Welf. & Inst. Code, § 11004.1

(a) In addition to Section 11004, this section shall apply to the CalWORKs program.

(b) The amount of any CalWORKs grant overpayment shall be the difference between the grant amount the assistance unit actually received and the grant amount the assistance unit would have received under the semiannual reporting, prospective budgeting system if a county error had not occurred and if the recipient had timely, completely, and accurately reported, as required under Sections 11265.1 and 11265.3. An overpayment shall not be established based on any differences between the amount of income the county prospectively determined for the recipient for the semiannual reporting period and the income the recipient actually received during that period, provided the recipient’s report was complete and accurate.

(c) A CalWORKs grant underpayment shall not be established based on any differences between the amount of income the county prospectively determined for the recipient for the semiannual reporting period and the income the recipient actually received during that period.

(d) (1) This section shall become operative on April 1, 2013. A county shall implement the semiannual reporting requirements in accordance with the act that added this section no later than October 1, 2013.

(2) Upon implementation described in paragraph (1), each county shall provide a certificate to the director certifying that semiannual reporting has been implemented in the county.

(3) Upon filing the certificate described in paragraph (2), a county shall comply with the semiannual reporting provisions of this section.

(e) (1) Commencing August 1, 2021, a CalWORKs overpayment that is established for a current CalWORKs case on or after that date, shall be classified as an administrative error if any overpaid benefit month or months occurred during the period between April 2020 and the end of the Governor’s proclamation of a state of emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic, or June 30, 2022, whichever date is sooner.

(2) If an overpayment is classified as an administrative error pursuant to paragraph (1), and the overpayment also includes overpaid months before or after the period specified in paragraph (1), the entire overpayment shall be classified as an administrative error.

(3) An overpayment classified as an administrative error pursuant to this subdivision shall not be reclassified after the state of emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic ends, but shall remain an administrative error, unless the overpayment is determined to be fraudulent.