"Theresa Mier, a spokesperson for the California Department of Social Services, which oversees county implementation of mandated social services programs, said the state is authorized to take legal action to ensure that counties fulfill their required duties.

Lauren Hansen, an attorney for the Public Interest Law Project, a statewide legal support center with a focus on public benefits, said she hoped the state would follow through to take such legal measures, should Shasta or any other county resort to cutting mandatory programs.

'It is undeniable that counties are in a bind with their budgets, but equal access to public benefits should not depend on a person’s ZIP code,' she wrote in a recent email to Shasta Scout."

Read the full story by Moe Shimizu in the Shasta Scout here.