“Democrat politicians are advancing legislation to legalize welfare fraud in California,” said DeMaio in a statement. “SB 560 by Senator Smallwood-Cuevas illustrates exactly what’s wrong with California: Democrats yet again jeopardize the solvency of programs designed to support the most vulnerable in California in order to protect and reward those who break our laws and game the system.”
In support of the bill, the Western Center on Law and Poverty says that prosecution for overpayments is unfair to families and could come with immigration consequences.
“When overpayments are referred to the criminal system, families can be torn apart for something as simple as a paperwork error,” wrote WCLP. “The head of household, most often a woman of color, can face serious immigration consequences, loss of employment, loss of housing, and even loss of child custody.”
However, the California District Attorneys Association suggests that SB 560 would, by eliminating state criminal penalties for fraud under $25,000, shift that authority to the federal government, including federal immigration officials, thereby undermining the bill’s intended purpose.
“Because welfare fraud includes fraud in federally funded programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), eliminating California’s authority to investigate and prosecute attempted welfare fraud and welfare fraud under $25,000, this bill threatens to shift investigative responsibility to federal agencies including the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” wrote CDDA in its opposition to the bill, which included similar concerns to DeMaio’s.
SB 650 has passed its two committees and is set for a hearing from the Senate Appropriations Committee on May 5.
