diff --git a/changelog.d/hub-ca-care-excludes-snap-1010.fixed.md b/changelog.d/hub-ca-care-excludes-snap-1010.fixed.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000000..084d1437bde --- /dev/null +++ b/changelog.d/hub-ca-care-excludes-snap-1010.fixed.md @@ -0,0 +1 @@ +Exclude SNAP benefits from California CARE and FERA countable income in all modeled years. diff --git a/policyengine_us/parameters/gov/states/ca/cpuc/income_sources.yaml b/policyengine_us/parameters/gov/states/ca/cpuc/income_sources.yaml index 066d595d891..3a8a29b4b35 100644 --- a/policyengine_us/parameters/gov/states/ca/cpuc/income_sources.yaml +++ b/policyengine_us/parameters/gov/states/ca/cpuc/income_sources.yaml @@ -11,7 +11,13 @@ description: >- # employment-related, non-cash income. The same footnote appears on the # CPUC-filed tariff sheet referenced below. # -# Housing subsidies are the one exception. D.14-08-030, issued August 14, +# SNAP benefits are excluded in both dated lists: 7 U.S.C. 2017(b) prohibits +# treating their value as income or resources under any federal, state or +# local law, including California's CARE and FERA programs. +# The same exclusion appears in the 2010 statute, before the housing +# decision; this corrects all modeled years rather than adding a new date. +# +# Separately, D.14-08-030, issued August 14, # 2014, holds in Section 6.2 that the income definition remains unchanged # except that housing subsidies will not be considered income, and Ordering # Paragraph 40(3) adopts "Housing subsidies are not counted as income". The @@ -67,7 +73,6 @@ values: # Public assistance payments - tanf - ssi - - snap - wic # Social Security - social_security @@ -110,7 +115,6 @@ values: # Public assistance payments - tanf - ssi - - snap - wic # Social Security - social_security @@ -137,6 +141,10 @@ metadata: period: year label: CA CPUC CARE/FERA income sources reference: + - title: 7 U.S.C. 2017(b), exclusion of SNAP benefits from income and resources + href: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title7/html/USCODE-2024-title7-chap51-sec2017.htm + - title: 7 U.S.C. 2017(b), 2010 edition + href: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2010-title7/pdf/USCODE-2010-title7-chap51-sec2017.pdf#page=1 - title: PG&E Form 01-9077, CARE/FERA Program Application (Rev. 6.26) href: https://www.pge.com/assets/pge/localized/en/docs/account/billing-and-assistance/care-fera-application.pdf - title: >- diff --git a/policyengine_us/tests/policy/baseline/gov/states/ca/cpuc/ca_cpuc_countable_income.yaml b/policyengine_us/tests/policy/baseline/gov/states/ca/cpuc/ca_cpuc_countable_income.yaml index b95a58c4a11..f5786bf4c18 100644 --- a/policyengine_us/tests/policy/baseline/gov/states/ca/cpuc/ca_cpuc_countable_income.yaml +++ b/policyengine_us/tests/policy/baseline/gov/states/ca/cpuc/ca_cpuc_countable_income.yaml @@ -112,3 +112,35 @@ spm_unit_capped_housing_subsidy: 25 output: ca_cpuc_countable_income: 1_000 + +- name: SNAP is excluded before the housing assistance exclusion. + period: 2013 + input: + age: 40 + state_code: CA + employment_income: 1_000 + housing_assistance: 500 + snap: 1_200 + tanf: 0 + ssi: 0 + wic: 0 + output: + # $1,000 wages + $500 housing; SNAP is excluded under 7 U.S.C. 2017(b). + # https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title7/html/USCODE-2024-title7-chap51-sec2017.htm + ca_cpuc_countable_income: 1_500 + +- name: SNAP cannot push income at the CARE limit above income eligibility. + period: 2026 + input: + age: 40 + state_code: CA + employment_income: 43_280 + snap: 1_200 + ca_care_categorically_eligible: false + output: + # CARE uses the two-person poverty line for a one-person household: + # 200% * ($15,960 + $5,680) = $43,280. SNAP adds $0 to countable income + # under 7 U.S.C. 2017(b), so income remains exactly at the limit. + # https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title7/html/USCODE-2024-title7-chap51-sec2017.htm + ca_cpuc_countable_income: 43_280 + ca_care_income_eligible: true