Arenas v. San Diego County Bd. of Sup'Rs
Decision Date | 25 October 2001 |
Docket Number | No. D036354.,D036354. |
Citation | 112 Cal.Rptr.2d 845,93 Cal.App.4th 210 |
Court | California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals |
Parties | Luis ARENAS, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. SAN DIEGO COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS et al., Defendants and Appellants. |
The Board of Supervisors of San Diego County, the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency and Robert Ross, M.D. (collectively the County), appeal a judgment in favor of Luis Arenas after the court granted his petition for writ of mandate. (Code Civ. Proa, § 1085.) The court invalidated a County ordinance that bars all persons convicted of drug-related felonies from obtaining general relief benefits, on the ground the exclusion conflicts with state law to the extent it applies to persons who are not ineligible for California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids Act (CalWORKS) benefits and who are not members of families with dependent children receiving aid under the Cal-WORKS program. (Welf. & Inst.Code,1 §§ 11251.3, 17001, 17012.5.) We affirm the judgment.
In 1996 the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, popularly known as the Welfare Reform Act, was enacted by Congress and signed into law. (Pub.L. No. 104-193, 110 Stat. 2105 (Aug. 22, 1996); In re Cervantes (9th Cir. 2000) 219 F.3d 955, 958, fn. 5.) The Welfare Reform Act (Walton v. Hammons (6th Cir.1999) 192 F.3d 590, 591; 42 U.S.C.A. § 601 et seq.)
The Welfare Reform Act disqualifies persons convicted of certain drug-related felonies on or after August 22, 1996, from receiving benefits under the federal food stamp program or the TANF program. (21 U.S.C.A. § 862a (a), (d)(2).)2 This provision "was an attempt to address what many members of Congress regarded as increasing and costly incidences of fraud in the food stamp program." (Turner v. Glickman (7th Cir.2000) 207 F.3d 419, 423.)
In 1997 the Legislature enacted the Cal-WORKS program, through which TANF block grants are administered. (§ 11200 et seq.) Under section 12251.3, subdivision (a), a person convicted of a drug related felony on or after December 31, 1997, is ineligible for CalWORKS aid.3 The Legislature also added section 17012.5, which provides: "An individual ineligible for aid under Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11200) of Part 3 pursuant to Section 11251.3, who is a member of an assistance unit receiving aid under that chapter, shall also be ineligible for non-health-care benefits," i.e., general relief benefits under section 17000. (Italics added.)
In 1998 the County adopted an ordinance amending 257.1 of its Administrative Code to read as follows: "Notwithstanding the provisions of section 257 [of the Administrative Code], the General Relief Program shall not be used to provide assistance to any individual [regardless of whether the individual is ineligible for Cal-WORKS benefits under § 11251.3] who— [¶] ... (d) has been convicted of a felony committed after August 22, 1996 for possession, use or distribution of illegal drugs." (Italics added.)
In 1999 the County denied Arenas, a single man, general relief benefits because he was convicted of a drug-related felony after August 22, 1996. Arenas filed a petition for writ of mandate, alleging that section 257.1 of the Administrative Code conflicts with sections 17000 and 17012.5 insofar as it denies general relief benefits to persons who are not members of families of dependent children receiving Cal-WORKS aid, and who are not ineligible for CalWORKS aid under section 11251.3. The trial court granted the petition and issued a writ of mandate requiring the County "to amend [its] ordinance and regulations to provide that an otherwise qualified individual with a drug related felony not be barred from receiving General Relief benefits unless the individual is a member of an assistance unit receiving CalWORKS benefits, and the conviction occurred after December 31, 1997." Judgment was entered for Arenas on August 31, 2000.
(Yamaha Corp. of America v. State Bd. of Equalization (1998) 19 Cal.4th 1, 8, 78 Cal.Rptr.2d 1, 960 P.2d 1031.) "[T]he binding power of an agency's interpretation of a statute or regulation is contextual: Its power to persuade is both circumstantial and dependent on the presence or absence of factors that support the merit of the interpretation." (Id. at p. 7, 78 Cal.Rptr.2d 1, 960 P.2d 1031.) A de novo standard applies to our review of the trial court's issuance of the writ of mandate. (Pomona Police Officers' Assn. v. City of Pomona (1997) 58 Cal.App.4th 578, 583-584, 68 Cal.Rptr.2d 205.)
The County cursorily asserts the judgment must be reversed because it had the discretion under section 17001 to adopt the ordinance in question, and the ordinance is consistent with the state statutory scheme and legislative intent. We are unpersuaded.
(Hunt v. Superior Court (1999) 21 Cal.4th 984, 991, 90 Cal.Rptr .2d 236, 987 P.2d 705, fn. omitted.)
"Section 17001 requires each county to `adopt standards of aid and care for the indigent and dependent poor.' " (Hunt v. Superior Court, supra, 21 Cal.4th at p. 991, 90 Cal.Rptr.2d 236, 987 P.2d 705, fn. omitted.) This provision (Mooney v. Pickett (1971) 4 Cal.3d 669, 678-679, 94 Cal.Rptr. 279, 483 P.2d 1231.) "... (Hunt v. Superior Court, supra, 21 Cal.4th at pp. 991-992, 90 Cal.Rptr .2d 236, 987 P.2d 705.)
The County contends the ordinance is a proper exercise of its discretion because in enacting section 11251.3 the Legislature demonstrated a "strong position of intolerance for substance abuse particularly among welfare recipients." Section 11251.3, however, applies only to applicants for CalWORKS aid. Moreover, the legislative history materials on which County relies explain that sections 11251.3 and 17012.5 (Legis. Counsel, Rep. on Assem. Bill No. 1260 (1997 Reg. Sess.) p. 3, italics added; § 11251.3, subd. (b).) The legislation was intended to "[e]nsure[] that the family's TANF assistance funds cannot be misused by the convicted individual who may have a substance abuse problem." (Id. at p. 5, 90 Cal.Rptr.2d 236, 987 P.2d 705.)
Further, section 17012.5 expressly limits ineligibility for general relief benefits to persons who are "member[s] of an assistance unit" receiving CalWORKS aid, and who have been barred from receiving such aid under section 11251.3. (Home Depot, U.S.A., Inc. v. Contractors' State License Bd. (1996) 41 Cal.App.4th 1592, 1600-1601, 49 Cal.Rptr.2d 302.) (Id. at p. 1602, 49 Cal.Rptr.2d 302.) The interpretation the County urges renders section 17012.5's express limitations meaningless.
The County claims we should ignore the plain language of section 17012.5 because the denial of general relief benefits to only persons convicted of drug-related felonies who are members of families with dependent children "defies common sense." However, as the trial court explained: ...
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