38. Vehicles don’t count for food stamps in California
AB 231 removed only the food stamp auto resource rule, not the auto rules for other programs such as CalWORKs. CalWORKs applicants are still subject to a rule for that program.
For many years, California operated under the federal food stamp auto resource limit ($4,650). This rule denied many needy families food stamps simply because they owned reliable transportation.
After years of battles, Governor Davis signed legislation in 2003 to remove this vehicle resource barrier. California Assembly Bill 231 (Chapter 743, Statutes of 2003) provided the California food stamp program the ability to exempt all vehicles from consideration in determining eligibility in the Food Stamp Program. This became effective January 1, 2004 [MPP § 63-501.3(c); Welfare & Institutions Code § 18901.9.]