Newsom Vetos Out-Of-Home Care Worker Background Check Bill

A bill that aimed to shift the cost of background checks for out-of-home care workers from In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) to the California Department of Justice was vetoed by Governor Gavin Newsom over the weekend, citing cost concerns.

Assembly Bill 2704, authored by Assemblyman Rick Zbur (D-Los Angeles), would have prohibited a provider or a person who seeks to become a provider from being assessed a fee for any investigation or criminal background check for the IHSS. The bill would also prohibit the Department of Justice from assessing a fee to a county to cover the cost of furnishing the criminal background checks.

The IHSS program, run by the Department of Social Services, provides in-home assistance to eligible aged, blind, and disabled individuals as an alternative to out-of-home care. There are many requirements, like the recipient needing to be on Medi-Cal and a California resident. However, Assemblyman Zbur has said that a background check per care worker applicant can cost around $75, and can severely cost low-income workers and providers, as $75 can equate to 4-6 hours of working. As such, when introduced, several unions, such as the United Domestic Workers/American Federation of State and Municipal Employees Local 3930, joined him in support.

“The IHSS program is a vital lifeline for over 740,000 Californians, providing essential domestic long-term care services, and ensuring that low-income Californians can remain safely in their homes, receive life-saving care, and age with dignity,” said Zbur earlier this year. “It is an unjust practice – and a barrier to providing needed care – to unfairly burden workers who will be making just over minimum wage with the costs of these background checks. Promoting growth in this vital workforce and eliminating those financial barriers should be a priority for the state of California.”

Opponents of the bill, Republicans along with a few centrist Democrats, pointed out the costs of AB 2704. They noted that, with the state being tens of billions in debt, there was no way that they could afford to shift the background costs to the state. Despite their opposition, the bill made it past each legislative vote throughout the year, including last month’s 34-5 Senate vote.

Another Veto for Newsom

However, by that point, many opponents began to bank on Governor Newsom vetoing the bill, as he had been vetoing more and more bills in recent years with a significant cost to the state to not worsen California’s budgetary debt. This came to fruition over the weekend, when Newsom vetoed multiple bills, including AB 2704.

“I am supportive of efforts to increase the IHSS workforce and reduce barriers to becoming an IHSS provider,” said Newsom in his veto message on Saturday. “However, this bill would require millions annually from the General Fund to cover DOJ costs for conducting background checks.

“In partnership with the Legislature, we enacted a budget that closes a $46.8 billion deficit in 2024-25 and a projected deficit of $27 .3 billion in 2025-26 through balanced solutions that avoided deep program cuts to vital services and protected investments in education, health care, climate, public safety, housing, and social service programs that millions of Californians rely on. It is important to remain disciplined when considering bills with significant fiscal
implications that are not included in the budget, such as this measure.

“For this reason, I cannot sign this bill.”

While many proponents hoped AB 2704 would be signed into law, others in Sacramento are expecting Gov. Newsom to veto bills with large added cost to the state.

“Anything that will ruin his ‘out of debt’ plan right now he is vetoing,” explained “Dana,” a staffer at the Capitol, to the Globe on Monday. “It’s almost boiler plate now. You know ‘Oh, I love this bill and I would sign it, but we are in debt right now and cannot do it’. That’s the gist. Newsom does not want to leave the state in debt when he leaves office, as that would hurt his future political career.

“And we’ll keep seeing these vetoes that he would have otherwise signed until he leaves office.”

More bill vetoes are expected in the coming weeks, as the signing/veto deadline for Newsom ends on September 30th.