Democrat proposal will decriminalize welfare fraud under $25,000 in California

California state lawmakers are proposing a law to decriminalize some cases of welfare fraud under $25,000 that were due to administrative errors.

The bill, proposed by Democrat state Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas, is meant to allow some cases of alleged welfare fraud to be investigated by officials rather than be handed over for criminal prosecution.

The bill does not help the needy but rather shields ‘those who intentionally steal from assistance programs and put the viability of those programs at risk.’

“California’s safety net should lift families up, not trap them in poverty,” the Democrat told Fox News Digital. “Right now, a missed deadline or paperwork mistake can lead to felony charges that tear families apart — even when there’s no intent to deceive.”

“This bill is about keeping families out of the criminal justice system from making administrative errors on raising the threshold for welfare fraud prosecutions,” she said on social media.

The Department of Social Services says between 15,000 and 20,000 cases of welfare fraud are referred just in Los Angeles County per year. Of those, fraud is found in about 5,000 to 8,000, but only 200 are sent to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office; 95% result in a conviction.

The legislation is supported by the SEIU union and a coalition of welfare rights organizations. It is opposed by the state’s district attorney’s association, an association of California welfare investigation, and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.

The bill’s authors cited racial and gender disparities in the prosecution of welfare cases as justification for the proposal. One study said that 75% of welfare fraud convictions were of women and 50% of welfare fraud arrests were of black and Hispanic women.

Critics say that the bill would encourage more welfare fraud.

The California District Attorneys Association offered an argument in opposition to the bill, saying that it was premised on a false assumption that welfare fraud is occasioned by administrative errors.

“In truth, welfare fraud is a specific intent crime, meaning that in order to prosecute an offender for welfare fraud, prosecutors must be able to prove the offender intended to defraud the system to steal funds,” the argument read.

The group went on to say that the bill would lead to “unchecked welfare fraud” that would not only harm the taxpayers, but also harm the people the welfare system is intended to help.

The organization concluded by saying the bill does not help the needy but rather shields “those who intentionally steal from assistance programs and put the viability of those programs at risk.”

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