CA SB560

Raises the threshold for criminal prosecution of welfare fraud from any amount to $25,000 or more in total aid obtained or retained through false statements or fraudulent means

Eliminates criminal penalties for attempted welfare fraud and prohibits criminal prosecution for benefit overpayments if the recipient is already in repayment status, grant reduction status, or if an administrative finding of intentional program violation has been obtained

Bars criminal prosecution or administrative violations when county agencies had data match information (IEVS or New Hire Registry) indicating potential overpayments but failed to provide timely notice or income reporting reminders to recipients

Requires qualified caseworkers to review recipient case files for errors before initiating overpayment recovery efforts, and prohibits recovery actions if the review determines no overpayment occurred

Limits overpayment claims and collection actions for CalWORKs and CalFresh to the 24 months preceding discovery, and restricts nonfraudulent overpayments to administrative collection only rather than criminal or civil action