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HB539
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
H.B. NO.
539
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
STATE OF HAWAII
A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating
to the supplemental nutrition assistance program
.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
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SECTION 1.
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The
legislature finds that
many low-income households struggle to purchase
food due to Hawai
ʻ
i's
high cost of living and food prices.
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The
supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP), formerly known as the food
stamp program, is crucial to providing necessary food assistance to some of
Hawai
ʻ
i's
most economically disadvantaged residents.
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The legislature further finds that
households with incomes above two hundred per cent of the federal poverty
level, as established by the United States Department of Agriculture, are
ineligible for SNAP benefits, yet these households are still unable to achieve
self-sufficiency
.
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As highlighted by the 2023 ALICE (Asset
Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) report, a family of four earning an
income of $69,000 per year is ineligible for SNAP benefits but needs an income
of over $100,000 per year to meet its basic needs, including housing and
food.
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If the family earned just $1,000
less per year, or $68,000, it would be eligible to receive more than $9,000 in
SNAP benefits.
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The legislature further finds that
the two hundred per cent poverty level eligibility cutoff for SNAP assistance
creates an extreme benefits cliff in which an additional $1 per month earned by
a household can result in thousands of dollars' worth of lost benefits each
year.
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In addition, the SNAP benefits
cliff disincentivizes individuals from reaching their greatest earning
potential.
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Many families just below the SNAP income
eligibility threshold decline pay increases because the financial benefit of
pursuing economic opportunities does not exceed the potential cost of losing
SNAP food assistance.
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The legislature additionally finds that
SNAP is the most effective anti-hunger initiative in the country.
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In Hawai
ʻ
i, the program supports over one hundred
thirty thousand individuals, bringing more than $630,000,000 into the State's
economy each year.
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Raising the SNAP
benefits ceiling to three hundred per cent of the federal poverty level will
help economically vulnerable households meet their basic needs without
sacrificing their financial security.
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This
can be done by appropriating state funding to cover the cost of SNAP benefits
for families who do not qualify for federal assistance, with households who
currently quality for federal benefits continuing to receive federal aid.
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Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to
provide supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits for individuals and
households whose monthly income is equal to or less than three hundred per cent
of the federal poverty level.
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SECTION 2.
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Chapter 346, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section
to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
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"
�346-
�
Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program; eligibility.
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(a)
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Any individual or household
whose monthly income is equal to or less than three hundred per cent of the
federal poverty level and who meets all other criteria for the supplemental
nutrition assistance program established by the United States Department of
Agriculture shall be eligible for supplemental nutrition assistance program
benefits.
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(b)
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Funds appropriated for the purposes of this
section may be used to subsidize the cost of providing supplemental nutrition
assistance program benefits for individuals and households whose monthly income
is equal to or less than three hundred per cent of the federal poverty level;
provided that these funds shall only be used to subsidize benefits for a
qualifying individual or household whose benefits are not subsidized by federal
funding.
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(c)
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All supplemental nutrition assistance shall be
calculated using the federal supplemental nutrition assistance benefit formula
established by the United States Department of Agriculture.
"
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SECTION 3.
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There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii
the sum of $50,000,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year
2025-2026 and the same sum or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal
year 2026-2027
to provide supplemental nutrition
assistance program benefits for households whose monthly income is equal to or
less than three hundred per cent of the federal poverty level
.
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The sums
appropriated shall be expended by the department of human services
for the purposes of this Act.
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SECTION 4.
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New statutory material is underscored.
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SECTION 5.
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This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2025.
INTRODUCED BY:
_____________________________
Report Title:
Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program; Eligibility; Appropriations
Description:
Expands eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program to include any individual or household whose monthly income is equal to
or less than three hundred per cent of the federal poverty level.
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Appropriates funds.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.