A.B. 6? Yes!

About 50 percent of Californians who are eligible for federal nutrition benefits—CalFresh, better known as food stamps—simply do not receive them. The statistic is outrageous, especially when you consider that most of those who aren’t getting needed food are children and seniors. In fact California is second to last among states in the union when it comes to low food-stamp participation.

Why is it so low? Because of an overabundance of bureaucratic barriers: a too-complicated application process, excessive quarterly reporting requirements and an intimidating fingerprinting obligation.

That’s where Assembly Bill 6, sponsored by Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes, comes in. The bill would ease the path for eligible citizens to participate in CalFresh and, according to the California Food Policy Advocates, would also translate into a whopping $8.7 billion dollars in extra economic activity in the state.

Passage of this bill is a no-brainer.

A.B. 6 survived its journey, so far, through the winding legislative process and just last week made it to Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk for a signature. We assume he’ll sign it, proving that, sometimes, government can, in fact, solve problems.