Assembly BillVetoedWelfare and Institutions
AB 1324: CalWORKs.
What AB 1324 does, verified March 9, 2026
The bill aims to amend the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWorks) program to expand eligibility and benefits for low-income families. It would allow families to qualify for assistance even if the parent works less than 100 hours in the past 4 weeks, disregarding the number of hours worked. The bill also requires the payment of CalWorks aid to families participating in a strike or lockout, rather than excluding them. Additionally, the bill specifies self-employment as a work activity for CalWorks recipients, expands the types of work activities, and requires counties to prioritize placements with employers that have a joint labor-management agreement or a signed community benefits agreement. The bill also includes provisions to prevent subsidized employment placements that supplant public employee work or place workers in hazardous conditions.
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| Jan. 22, 2026 | Consideration of Governor's veto stricken from file. |
| Jan. 22, 2026 | Stricken from file. |
| Oct. 06, 2025 | Consideration of Governor's veto pending. |
| Oct. 06, 2025 | Vetoed by Governor. |
| Sep. 23, 2025 | Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4 p.m. |
Latest bill textEnrolled version, September 15, 2025 · 4,138 words
| Enrolled September 15, 2025 |
| Passed IN Senate September 10, 2025 |
| Passed IN Assembly September 11, 2025 |
| Amended IN Senate September 05, 2025 |
| Amended IN Senate August 29, 2025 |
| Amended IN Assembly April 24, 2025 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 1324
| Introduced by Assembly Members Sharp-Collins and Lee (Coauthor: Assembly Member Ransom) |
February 21, 2025 |
An act to amend Sections 11322.6 and 11322.64 of, to amend and add Sections 11201 and 11250.4 of, and to add and repeal Section 11267 of, the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to public social services.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1324, Sharp-Collins. CalWORKs.
Existing federal law, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, replaced the federal Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program with the federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) block grant program. Existing federal law provides for allocation of federal funds through the federal TANF block grant program to eligible states. Existing law establishes the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, under which, through a combination of state and county funds and federal funds received through the TANF program, each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families.
Existing law requires aid to be granted to a family with a related child under 18 years of age who has been deprived of parental support or care due to the unemployment, continued absence, death, incapacity, or incarceration of a parent. Existing law considers a child to be deprived of parental support or care due to unemployment of the child’s parent or parents when the parent has worked less than 100 hours in the preceding 4 weeks and meets specified requirements related to the federal AFDC program.
This bill would, operative on July 1, 2026, or on a later date as specified, for purposes of determining a child’s deprivation of parental support or care due to the unemployment of their parent, delete the requirements that a parent work less than 100 hours in the preceding 4 weeks and meet the federal AFDC program requirements. The bill would instead disregard the number of hours that the child’s parent works, provided the family does not exceed the applicable gross or net income limits and is otherwise eligible for assistance. To the extent that the bill would expand eligibility for the CalWORKs program, thereby imposing a higher level of service on counties, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
Existing law prohibits the payment of CalWORKs aid to an assistance unit if a caretaker relative is, on the last day of the month, participating in a strike, unless the strike is necessitated by an imminent health and safety hazard or abnormally dangerous working conditions at the place of employment, or a lockout. Under existing law, if an individual other than a caretaker relative is participating in a strike, subject to the exceptions and their limitations, that individual’s needs are not included in determining the amount of aid payable to the assistance unit for the month.
This bill would, operative on July 1, 2026, or on a later date as specified, instead require the payment of CalWORKs aid to an assistance unit if a parent or caretaker relative is participating in a strike or lockout, to the extent permitted by federal law. In the case of participation in a strike by a parent, caretaker relative, or other individual, the bill would instead require that the person’s needs be included in determining the amount, to the extent permitted by federal law. To the extent that the bill would expand eligibility for the CalWORKs program, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The bill would require the State Department of Social Services to conduct a CalWORKs expansion feasibility study, to include recommendations within the report, and to submit the report to legislative human services committees on or before January 1, 2028.
