AB 798 amends Welfare and Institutions Code section 18995.1 to add children’s diapers and wipes to the State Emergency Food Bank Reserve Program. The bill authorizes the Department of Social Services, subject to appropriation and upon an emergency proclamation, to fund the purchase, distribution, and reimbursement of diapers and wipes to eligible food banks serving low-income Californians.
This change makes diaper supplies an explicit permissible use of emergency food bank funds and removes several procedural barriers to quick distribution: it carves these agreements out of certain state procurement rules and allows the department to implement the program by administrative letter rather than formal regulations. For practitioners, the bill creates a fast, food-bank-centered channel for diapers during disasters — but it also shifts key decisions about eligibility, contracting, and program details to administrative implementation and appropriations choices.
At a Glance
What It Does
The bill adds children’s diapers and wipes to the State Emergency Food Bank Reserve Program and authorizes funds to purchase, distribute, and reimburse food banks for those supplies in eligible communities. Distributions require a local, state, or federal disaster proclamation and are subject to legislative appropriation.
Who It Affects
The Department of Social Services, large food banks (EFAP/CSFP participants, Feeding America members, California Association of Food Banks members), diaper suppliers, and low-income families with infants and toddlers — including CalWORKs recipients and undocumented persons explicitly covered by the statute.
Why It Matters
It creates an emergency distribution pathway for diapers using existing food-bank logistics and removes normal procurement and rulemaking hurdles to speed delivery. That makes emergency relief more responsive, but it also concentrates discretion at the agency level and raises operational and accountability questions for funders and service providers.
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What This Bill Actually Does
AB 798 inserts children’s diapers and wipes into the list of supplies that the State Emergency Food Bank Reserve Program may provide when the State Department of Social Services (DSS) has funding. The change is limited to emergency contexts: DSS may deploy funds only after a disaster or state of emergency is proclaimed by a local, state, or federal authority, and the program remains subject to appropriation.
The statutory text covers both direct purchase/distribution and reimbursement to food banks that procure and distribute the supplies in affected communities.
The bill narrows who may receive funds through a statutory definition of “food banks.” Eligible recipients are organizations operating under the federal Emergency Food Assistance Program or Commodity Supplemental Food Program, Feeding America members based in California, and members of the California Association of Food Banks. That ties diaper distribution to entities that already have large-scale procurement, storage, and distribution capacity rather than to small grassroots groups unless they are affiliated with those networks.To accelerate emergency response, AB 798 exempts agreements under this section from a specific Article of the State Government Code, the Public Contract Code, the State Contracting Manual, and DGS approval.
It also allows DSS to implement the chapter by letter or similar instructions instead of going through the Administrative Procedure Act’s rulemaking process. Those two mechanics are meant to reduce lead time for contracting and operational guidance but leave many program details — eligibility criteria for “eligible communities,” reimbursement rates, invoicing timelines, and monitoring requirements — to administrative implementation.The statute also contains legislative findings that frame diaper need as a public-health and economic-mobility problem, notes the limits of existing benefits (like CalWORKs’ modest diaper assistance), and explicitly declares the program a state law that provides assistance to undocumented persons.
Practically speaking, the law creates an emergency-focused funding stream routed through established food-bank networks but depends on appropriations and DSS administrative guidance for the operational rules that food banks, suppliers, and local governments will need to follow.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The bill adds children’s diapers and wipes to the State Emergency Food Bank Reserve Program and authorizes funds for purchase, distribution, and reimbursement in eligible communities.
Funds may be distributed only after a disaster or state of emergency proclamation by a county, city, city and county, the state, or the federal government, and allocations remain subject to appropriation.
The statute defines eligible ‘‘food banks’’ as organizations participating in EFAP or CSFP, Feeding America members based in California, and members of the California Association of Food Banks.
Agreements under this section are exempted from Article 4 (commencing with Section 19130) of Chapter 5 of Part 2 of Division 5 of the Government Code, the Public Contract Code, the State Contracting Manual, and do not require Department of General Services approval.
DSS may implement, interpret, or make specific the chapter by letter or similar instructions without formal rulemaking under the Administrative Procedure Act; the law expressly covers assistance to undocumented persons.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
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Legislative findings on diaper need and disaster risk
This prefatory section compiles the Legislature’s evidence and intent: diaper costs are a substantial burden for low-income families, diaper shortages disrupt childcare and work, existing food and nutrition programs do not supply diapers, and California’s wildfire and climate risks make emergency diaper distribution relevant. These findings operate as legislative intent, informing how DSS and courts should interpret program priorities — emphasizing child health, preventing missed work/childcare, and expanding geographic reach of diaper distribution.
