(a) To the extent permitted by federal law, regulations, waivers, and directives, the department shall implement the prospective budgeting, semiannual reporting system provided in Sections 11265.1, 11265.2, and 11265.3, and related provisions, regarding CalFresh, in a cost-effective manner that promotes compatibility between the CalWORKs program and CalFresh, and minimizes the potential for payment errors.

(b) For CalFresh recipients who also are Medi-Cal beneficiaries and who are subject to the Medi-Cal midyear status reporting requirements, counties shall seek to align the timing of reports required under this section with midyear status reports required by the Medi-Cal program. This subdivision does not apply to CalFresh households in which all adult members are elderly or disabled members, as defined in Section 271.2 of Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations, and in which the household has no earned income.

(c) The department shall seek all necessary waivers from the United States Department of Agriculture to implement subdivision (a).

(d) Counties may establish staggered, semiannual reporting cycles for individual households, based on factors established or approved by the department, provided the semiannual reporting cycle is aligned with the certification period; however, all households within a county must be transitioned to a semiannual reporting system simultaneously. Up to and until the establishment of a countywide semiannual reporting system, a county shall operate a quarterly system, as established by law and regulation.

(e) The requirement of subdivision (e) of Section 11265.1 shall apply to the implementation of this section.

(f) (1) This section shall become operative on April 1, 2013. A county shall implement the semiannual reporting requirements in accordance with the act that added this section no later than October 1, 2013.

(2) Upon implementation described in paragraph (1), each county shall provide a certificate to the director certifying that semiannual reporting has been implemented in the county.

(3) Upon filing the certificate described in paragraph (2), a county shall comply with the semiannual reporting provisions of this section.

(g) (1) It is the intent of the Legislature that, due to the establishment of a semiannual reporting cycle, change reporting no longer be imposed on certain households that were exempt from quarterly reporting pursuant to federal law. To that end, the department shall work with county human services agencies, client advocates, and the Statewide Automated Welfare System to eliminate change reporting for all households no later than January 1, 2017.

(2) For the purposes of this subdivision, “change reporting” means the reporting requirements imposed on households designated as certified change reporting households pursuant to Section 273.12(a) of Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 20, Sec. 54. (SB 79) Effective June 24, 2015.)