California 2021-2022 Regular Session Status: Enacted Bipartisan · 1 D · 1 R cosponsors

SB 641 — CalFresh for College Students Act.

Last action — Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 874, Statutes of 2022.

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. ✓
    Passed Senate
  4. ✓
    Passed Assembly
  5. ✓
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 19, 2021. Enacted.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 92% · high confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

High

How often bills like it became law.

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 3 sponsors

    1 primary, 2 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (1 D · 1 R) — cross-party backing.

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 8 recorded votes so far.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

Existing federal law provides for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) , known in California as CalFresh, under which supplemental nutrition assistance benefits allocated to the state by the federal government are distributed to eligible individuals by each county. Under existing law, households are eligible to receive CalFresh benefits to the extent permitted by federal law. Existing federal law provides that students who are enrolled in college or other institutions of higher education at least half-time are not eligible for SNAP benefits unless they meet one of several specified exemptions, including participating in specified employment and training programs. Existing state law requires, for the purposes of determining eligibility for CalFresh, certain educational programs, as determined by the State Department of Social Services, to be considered employment and training programs, thereby qualifying a student participating in one of those programs for an exemption, unless prohibited by federal law. Existing law requires the department to maintain and regularly update a list of programs that meet the employment and training exemption set forth in federal regulations. Existing law also requires the department to issue and maintain instructions for county human services agencies to verify exemptions to the CalFresh student eligibility rule for specified students. This bill would also require the department to post on its internet website that program list and those instructions to counties, and would require the instructions to include specific guidance for processing applications, reporting, and recertification for additional students who are exempt from the CalFresh student eligibility rule. The bill would require the department to convene a workgroup to identify the steps necessary to establish a CalFresh application submission process that accommodates the large influx of CalFresh applications during the beginning of a school term, as specified, and to submit a report, on or before April 1, 2023, to the Legislature on the necessary steps identified by the workgroup and any estimates of costs associated with implementing those steps.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 874, Statutes of 2022.

  2. Approved by the Governor.

  3. Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3 p.m.

  4. Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 40. Noes 0. Page 5022.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.

  5. In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending.

  6. Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 75. Noes 0. Page 5943.) Ordered to the Senate.

  7. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  8. Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.

  9. From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 12. Noes 0.) (August 11).

  10. August 3 set for first hearing. Placed on suspense file.

  11. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (June 28). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  12. Coauthors revised.

  13. June 14 hearing postponed by committee.

  14. Referred to Com. on HUM. S.

  15. In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.

  16. Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 37. Noes 0. Page 2822.) Ordered to the Assembly.

  17. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  18. Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.

  19. From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 7. Noes 0. Page 2795.) (January 20).

  20. Set for hearing January 20.

  21. January 18 hearing: Placed on APPR suspense file.

  22. Set for hearing January 18.

  23. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 4. Noes 0.) (January 5). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  24. Re-referred to Com. on HUMAN S.

  25. From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on RLS.

  26. Set for hearing January 5 in HUMAN S. pending receipt.

  27. Referred to Com. on RLS.

  28. Joint Rule 55 suspended. (Ayes 32. Noes 4. Page 272.)

  29. (Ayes 32. Noes 4.)

  30. Art. IV. Sec. 8(a) of the Constitution dispensed with.

  31. Read first time.

  32. From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 24.

  33. Introduced. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 2 co-sponsors · 119 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

  • Skinner

Co-sponsors (2)

Not signed on (119)

119 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 119 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

Unfinished Business SB641 Skinner et al. Concurrence

Passed 40 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 23000
Republican 4000
Democratic 13000
Total 40000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (40)
Member Party Vote
Nielsen — Yea
Bradford — Yea
Glazer — Yea
Eggman — Yea
Hertzberg — Yea
Min — Yea
Roth — Yea
Wieckowski — Yea
Bates — Yea
Hueso — Yea
Borgeas — Yea
Leyva — Yea
Pan — Yea
Atkins — Yea
Dodd — Yea
Gonzalez — Yea
Rubio — Yea
Wilk — Yea
Skinner — Yea
Portantino — Yea
Kamlager — Yea
Melendez — Yea
Newman — Yea
Allen, Benjamin Democratic Yea
Archuleta, Bob Democratic Yea
Becker, Josh Democratic Yea
Caballero, Anna M. Democratic Yea
Cortese, Dave Democratic Yea
Durazo, Maria Elena Democratic Yea
Hurtado, Melissa Democratic Yea
Laird, John Democratic Yea
Limón, Monique Democratic Yea
McGuire, Mike Democratic Yea
Stern, Henry I. Democratic Yea
Umberg, Thomas J. Democratic Yea
Wiener, Scott D. Democratic Yea
Dahle, Megan Republican Yea
Grove, Shannon Republican Yea
Jones, Brian W. Republican Yea
Ochoa Bogh, Rosilicie Republican Yea