Adds diapers and wipes to program uses (subject to appropriation)
Subsection (a)(1) explicitly expands the program’s permissible supplies to include children’s diapers and wipes and repeats that authorization is contingent on an appropriation. The practical implication is that diapers become an approved emergency expense on par with food, but availability depends on the Legislature allocating funds and DSS choosing to deploy them during declared disasters.
Definition of eligible 'food banks'
Subsection (a)(2) narrows eligible implementers to providers operating under EFAP or CSFP federal programs, Feeding America members based in California, and California Association of Food Banks members. That steers funding toward organizations with federal partnerships or statewide association ties and reduces the likelihood of direct funding to unaffiliated grassroots groups unless they join or partner with an eligible entity.
Trigger for distribution and permitted uses (purchase, distribution, reimbursement)
Subdivision (b) ties DSS’s authority to distribute funds to a proclamation or declaration of disaster or state of emergency at the local, state, or federal level and requires DSS to choose distribution methods that ensure funds serve statutory purposes. Subdivision (c) lists concrete uses: purchase and distribution of food (already existing) and now diapers and wipes, plus reimbursement to food banks for procurement and distribution costs. The statute leaves operational specifics — reimbursement rates, documentation, and reporting — to administrative implementation.
Procurement and rulemaking exemptions
Subdivision (d) removes agreements under this section from key state contracting requirements and DGS approval, and subdivision (e) permits DSS to set policy through letters instead of formal rulemaking. These provisions are designed to expedite contracting and change management during emergencies but shift oversight from competitive procurement and public rulemaking to internal agency controls and post-hoc review. Practically, this affects how vendors are selected, how quickly diapers reach communities, and how transparent award decisions will be to outside parties.
Coverage for undocumented persons
Subdivision (f) states the Legislature’s intent that the chapter provides assistance to undocumented persons as defined under 8 U.S.C. §1621(d). That language clarifies that recipients are not limited by immigration status, which affects eligibility criteria, outreach, and potential political and funding considerations for local implementers.
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Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- Low-income families with infants and toddlers — They gain an emergency access point for diapers and wipes during declared disasters, reducing childcare barriers, health risks from diaper insufficiency, and missed work or education days.
- Large food banks and regional distributors — Eligible food banks gain a statutory avenue for reimbursement and new procurement authority that leverages their existing supply chains and distribution networks.
- Childcare providers and employers — Easier access to diapers during emergencies can reduce the number of children turned away from care, limiting missed workdays for caregivers and stabilizing childcare operations.
- Diaper and wipe suppliers — Emergency contracts and reimbursements create demand spikes for manufacturers and distributors who can deliver at scale during disasters.
Who Bears the Cost
- State budget/Legislature — The program expansion requires appropriations; long-term or repeated deployments will compete with other emergency and social-service priorities.
- Department of Social Services — DSS must craft eligibility criteria, reimbursement rules, contracting approaches, monitoring and compliance processes, and take operational responsibility for rapid implementation.
- Food banks and regional distributors — Although reimbursed, many food banks will carry upfront procurement, storage, and distribution costs and may face cash-flow and logistics burdens if reimbursement timing or caps are unclear.
- Smaller community organizations not in the statutory definition — Organizations that are unaffiliated with EFAP, CSFP, Feeding America, or the California Association of Food Banks may be excluded from direct funding and must rely on partnerships, increasing administrative complexity.
- Procurement oversight entities and vendors — The procurement exemptions reduce competitive bidding; incumbent or politically connected vendors could benefit, while vendors that rely on transparent procurement processes may face new barriers to contesting awards.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The central dilemma is speed versus stewardship: the bill gives DSS the flexibility to move quickly — waiving procurement and formal rulemaking to get diapers into communities during emergencies — but that same flexibility concentrates discretion, weakens competitive safeguards, and leaves important allocation, transparency, and cash-flow questions unresolved, forcing implementers to balance urgent delivery against fiscal and equity oversight.
AB 798 prioritizes speed and existing logistics networks over formal procurement and rulemaking. That achieves faster delivery in theory, but it also creates concrete implementation questions: the law does not define ‘‘eligible communities,’’ set reimbursement rates, specify invoice or audit timelines, or establish minimum reporting standards.
Those operational details will determine whether food banks can manage cash flow, whether distributions reach communities equitably, and whether the state can detect waste or abuse.
The procurement and rulemaking exemptions reduce administrative friction, but they trade off transparency and competitive price discovery. Exempting contracts from Public Contract Code and DGS approval can shorten lead times in emergencies but increases the risk that awards favor a small set of providers or produce higher unit costs absent competitive pressure.
Logistical realities are also important but underaddressed: diapers and wipes are bulky, require size-appropriate assortments, and generate disposal considerations (wipes are often non-biodegradable). Finally, coupling emergency, episodic diaper support with an ongoing public-health and economic problem raises a funding-design question — disaster-driven deployments may help in spikes but do not solve chronic diaper need without sustained appropriations or complementary non-emergency programs.
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