SB1030 - CalWORKs: unrelated adult male.

Enrolled August 25, 2026 Passed IN Senate August 24, 2026 Passed IN Assembly August 19, 2026 Amended IN Assembly August 13, 2026 Amended IN Senate May 14, 2026 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION Senate Bill No. 1030 Introduced by Senator Smallwood-Cuevas (Coauthors: Senators Richardson, Wahab, and Weber Pierson) (Coauthors: Assembly Members Aguiar-Curry and Celeste Rodriguez) February 10, 2026 An act to amend and repeal Section 11351.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to public social services. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 1030, Smallwood-Cuevas. CalWORKs: unrelated adult male. Existing federal law provides for the allocation of federal funds through the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant program to eligible states. Existing law provides for 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 an unrelated adult male who resides with a family who is applying for or receiving aid from the CalWORKs program to make a financial contribution to the family, as specified. This bill would, beginning July 1, 2027, or a later date, as specified, repeal the above-described provisions requiring an unrelated adult male who resides with a family applying for or receiving aid from the CalWORKs program to make a financial contribution to the family. The bill would authorize the department to implement, interpret, or make specific, this change by means of all-county letters, or similar written instructions, until regulations are adopted. By expanding eligibility for the CalWORKs program, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law continuously appropriates moneys from the General Fund to defray a portion of county costs under the CalWORKs program. This bill would provide that the continuous appropriation would not be made for purposes of implementing the bill. 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. Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YES Bill Text The people of the State of California do enact as follows: SECTION 1. Section 11351.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read: 11351.5. (a) (1) If an unrelated adult male resides with a family applying for or receiving aid under this chapter, he shall be required to make a financial contribution to the family that is not less than it would cost him to provide himself with an independent living arrangement. (2) The minimum financial contribution to the family shall be determined in accordance with standards established by the department that take into account the adult male person’s income and expenses. The regulations formulated by the department shall require the mother of the children and the unrelated male to present all of the facts in connection with the sharing of expenses that comprise the agreement by which the adult male resides with the family. The conditions of the agreement and the facts related to the sharing of the family expenses shall be signed under penalty of perjury by both the mother of the child and the unrelated male. In the event that either the mother or the adult male person willfully and knowingly fails to cooperate during the period the joint sharing of expenses arrangement exists in setting forth all of the facts in accordance with this section, aid to the family may be discontinued. (3) This section does not apply to a bona fide paying lodger, roomer, or boarder living in the home of a family applying for or receiving aid under this chapter. (b) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2027, or the date that the department has notified the Legislature that the Statewide Automated Welfare System can perform the necessary automation to implement the repeal of this section, and, as of January 1 of the following year, is repealed. SEC. 2. 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 repeal of Section 11351.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, as accomplished by the act that added 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. SEC. 3. No appropriation under Section 15200 of the Welfare and Institutions Code shall be made for purposes of implementing this act. SEC. 4. 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.