Under the CalWORKs program, certain recipients are required to participate in welfare-to-work activities, which may include, among others, unsubsidized employment, subsidized private or public sector employment, and self-employment. Existing law, operative on July 1, 2026, or on a later date as specified, does not expressly include self-employment within the list of work activities under those provisions.
This bill would specify self-employment within the above-described list of work activities. To the extent that this would expand CalWORKs eligibility or increase the duties of counties in the administration of the CalWORKs program, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
Existing law requires the department to develop an allocation methodology to distribute additional funding for expanded subsidized employment programs for CalWORKs recipients. Existing law requires the department, in consultation with the County Welfare Directors Association of California, to determine the amount or proportion of funding allocated that may be utilized for operational costs, as specified.
This bill would also include feedback from representatives from labor unions and public benefit advocates for purposes of the above-described determination.
Existing law requires a county that accepts funding from this allocation to, among other things, submit to the department a plan regarding how it intends to utilize the allocated funding and to prioritize subsidized employment placements that offer opportunities for participants to obtain skills and experiences in their fields of interest.
This bill would require a participating county to include in its plan, with regard to prioritized subsidized employment, placements with employers that have a joint labor-management letter of support, a signed community benefits agreement, a project labor agreement, or a labor peace agreement. The bill would require the plan to include how the county intends to prevent subsidized employment placements that supplant work that a public employee would have otherwise been hired to do, and to prevent placement with employers that have a history of a bad safety record, or resolved or pending litigation, violations, citations, fines, or penalties relating to any state or federal environmental or labor laws within the last 10 years.
Existing law continuously appropriates moneys from the General Fund to defray a portion of county costs under the CalWORKs program.
This bill would instead provide that the continuous appropriation would not be made for purposes of implementing the above provisions.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 11201 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:11201.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following shall apply:(a) “Unemployed parent” means a natural or adoptive parent with whom the child is living.
(b) A child for whom a parent is applying for assistance under this chapter shall be considered to be deprived of parental support or care due to the unemployment of their parent or parents when the parent has worked less than 100 hours in the preceding four weeks and meets the requirements concerning an unemployed parent in effect on August 21, 1996, as set forth in Section 233.100 of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations except for the provisions of subparagraph (i) to (v), inclusive, of paragraph (3) of subsection (a) of that section.
(c) A family receiving aid under this chapter with a child who is considered to be deprived of parental support or care due to unemployment may continue to receive assistance regardless of the number of hours their parent works provided the family does not exceed the applicable gross or net income limits and is otherwise eligible for assistance.
(d) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2026, or the date the department notifies the Legislature that the Statewide Automated Welfare System can perform the necessary automation to implement Section 11201, as added by the act that added this subdivision, whichever date is later.
SEC. 2.
Section 11201 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:11201.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following shall apply:(a) “Unemployed parent” means a natural or adoptive parent with whom the child is living.
(b) A child for whom a parent is applying for assistance under this chapter shall be considered to be deprived of parental support or care due to the unemployment of their parent or parents regardless of the number of hours that the child’s parent works, provided the family does not exceed the applicable gross or net income limits and is otherwise eligible for assistance.
(c) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2026, or the date the department notifies the Legislature that the Statewide Automated Welfare System can perform the necessary automation to implement this section, whichever date is later.
SEC. 3.
Section 11250.4 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:11250.4.
