SB 118-65: SNAP to the Future Act - Passed

[Attorney General, Senator-Elect, & Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

SNAP To The Future Act

SENATE BILL

To increase SNAP eligibility and benefits whilst retaining vital federal agencies

Be it enacted,

Section I: SNAP Benefits

1. Eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) shall be expanded -
a. To include persons employed or self-employed earning up to 200% of the federal poverty level.
b. To include persons with at least one dependent child in their household earning up to 220% of the federal poverty level.
c. To include persons aged 60 or older, or with a disability, earning up to 250% of the federal poverty level.

2. Eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) shall no longer factor the following:
a. Asset or resource tests, including funds in bank accounts.
b. Past criminal activity or felony convictions.

3. Eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) shall be modified as follows:
a. Income deductions for child support payments, out of pocket medical expenses, medical supply costs, dependent care costs, shelter costs, and utility bills must be considered when determining SNAP eligibility.
b. Three-month time limits on SNAP eligibility for working-age adults who cannot document sufficient hours of work shall be eliminated.
c. Part-time or full-time attendance at an institution of higher education shall be considered as a form of qualification the same as work.

4. Benefits provided by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) shall be expanded as follows:
a. Maximum benefit amounts shall  -
i. Be primarily based on household income with a minimum benefit of $275 per month for an eligible 1-person household.
ii. Increase on a progressive sliding scale based on the number of individuals in an eligible household.
iii. Be adjusted in 2025 and all subsequent fiscal years to account for cost-of-living increases.
iv. Not decrease unless the applicant is no longer eligible for benefits, or has reported a change of income.
b. Prepared hot foods or hot food products ready for immediate consumption shall be eligible for SNAP benefits.

Section II: Implementation

1. This act shall take effect on March 1st, 2024.

Sponsor: Pyro
Occupying: Slot 5

[Pyro]

This bill is designed to expand eligibility for SNAP (also known as food stamps) as well as expand on the life-saving benefits provided by this program. SB 112-45 sought, in part, to restrict the SNAP program by disallowing students not otherwise employed, prohibit SNAP recipients from receiving bottle deposit fees above $20, and eliminate a slew of programs aimed at promoting SNAP education, outreach, and food distribution. For these reasons, I've proposed it be repealed.

This legislation instead looks to expand SNAP by allowing more Atlasians to enroll in the program. It does this by modifying income limits as stated in Section II-1 and permitting deductions for child support payments and other essential costs. Furthermore, benefits will increase with a minimum monthly amount of $275.  

[Deep Dixieland Senator, Muad'dib (OSR MSR)]

Can the text of the legislation to be repealed please be provided for the Senate.

[Attorney General, Senator-Elect, & Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

Can the text of the legislation to be repealed please be provided for the Senate.

https://talkelections.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=532922.0

[fhtagn]

Offering an amendment:

SNAP To The Future Act

SENATE BILL

To increase SNAP eligibility and benefits whilst retaining vital federal agencies

Be it enacted,

Section I: Repeal

1. SB 112-45: Commonsense Program Reform Act is hereby repealed.
a. Public officials, including Administrative Law Judges, hired as a result of SB 112-45 shall remain employed.
b. Positions decommissioned or eliminated as a result of agency consolidation as described in SB 112-45 shall be re-established with hiring preferences given to public officials previously employed by their respective agencies.

Section I: SNAP Benefits

1. Eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) shall be expanded -
a. To include persons employed or self-employed earning up to 200% of the federal poverty level.
b. To include persons with at least one dependent child in their household earning up to 220% of the federal poverty level.
c. To include persons aged 60 or older, or with a disability, earning up to 250% of the federal poverty level.

2. Eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) shall no longer factor the following:
a. Asset or resource tests, including funds in bank accounts.
b. Past criminal activity or felony convictions.

3. Eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) shall be modified as follows:
a. Income deductions for child support payments, out of pocket medical expenses, medical supply costs, dependent care costs, shelter costs, and utility bills must be considered when determining SNAP eligibility.
b. Three-month time limits on SNAP eligibility for working-age adults who cannot document sufficient hours of work shall be eliminated.
c. Part-time or full-time attendance at an institution of higher education shall be considered as a form of qualification the same as work.

4. Benefits provided by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) shall be expanded as follows:
a. Maximum benefit amounts shall  -
i. Be primarily based on household income with a minimum benefit of $275 per month for an eligible 1-person household.
ii. Increase on a progressive sliding scale based on the number of individuals in an eligible household.
iii. Be adjusted in 2025 and all subsequent fiscal years to account for cost-of-living increases.
iv. Not decrease unless the applicant is no longer eligible for benefits, or has reported a change of income.
b. Prepared hot foods or hot food products ready for immediate consumption shall be eligible for SNAP benefits.

Section II: Implementation

1. This act shall take effect on March 1st, 2024.

[Pyro]

Object. As stated above, SB 112-45 is diametrically opposed to the function of this bill.

I'll direct the Senate specifically to Section III of SB 112-45, which introduces arbitrary limitations on SNAP benefits and eliminates twenty federal programs regarding either SNAP itself or a similar food assistance/nutritional awareness program.

[fhtagn]

Over half of the law you want to repeal has nothing to do with SNAP. If your bill is about SNAP then it should be limited to SNAP instead of trying to sneak in a bunch of unrelated changes without even mentioning them. Also, if you read that law 100% of funding saved by eliminating the wasteful, duplicative programs gets redirected into SNAP, so you are basically advocating for taking money for food assistance and redirecting it to duplicative bureaucrat salaries and radio ads that only benefit corporate radio.

[Pyro]

Over half of the law you want to repeal has nothing to do with SNAP. If your bill is about SNAP then it should be limited to SNAP instead of trying to sneak in a bunch of unrelated changes without even mentioning them.

The most significant impact of SB 112-45 is its severe modifications to SNAP, and seeing as this program is the main focus of my proposal, I specifically brought attention to that in my advocacy statement. However, to address the other segments of that bill, they likewise go after welfare recipients, the working poor, and retirees. Section II concerns the transfer of government agencies. Albeit in and of itself relatively innocuous, the drive here is to target beneficiaries of welfare like SSI to deduct "overpayment", that is, targeting aid disbursement.

Section IV of that law eliminates an extremely important cap on SSI overpayment recoveries (again, targeting welfare recipients potentially at-risk for or experiences homelessness), disallows persons from collecting both disability and unemployment insurance (more war on welfare), and ends federal funding for a handful of scholarships. The only worthwhile part of that bill is its prohibition of excluding SNAP applicants based on past criminal history, which was preserved in this new bill.

[RFayette]

Aye

[ChiefFireWaterMike]

Aye

[Attorney General, Senator-Elect, & Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

A vote is open on the amendment. I will count the votes already cast.

Nay

[Pyro]

Nay

[Deep Dixieland Senator, Muad'dib (OSR MSR)]

Aye

[fhtagn]

Aye

[Vice President Christian Man]

Aye

[Dr. MB]

nay

[nerd73]

nay

[Joseph Cao]

Aye.

[thumb21]

Nay

[Coastal Elitist]

Aye

[At-Large Senator LouisvilleThunder]

Aye

[LAKISYLVANIA]

Nay

[reagente]

Aye

[P. Clodius Pulcher did nothing wrong]

Nay

[Attorney General, Senator-Elect, & Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

Amendment Adopted 9-7-0-2