Back to Iowa

SF218 • 2026

A bill for an act relating to modernization of nutrition programs in the state.

A bill for an act relating to modernization of nutrition programs in the state.

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
TRONE GARRIOTT
Last action
2025-02-11
Official status
Subcommittee: Klimesh, Costello, and Trone Garriott. S.J. 243 .
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

A bill for an act relating to modernization of nutrition programs in the state.

A bill for an act relating to modernization of nutrition programs in the state.

What This Bill Does

  • A bill for an act relating to modernization of nutrition programs in the state.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2025-02-11 Iowa Legislature

    Subcommittee: Klimesh, Costello, and Trone Garriott. S.J. 243 .

  2. 2025-02-05 Iowa Legislature

    Introduced, referred to Health and Human Services. S.J. 202 .

Official Summary Text

A bill for an act relating to modernization of nutrition programs in the state.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
Senate

File

218

-

Introduced

SENATE

FILE

218

BY

TRONE

GARRIOTT

A

BILL

FOR

An

Act

relating

to

modernization

of

nutrition

programs

in

the

1

state.

2

BE

IT

ENACTED

BY

THE

GENERAL

ASSEMBLY

OF

THE

STATE

OF

IOWA:

3

TLSB

1659XS

(3)

91

lh/ko

S.F.

218

Section

1.

MODERNIZATION

OF

NUTRITION

PROGRAMS

——

1

INITIATIVES

——

REPORT.

2

1.

For

the

purposes

of

this

section:

3

a.

“Department”

means

the

department

of

health

and

human

4

services.

5

b.

“SNAP”

means

the

same

as

defined

in

section

239.1.

6

c.

“WIC”

means

the

special

supplemental

nutrition

program

7

for

women,

infants,

and

children

as

provided

in

42

U.S.C.

§1786

8

et

seq.

9

2.

The

department

shall

do

all

of

the

following

to

modernize

10

nutrition

programs

in

the

state:

11

a.

Create

an

integrated

eligibility

determination

12

application

to

be

used

for

both

WIC

and

SNAP.

13

b.

Incorporate

all

available

federal

waivers

to

modernize

14

WIC

by

building

or

enhancing

remote

service,

including

through

15

a

waiver

permitting

the

use

of

telephone

and

video

calls,

16

rather

than

requiring

physical

presence

to

complete

WIC

17

certification

and

recertification.

18

c.

Implement

a

pilot

initiative

that

creates

opportunities

19

and

modifies

the

department’s

internet

site

for

WIC

to

simplify

20

the

application

process

and

WIC

benefit

distribution

by

doing

21

all

of

the

following:

22

(1)

Implement

streamlined

eligibility

for

WIC

applicants

23

who

demonstrate

proof

of

enrollment

in

SNAP

or

Medicaid

by

24

using

state-level

referrals

and

data

and

information

sharing

25

and

matching.

26

(2)

Enable

automatic

online

loading

of

benefits

to

WIC

27

nutrition

cards.

28

(3)

Offer

online

shopping

with

WIC

nutrition

cards.

29

(4)

Explore

other

opportunities

to

improve

access

to

WIC

30

benefits

and

to

remove

administrative

burdens

as

allowed

by

31

federal

law.

32

3.

The

department

shall

request

federal

approval

of

33

any

waiver

or

state

plan

as

necessary

to

implement

the

34

modernization

initiatives

described

in

subsection

2

and

shall

35

-1-

LSB

1659XS

(3)

91

lh/ko

1/

3

S.F.

218

implement

the

initiatives

upon

receipt

of

federal

approval.

1

4.

Within

thirty

days

following

completion

of

the

first

six

2

months

of

the

implementation

of

this

section,

the

department

3

shall

submit

a

report

to

the

general

assembly

regarding

4

the

outcomes

resulting

from

this

section,

an

evaluation

of

5

the

feasibility

of

expanding

the

modernization

initiatives

6

statewide,

and

the

projected

impact

of

statewide

expansion.

7

EXPLANATION

8

The

inclusion

of

this

explanation

does

not

constitute

agreement

with

9

the

explanation’s

substance

by

the

members

of

the

general

assembly.

10

This

bill

directs

the

department

of

health

and

human

11

services

(HHS)

to

modernize

the

special

supplemental

nutrition

12

program

for

women,

infants,

and

children

(WIC)

and

the

13

supplemental

nutrition

assistance

program

(SNAP)

in

the

state.

14

The

bill

directs

HHS

to

create

an

integrated

eligibility

15

determination

application

to

be

used

for

both

WIC

and

SNAP.

16

HHS

shall

incorporate

all

available

federal

waivers

to

17

modernize

WIC

by

building

or

enhancing

remote

service.

HHS

18

shall

implement

a

pilot

initiative

that

creates

opportunities

19

and

modifies

HHS’s

internet

site

for

WIC

to

simplify

20

the

application

process

and

WIC

benefit

distribution

by

21

streamlining

eligibility

for

WIC

applicants

who

demonstrate

22

proof

of

enrollment

in

SNAP

or

Medicaid,

enabling

automatic

23

online

loading

of

benefits

to

WIC

nutrition

cards,

offering

24

online

shopping

with

WIC

nutrition

cards,

and

exploring

other

25

opportunities

to

improve

access

to

WIC

benefits

and

to

remove

26

administrative

burdens

as

allowed

by

federal

law.

27

The

bill

requires

HHS

to

request

federal

approval

of

any

28

waiver

or

state

plan

as

necessary

to

implement

the

bill

and

to

29

implement

the

bill

upon

receipt

of

federal

approval.

30

HHS

shall

submit

a

report

to

the

general

assembly

within

30

31

days

following

the

first

six

months

of

the

implementation

of

32

the

bill

that

includes

the

outcomes

resulting

from

the

bill,

33

an

evaluation

of

the

feasibility

of

expanding

the

provisions

34

of

the

bill

statewide,

and

the

projected

impact

of

statewide

35

-2-

LSB

1659XS

(3)

91

lh/ko

2/

3

S.F.

218

expansion.

1

-3-

LSB

1659XS

(3)

91

lh/ko

3/

3