Section 11053.2.

(a) Notwithstanding any other law, the department shall establish a process of intercounty transfer of eligibility for CalFresh benefits provided under Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 18900) of Part 6 when a recipient changes residence from one county to another within the state. The intercounty transfer process shall facilitate a recipient's move from one county to another without a break in benefits and without requiring a new application to be submitted to the new county of residence.

(b) (1) For CalFresh recipients who are receiving CalWORKs benefits pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11200), the intercounty transfer process utilized for CalWORKs shall be used.

(2) For CalFresh recipients who are receiving Medi-Cal benefits pursuant to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 14000), but are not receiving CalWORKs benefits pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11200), the intercounty transfer process utilized for the Medi-Cal program shall be used.

(3) This subdivision shall be implemented no later than April 1, 2011.

(c) For CalFresh recipients who are not receiving CalWORKs or Medi-Cal benefits as described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (b), an intercounty transfer process shall be developed, in consultation with representatives of county human services departments and advocates for recipients. To the greatest extent possible, the process shall be simple, client friendly, ensure the client does not need to provide copies of documents that were previously provided to the prior county of residence, build on existing processes for the programs described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (b), and minimize workload for county eligibility operations. The process developed pursuant to this subdivision shall be implemented no later than July 1, 2011.

(d) Upon the implementation of the intercounty transfer procedures set forth in this section, it shall be the responsibility of a recipient changing residence from one county to another within the state to notify his or her prior county of residence of his or her move. The prior county of residence shall notify the new county of the recipient's move as soon as the recipient's location in the new county is known. The new county of residence shall be responsible for determining the recipient's continued eligibility for payment of CalFresh benefits. To the extent permitted by federal law, the new county of residence shall not be required to interview persons in the CalFresh household to determine continued eligibility until the next scheduled recertification or other regularly scheduled interview.

(e) Notwithstanding the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), the department may implement this section through all-county letters, or similar instructions from the director no later than April 1, 2011, with respect to subdivision (b), and no later than July 1, 2011, with respect to subdivision (c).

(f) The department shall adopt regulations as otherwise necessary to implement this section no later than July 1, 2012. Emergency regulations adopted for implementation of this section may be adopted by the director in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code). The adoption of emergency regulations shall be deemed to be an emergency and necessary for immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, or general welfare. The emergency regulations shall be exempt from review by the Office of Administrative Law. The emergency regulations authorized by this section shall be submitted to the Office of Administrative Law for filing with the Secretary of State and shall remain in effect for no more than 180 days.

(Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 227, Sec. 40. Effective January 1, 2012.)