(a) Aid under this chapter shall not be payable to an assistance unit if a caretaker relative is, on the last day of the month, participating in a strike, unless the strike is necessitated by an imminent health and safety hazard or abnormally dangerous working conditions at the place of employment as determined by the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, or a lockout as defined in Section 1132.8 of the Labor Code. For the purposes of this section, a strike necessitated by an imminent health and safety hazard or abnormally dangerous working condition shall last only so long as necessitated by the imminent hazard or abnormally dangerous working condition. If an individual other than a caretaker relative is participating in a strike, as defined in this section, on the last day of the month, subject to the exceptions and their limitations set forth in this section, that individual’s needs shall not be included in determining the amount of aid payable to the assistance unit for the month during which the individual is participating in the strike on the last day of that month.(b) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2026, or the date the department notifies the Legislature that the Statewide Automated Welfare System can perform the necessary automation to implement Section 11250.4, as added by the act that added this subdivision, whichever date is later.
SEC. 4.
Section 11250.4 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:11250.4.
(a) To the extent permitted by federal law, aid under this chapter shall be payable to an assistance unit if a parent or caretaker relative is, on the last day of the month, participating in a strike, or a lockout as defined in Section 1132.8 of the Labor Code.(b) To the extent permitted by federal law, if a parent, caretaker relative, or an individual other than a parent or caretaker relative, is participating in a strike on the last day of the month, that person’s needs shall be included in determining the amount of aid payable to the assistance unit for the month during which the person is participating in the strike on the last day of that month.
(c) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2026, or the date the department notifies the Legislature that the Statewide Automated Welfare System can perform the necessary automation to implement this section, whichever date is later.
SEC. 5.
Section 11267 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:11267.
(a) The State Department of Social Services shall conduct a CalWORKs expansion feasibility study, including estimated costs and identified necessary statutory changes for expansion. The department shall consult with the County Welfare Directors Association of California as needed. The department shall include recommendations within the report of the study and shall submit the report to the Assembly Committee on Human Services and the Senate Committee on Human Services on or before January 1, 2028.(b) A report to be submitted to the Legislature pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(c) Notwithstanding Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this section shall remain in effect until January 1, 2031, and as of that date is repealed.
SEC. 6.
Section 11322.6 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, as added by Section 11 of Chapter 79 of the Statutes of 2025, is amended to read:11322.6.
(a) The welfare-to-work plan developed pursuant to this article shall provide for welfare-to-work activities. Welfare-to-work activities may include, but are not limited to, any of the following:(1) Educational activities, which may include, but are not limited to, all of the following:
(A) Postsecondary education leading to a degree or certificate, which may be attended in person or online.
(B) Obtaining a high school diploma.
(C) Technical training and vocational education and training, including, but not limited to, college and community college education, adult education, regional occupational centers, and regional occupational programs.
(D) Career-specific education.
(E) Job skills training.
(F) Adult basic education, which shall include reading, writing, arithmetic, high school proficiency, or a general educational development certificate of instruction, and English as a second language. Participants under this subparagraph shall be referred to appropriate service providers that include, but are not limited to, educational programs operated by school districts or county offices of education that have contracted with the Superintendent of Public Instruction to provide services to participants pursuant to Section 33117.5 of the Education Code.
(2) Work activities, which may include, but are not limited to, those set forth in Section 261.30 of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations, and any of the following:
(A) Unsubsidized employment.
(B) Subsidized private or public sector employment.
(C) Work experience, which means public or private sector work that shall help provide basic job skills, enhance existing job skills in a position related to the participant’s experience, or provide a needed community service that will lead to employment. Unpaid work experience shall be limited to 12 months, unless the county welfare department and the recipient agree to extend this period by an amendment to the welfare-to-work plan. The county welfare department shall review the work experience assignment as appropriate and make revisions as necessary to ensure that it continues to be consistent with the participant’s plan and effective in preparing the participant to attain employment.
(D) On-the-job training.
(E) (i) Grant-based on-the-job training, which means public or private sector employment or on-the-job training in which the recipient’s cash grant, or a portion thereof, or the aid grant savings resulting from employment, or both, is diverted to the employer as a wage subsidy to partially or wholly offset the payment of wages to the participant, so long as the total amount diverted does not exceed the family’s maximum aid payment.