Official roll call →

SB 641 Skinner Senate Third Reading By Medina

Passed 75 Yea · 0 Nay · 5 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 30002
Unaffiliated 38001
Republican 7002
Total 75005
% of votes cast 94%0%0%6%
How each member voted (80)
Member Party Vote
Bloom — Yea
Friedman — Yea
Voepel — Yea
Cooley — Yea
Mathis — Yea
Bigelow — Yea
Rendon — Yea
Mullin — Yea
Holden — Yea
Villapudua — Yea
Salas — Yea
Jones-Sawyer — Yea
Santiago — Yea
Maienschein — Yea
Rodriguez — Yea
Quirk — Yea
Kiley — Yea
Mayes — Yea
Nazarian — Yea
Ting — Yea
Low — Yea
Levine — Yea
O'Donnell — Yea
Waldron — Yea
Daly — Yea
McCarty — Yea
Medina — Yea
Gray — Yea
Smith — Yea
Cunningham — Yea
Cooper — Yea
Wood — Not Voting
Cristina Garcia — Yea
Eduardo Garcia — Yea
Jim Patterson — Yea
Luz Rivas — Yea
Mark Stone — Yea
Vince Fong — Yea
Wendy Carrillo — Yea
Aguiar-Curry, Cecilia M. Democratic Yea
Alvarez, David Democratic Yea
Arambula, Joaquin Democratic Not Voting
Bauer-Kahan, Rebecca Democratic Yea
Bennett, Steve Democratic Yea
Berman, Marc Democratic Yea
Boerner, Tasha Democratic Yea
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Bryan, Isaac G. Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Cervantes, Sabrina Democratic Not Voting
Fong, Mike Democratic Yea
Gabriel, Jesse Democratic Yea
Gipson, Mike A. Democratic Yea
Grayson, Timothy S. Democratic Yea
Haney, Matt Democratic Yea
Irwin, Jacqui Democratic Yea
Kalra, Ash Democratic Yea
Lee, Alex Democratic Yea
McKinnor, Tina Democratic Yea
Muratsuchi, Al Democratic Yea
Nguyen, Stephanie Democratic Yea
Petrie-Norris, Cottie Democratic Yea
Quirk-Silva, Sharon Democratic Yea
Ramos, James C. Democratic Yea
Reyes, Eloise Gómez Democratic Yea
Rivas, Robert Democratic Yea
Rubio, Blanca E. Democratic Yea
Ward, Christopher M. Democratic Yea
Weber Pierson, M.D., Akilah Democratic Yea
Wicks, Buffy Democratic Yea
Wilson, Lori D. Democratic Yea
Chen, Phillip Republican Yea
Choi, Steven S. Republican Not Voting
Dahle, Megan Republican Yea
Davies, Laurie Republican Yea
Flora, Heath Republican Not Voting
Gallagher, James Republican Yea
Lackey, Tom Republican Yea
Seyarto, Kelly Republican Yea
Valladares, Suzette Martinez Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Do pass as amended.

Passed 12 Yea · 0 Nay · 4 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 5002
Democratic 7000
Republican 0002
Total 12004
% of votes cast 75%0%0%25%
How each member voted (16)
Member Party Vote
Levine — Yea
Quirk — Yea
Holden — Yea
McCarty — Yea
Bigelow — Not Voting
Eduardo Garcia — Yea
Vince Fong — Not Voting
Arambula, Joaquin Democratic Yea
Bryan, Isaac G. Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Fong, Mike Democratic Yea
Gabriel, Jesse Democratic Yea
Rivas, Robert Democratic Yea
Weber Pierson, M.D., Akilah Democratic Yea
Dahle, Megan Republican Not Voting
Davies, Laurie Republican Not Voting

Official roll call →

Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]

