The Legislature finds and declares both of the following:
(a) The development of incompatible systems for electronic benefits transfer will create significant hardships on recipients of public social services and businesses that accept electronic transactions as payment for goods and services.
(b) The goals of electronic benefits transfer are to reduce the cost of delivering benefits to recipients, to ensure that all systems within California are compatible, and to afford public social services recipients the opportunity to better and more securely manage their financial affairs.
(Added by Stats. 1997, Ch. 270, Sec. 31. Effective August 11, 1997. Operative August 18, 1997, by Sec. 187 of Ch. 270.)