(ii) A county shall not assign a participant to grant-based on-the-job training unless and until the participant has voluntarily agreed to participate in grant-based on-the-job training by executing a voluntary agreement form, which shall be developed by the department. The agreement shall include, but not be limited to, information on the following:
(I) How job termination or another event will not result in loss of the recipient’s grant funds, pursuant to department regulations.
(II) (ia) How to obtain the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), including the Advance EITC, and increased CalFresh benefits, which may become available due to increased earned income.
(ib) This subparagraph shall only become operative when and to the extent that the department determines that it reflects current federal law and Internal Revenue Service regulations.
(III) How these financial supports should increase the participant’s current income and how increasing earned income should increase the recipient’s future social security income.
(iii) Grant-based on-the-job training shall include community service positions pursuant to Section 11322.9.
(iv) Any portion of a wage from employment that is funded by the diversion of a recipient’s cash grant, or the grant savings from employment pursuant to this subdivision, or both, shall not be exempt under Section 11451.5 from the calculation of the income of the family for purposes of subdivision (a) of Section 11450.
(F) Self-employment.
(G) Supported work or transitional employment, which means forms of grant-based on-the-job training in which the recipient’s cash grant, or a portion thereof, or the aid grant savings from employment, is diverted to an intermediary service provider, to partially or wholly offset the payment of wages to the participant.
(3) Barrier removal services, when available, which may include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(A) Mental health services, as described in Section 11325.7; substance abuse treatment services, as described in Section 11325.8; CalWORKs Home Visiting Program services, as described in Article 3.4 (commencing with Section 11330.6); and domestic violence services, as described in Article 7.5 (commencing with Section 11495).
(B) Financial literacy classes and coaching.
(C) Activities that develop and enhance workplace skills, including, but not limited to, career-specific training programs, English language learning, literacy and mathematics skill courses, or credential programs.
(D) Working with children’s health and school professionals, parenting classes, education-related appointments for the participant or their dependents, child welfare or child welfare-related activities, and any other activities to help ensure child well-being and family unity.
(E) Activities that build foundations for employment, including, but not limited to, housing search efforts.
(F) Activities related to legal issues or housing stability, including, but not limited to, court appearances, housing searches and tenant rights and obligation classes, homeless support programs, and shelter participation requirements.
(b) The department shall have the discretion to identify additional plan activities that improve employment opportunities and family well-being.
(c) Notwithstanding the rulemaking provisions of 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, interpret, or make specific this section by means of all-county letters or similar written instructions from the department until regulations are adopted. These all-county letters or similar instructions shall have the same force and effect as regulations until the adoption of regulations.
(d) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2026, or, if automation is necessary, the later of July 1, 2026, or when the department notifies the Legislature that the Statewide Automated Welfare System can perform the necessary automation to implement this section.
SEC. 7.
Section 11322.64 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:11322.64.
(a) (1) The department, in consultation with the County Welfare Directors Association of California, shall develop an allocation methodology to distribute additional funding for expanded subsidized employment programs for CalWORKs recipients, or individuals described in Section 11320.15 who have exceeded the time limits specified in subdivision (a) of Section 11454.(2) Funds allocated pursuant to this section may be utilized to cover all expenditures related to the operational costs of the expanded subsidized employment program, including the cost of overseeing the program, developing work sites, and providing training to participants, as well as wage and nonwage costs.
(3) The department, in consultation with the County Welfare Directors Association of California and upon receiving feedback from representatives from labor unions and public benefit advocates, shall determine the amount or proportion of funding allocated pursuant to this section that may be utilized for operational costs, consistent with the number of employment slots anticipated to be created and the funding provided.
(b) Funds allocated for expanded subsidized employment shall be in addition to, and independent of, the county allocations made pursuant to Section 15204.2.
(c) (1) A county that accepts additional funding for expanded subsidized employment in accordance with this section shall continue to expend no less than the aggregate amount of funding received by the county pursuant to Section 15204.2 that the county expended on subsidized employment in the 2012–13 fiscal year pursuant to Section 11322.63, as that section read on June 30, 2016.