Passed 7 Yea · 0 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 4000
Republican 1000
Unaffiliated 2001
Total 7001
% of votes cast 88%0%0%13%
How each member voted (8)
Member Party Vote
Waldron — Not Voting
Villapudua — Yea
Mark Stone — Yea
Arambula, Joaquin Democratic Yea
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Bryan, Isaac G. Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Davies, Laurie Republican Yea

Official roll call →

3rd Reading

Passed 37 Yea · 0 Nay · 3 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 13000
Unaffiliated 21002
Republican 3001
Total 37003
% of votes cast 93%0%0%8%
How each member voted (40)
Member Party Vote
Newman — Yea
Min — Yea
Borgeas — Yea
Hertzberg — Yea
Gonzalez — Yea
Rubio — Yea
Melendez — Yea
Leyva — Yea
Portantino — Yea
Wieckowski — Yea
Kamlager — Yea
Bradford — Yea
Nielsen — Yea
Eggman — Yea
Pan — Yea
Wilk — Yea
Hueso — Yea
Atkins — Yea
Skinner — Yea
Roth — Yea
Glazer — Yea
Bates — Not Voting
Dodd — Not Voting
Allen, Benjamin Democratic Yea
Archuleta, Bob Democratic Yea
Becker, Josh Democratic Yea
Caballero, Anna M. Democratic Yea
Cortese, Dave Democratic Yea
Durazo, Maria Elena Democratic Yea
Hurtado, Melissa Democratic Yea
Laird, John Democratic Yea
Limón, Monique Democratic Yea
McGuire, Mike Democratic Yea
Stern, Henry I. Democratic Yea
Umberg, Thomas J. Democratic Yea
Wiener, Scott D. Democratic Yea
Dahle, Megan Republican Not Voting
Grove, Shannon Republican Yea
Jones, Brian W. Republican Yea
Ochoa Bogh, Rosilicie Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Do pass as amended

Passed 7 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 5000
Democratic 1000
Republican 1000
Total 7000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (7)
Member Party Vote
Portantino — Yea
Bradford — Yea
Bates — Yea
Kamlager — Yea
Wieckowski — Yea
Laird, John Democratic Yea
Jones, Brian W. Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Placed on suspense file

Passed 6 Yea · 0 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 5000
Democratic 1000
Republican 0001
Total 6001
% of votes cast 86%0%0%14%
How each member voted (7)
Member Party Vote
Wieckowski — Yea
Bradford — Yea
Bates — Yea
Kamlager — Yea
Portantino — Yea
Laird, John Democratic Yea
Jones, Brian W. Republican Not Voting

Official roll call →

Subjects

public-safety immigration healthcare labor education
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Frequently asked questions

What does SB 641 do?
Existing federal law provides for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) , known in California as CalFresh, under which supplemental nutrition assistance benefits allocated to the state by the federal government are distributed to eligible individuals by each county. Under existing law, households are eligible to receive CalFresh benefits to the extent permitted by federal law. Existing federal law provides that students who are enrolled in college or other institutions of higher education at least half-time are not eligible for SNAP benefits unless they meet one of several specified exemptions, including participating in specified employment and training programs. Existing state law requires, for the purposes of determining eligibility for CalFresh, certain educational programs, as determined by the State Department of Social Services, to be considered employment and training programs, thereby qualifying a student participating in one of those programs for an exemption, unless prohibited by federal law. Existing law requires the department to maintain and regularly update a list of programs that meet the employment and training exemption set forth in federal regulations. Existing law also requires the department to issue and maintain instructions for county human services agencies to verify exemptions to the CalFresh student eligibility rule for specified students. This bill would also require the department to post on its internet website that program list and those instructions to counties, and would require the instructions to include specific guidance for processing applications, reporting, and recertification for additional students who are exempt from the CalFresh student eligibility rule. The bill would require the department to convene a workgroup to identify the steps necessary to establish a CalFresh application submission process that accommodates the large influx of CalFresh applications during the beginning of a school term, as specified, and to submit a report, on or before April 1, 2023, to the Legislature on the necessary steps identified by the workgroup and any estimates of costs associated with implementing those steps.
Who sponsors SB 641?
SB 641 is sponsored by Skinner, Calderon, Lisa (Democratic), and Davies, Laurie (Republican).
What is the current status of SB 641?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 19, 2021. Enacted.
Where can I track SB 641?
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