Court Asked to Overturn Welfare Payment Limit

SACRAMENTO —  Civil rights groups asked a federal court Monday to strike down a new law limiting welfare payments going to newcomers to California.

The American Civil Liberties Union and two other groups filed suit in U.S. District Court in a bid to overturn the restrictions that apply to Aid to Families With Dependent Children, the largest welfare program in the state.

The groups contend that the recent law approved by the Legislature and Gov. Pete Wilson as an economy measure discriminates against poor people who move to California from other states and violates the Constitution.

“This system is blatantly unfair and violates a U.S. Supreme Court decision . . . that clearly says this kind of discrimination against the poor is unconstitutional,” Mark Rosenbaum, general counsel for the ACLU Foundation of Southern California, said in a statement.

Under the rules that took effect Dec. 1, newcomers to California who apply for AFDC may receive no more than they would have in the state that they came from. They are not entitled to the usually higher California rate until they have lived in California for a year.

The three groups filed the suit on behalf of three mothers who the lawyers say face homelessness because of the welfare cuts.

One plaintiff, Deshawn Greene, who recently returned to California from Louisiana, and her two children are eligible to receive $190 a month in AFDC payments instead of the maximum California payment of $624.

The lawsuit says she cannot find an apartment for less than $300 a month and the family will be on the streets after Tuesday unless she receives the full AFDC payment.