SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Families will no longer have to give up their vehicles to receive state aid if a bill passed Thursday by the Assembly becomes law.
AB2352 would do away with a so-called asset test that prevents families with vehicles worth more than $4,650 from participating in the welfare-to-work program known as CalWorks. Lawmakers passed the bill 41-24 on a party-line vote, sending it to the Senate.
Assemblyman Roger Hernandez, the bill's author, said people who have lost their jobs need reliable vehicles to seek work.
"The primary goal of the CalWorks program is to move families out of poverty and toward self-sufficiency," said the West Covina Democrat. "By eliminating the vehicle asset rule, we have the chance to help impoverished Californians."
He added that the change also would provide relief to financially strapped welfare departments by eliminating the time-consuming vehicle assessment that workers must perform every time a new client comes in.
California's vehicle asset cap was last increased 16 years ago and is one of the most restrictive in the nation, along with Texas and Idaho.
For some Republicans, the bill raises the specter of Cadillac-driving welfare queens.
"The problem is there's no limit on the cap, and when you have folks that are driving around in luxury vehicles seeking state assistance from taxpayers, it sends a wrong message," said Assemblyman Kevin Jeffries, R-Lake Elsinore.
While he agreed that the $4,650 cap should be raised, Jeffries said the state should still impose some kind of vehicle asset test.
More than a dozen other states have moved away from setting limits on what families can own before they qualify for government assistance.
Lawmakers last year approved a similar bill, but Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed it, saying the state couldn't afford the change.