AB 593: CalFresh: data sharing. - California

03/24/25 - Amended Assembly → 05/01/25 - Amended Assembly · 5 edits · May 1, 2025

MODERATE

The May 1 amendment narrows the scope of data-sharing under AB 593 by removing local public entities from those authorized to share data with the CalFresh department, excludes employment and financial well-being agencies (such as the Employment Development Department and Franchise Tax Board) from the list of eligible data-sharing partners, and adds Section 1798.24 of the Civil Code as an additional privacy constraint on data disclosure. These changes reduce the breadth of the data-sharing framework while tightening privacy protections.

SCOPE

Data-sharing authority is now limited to state public entities only; local public entities are no longer included as potential data-sharing partners with the CalFresh department.

ELIGIBILITY

Public entities related to employment and financial well-being (including the Employment Development Department, Labor and Workforce Development Agency, California Workforce Development Board, and Franchise Tax Board) are excluded from the list of entities authorized to share data with the department.

REQUIREMENT

Section 1798.24 of the Civil Code is added to the list of state privacy laws that must be complied with before public entities may share data with the department, creating an additional legal constraint on data disclosure.

FISCAL

The fiscal committee vote changed from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating the bill now carries a state-mandated local program or fiscal impact requiring fiscal committee approval.

TECHNICAL

The purpose language for information disclosure was restructured: a summary sentence ('conducting outreach opportunities, facilitating enrollment in public benefits, and measuring the impact of those efforts') was added before the detailed sub-items (A), (B), and (C), which were retained.

05/01/25 - Amended Assembly → 08/18/25 - Amended Senate · 7 edits · Aug 18, 2025

MODERATE

The Senate amendment to AB 593 narrows the scope of CalFresh data-sharing by removing detailed subcategories of permissible information disclosure, eliminating a definition of 'public benefit,' and excluding employment and financial well-being entities (such as the Franchise Tax Board and Employment Development Department) from authorized data sharing. It also simplifies the privacy law carve-outs to reference only Section 1798.24 of the Civil Code rather than multiple specific privacy statutes, while expanding the scope to include local public entities alongside state ones.

SCOPE

Expanded data-sharing scope from 'other state public entities' to 'other state and local public entities,' adding local government entities as potential data partners.

Narrowed the stated purposes from including 'increasing access to critical public health and poverty-alleviating services and other services and benefits available to low-income individuals' to only 'improving the administration of CalFresh, increasing CalFresh participation, and measuring the impact of CalFresh.'

Removed the specific reference to the Public Utilities Commission from the housing/shelter/utilities category of authorized entities.

ELIGIBILITY

Removed the category of 'public entities related to employment and financial well-being' (including the Employment Development Department, Labor and Workforce Development Agency, California Workforce Development Board, and Franchise Tax Board) from the list of entities authorized to share data with the department.

DEFINITION

Removed the definition of 'public benefit' that had defined it as all educational, public health, and poverty-alleviating services available to low-income individuals funded, administered, or delivered by state public entities.

REQUIREMENT

Simplified the permissible purposes for data disclosure from a detailed three-part list (outreach/enrollment, cross-enrollment measurement, and health/well-being impact measurement including specific data types like earnings, income, resources, food purchasing power, nutrition) to a single consolidated statement covering outreach, enrollment facilitation, and measuring the impact of those efforts.

TECHNICAL

Reduced the privacy law exceptions from a list of five specific statutes (Information Practices Act, Confidentiality of Medical Information Act, K-12 Pupil Online Personal Information Protection Act, Early Learning Personal Information Protection Act, and Section 1798.24) to only 'Notwithstanding Section 1798.24 of the Civil Code.'

10/13/25 - Chaptered → AB593 · 1 edit

MINOR

No substantive policy changes were made between these two versions. The diff reflects a transition from the formal chaptered document format to a web page display format for the same enacted bill (AB 593, Chapter 698). The actual legislative text amending Section 18901.59 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is identical in both versions.

TECHNICAL

The document was reformatted from a formal authenticated chaptered layout to a web page layout, adding navigation elements, search fields, bill metadata (vote: majority, appropriation: no, fiscal committee: yes, local program: no), and a publication date of 10/14/2025. No changes to the operative legal text.

08/18/25 - Amended Senate → 09/08/25 - Enrolled · 3 edits · Sep 8, 2025

MINOR

The enrolled version of AB 593 reverts the scope of eligible entities back to 'state and local public entities' (broader than the Senate amendment's 'state public entities' only), removes the specific list of entity categories, and retains the removal of the explicit authorization for public entities to share data with the department. The net effect is that the department can still identify data-sharing opportunities but public entities no longer have a statutory basis to share data with the department.

Scope change

The enrolled version broadens the scope of entities the department may identify for data-sharing opportunities back to include local public entities (not just state), while simultaneously removing the mechanism that would have allowed those entities to actually share data with the department.

SCOPE

The scope of entities with which the department may identify data-sharing opportunities was broadened from 'state public entities' (Senate amendment) back to 'state and local public entities, and any other unit of state government' in the enrolled version.

The specific list of entity categories (health and human services, education and early childhood, shelter/housing/homelessness, justice-involved individuals, veterans) that was added by the Senate amendment is removed in the enrolled version.

REQUIREMENT

The explicit authorization for public entities to share data with the department (including the exception to Section 1798.24 of the Civil Code) is removed. The enrolled bill no longer provides a statutory basis for public entities to voluntarily share data with the department.

09/08/25 - Enrolled → 10/13/25 - Chaptered · 4 edits · Oct 13, 2025

MODERATE

No substantive policy changes were made. This diff reflects the standard transition from the enrolled bill format to the final chaptered law format after gubernatorial approval on October 13, 2025. The operative text of Section 18901.59 is identical in both versions.

TECHNICAL

Chapter number assigned: Chapter 698

Authentication header added: 'STATE OF CALIFORNIA AUTHENTICATED ELECTRONIC LEGAL MATERIAL'

Formatting and line-break changes throughout the document to conform to chaptered law layout

TIMELINE

Governor approval date recorded: October 13, 2025; filed with Secretary of State same day

02/12/25 - Introduced → 03/24/25 - Amended Assembly · 5 edits · Mar 24, 2025

MODERATE

The amendment narrows data-sharing to state public entities only (removing local entities from the sharing obligation), adds a strict limitation on what information may be disclosed and for what purposes, defines the term 'public benefit,' and carves out specific state privacy laws from the broad override that previously applied. These changes add meaningful privacy protections while preserving the bill's core data-sharing framework.

SCOPE

Subdivision (b) changed from allowing any 'public entities' to share data with the department to limiting it to 'state public entities,' effectively removing local public entities from the mandatory sharing obligation.

REQUIREMENT

A new limitation was added in subdivision (a)(1) restricting disclosed information to only what is necessary for three specific purposes: conducting outreach and facilitating enrollment in public benefits, measuring public benefit utilization and cross-enrollment, and measuring CalFresh impact on health and well-being. The data 'shall not be used for any other purpose.'

Subdivision (b) now carves out four specific state privacy laws from the broad 'notwithstanding any other state law' override: the Information Practices Act of 1977, the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act, the K-12 Pupil Online Personal Information Protection Act, and the Early Learning Personal Information Protection Act.

DEFINITION

A new subdivision (a)(2) defines 'public benefit' as all educational, public health, and poverty-alleviating services and benefits available to low-income individuals that are funded, administered, or delivered by state public entities.

FISCAL

The fiscal committee designation changed from 'no' to 'yes,' meaning the bill now requires review by the Assembly and Senate fiscal committees before passage.

CalFresh: data sharing.

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