(2) This subdivision shall not apply for any fiscal year in which the total CalWORKs caseload is projected by the department to increase by more than 5 percent of the total actual CalWORKs caseload in the 2012–13 fiscal year.
(d) (1) Each participating county shall submit to the department, at least once every two years, a plan or an amendment to an existing plan that specifies how the county intends to carry out all of the following:
(A) Utilize the funds allocated pursuant to this section.
(B) Prioritize subsidized employment placements with employers that have a joint labor-management letter of support, a signed community benefits agreement, a project labor agreement, or a labor peace agreement, and that offer opportunities for participants to obtain skills and experiences in their fields of interest.
(C) Prevent subsidized employment placements that supplant work that a public employee would have otherwise been hired to do.
(D) Prevent placement with employers that have a history of a bad safety record, or resolved or pending litigation, violations, citations, fines, or penalties relating to any state or federal environmental or labor laws within the last 10 years.
(2) If a county has no changes to an existing plan or amendment to report to the department pursuant to paragraph (1), the county shall submit a confirmation of no change to the department.
(3) Participating counties shall submit the plans described in paragraph (1) beginning January 1, 2025, or four months after the department issues guidance on how to implement this subdivision, whichever is later.
(e) (1) Participation in subsidized employment pursuant to this section shall be limited to a maximum of six months for each participant.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a county may extend participation beyond the 6-month limitation described in paragraph (1) for up to an additional 3 months at a time, to a maximum of no more than 12 total months. Extensions may be granted pursuant to this paragraph if the county determines that the additional time will increase the likelihood of either of the following:
(A) The participant obtaining unsubsidized employment with the participating employer.
(B) The participant obtaining specific skills and experiences relevant for unsubsidized employment in a particular field.
(f) A county may continue to provide subsidized employment funded under this section to individuals who become ineligible for CalWORKs benefits in accordance with Section 11323.25.
(g) A county may use existing funds provided under this section to provide employment services for noncustodial parents of children receiving benefits under the CalWORKs program.
(h) Upon application for CalWORKs assistance after a participant’s subsidized employment ends, if an assistance unit is otherwise eligible within three calendar months of the date that subsidized employment ended, the income exemption requirements contained in Section 11451.5 and the work requirements contained in subdivision (c) of Section 11201 shall apply. If aid is restored after the expiration of that three-month period, the income exemption requirements contained in Section 11450.12 and the work requirements contained in subdivision (b) of Section 11201 shall apply.
(i) Beginning April 1, 2025, the department shall include all of the following information for the prior fiscal year regarding the implementation of this section in the CalWORKs Annual Summary to the extent that the data are available and reportable:
(1) The number of CalWORKs participants who participated in subsidized employment for at least three months, by county, and a complete list of participating employers, by county.
(2) The number of CalWORKs participants described in paragraph (1) who obtained unsubsidized employment in the quarter following the end of the subsidy, by county, based on wage data and supplemental records available to the Employment Development Department.
(3) The average earnings of the CalWORKs participants described in paragraph (1) in the quarter prior to their participation in the program, to the extent that the data are available. The data required by this paragraph shall be broken down by county and by industry sector. The industry sector data shall also be further broken down by county.
(4) The average earnings of the CalWORKs participants described in paragraph (1) in the quarter following the end of the subsidy, to the extent that the data are available. The data required by this paragraph shall be broken down by county and by industry sector. The industry sector data shall also be further broken down by county.
(j) Notwithstanding the rulemaking provisions of 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, interpret, or make specific the changes made by the act that added this subdivision through all-county letters without taking regulatory action.
SEC. 8.
No appropriation pursuant to Section 15200 of the Welfare and Institutions Code shall be made for purposes of implementing this act.SEC. 9.
If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.Text of AB 1324 as enrolled, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions