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S3983
SENATE, No. 3983
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED MARCH 19, 2026
Sponsored by:
Senator� JOSEPH F. VITALE
District 19 (Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
���� Establishes Restaurant Meals Program in DHS; permits
certain individuals to use SNAP benefits at approved restaurants; requires
participation by certain restaurants operated by institutions of higher
education.�
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
establishing a Restaurant Meals Program and
supplementing Title 44 of the Revised Statutes.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� As used in this act:
���� �Approved Food Vendor� means a restaurant located in an
eligible county and approved by the applicable county welfare agency to accept
SNAP benefits from
eligible homeless, disabled, or elderly individuals
for the purchase of food at low or reduced prices.
���� �Commissioner� means the Commissioner of Human Services.
���� �Department� means the Department of Human Services.
���� �Eligible county� means a county in the State in which
homeless,
disabled, or elderly individuals eligible for participation in the SNAP are
underserved, as determined by the Department of Human Services.
���� �Restaurant� means any facility in which food is
prepared for consumption on the premises, in compliance with all federal, State,
and local health and safety laws, regulations, and ordinances, and purchased in
the facility by consumers.
���� �Program� or �RMP� means a Restaurant Meals Program
established pursuant to this act and in a manner consistent with federal statue
and regulation, including those requirements outlined in 7 U.S.C.
s.2020(e)(25).�
���� �SNAP� means the New Jersey Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program, established pursuant to the federal �Food and Nutrition Act
of 2008,� Pub.L.110-246 (
7 U.S.C.
s.2011
et seq.).
���� 2.��� The department shall
establish a Restaurant Meals Program (RMP),
within the New Jersey Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP),
to
allow eligible homeless, disabled, or elderly individuals to use SNAP
benefits at approved food vendors.
�
The program shall be administered by the department,
in conjunction with
the State�s county welfare agencies,
in
a manner consistent with federal statute and regulation, including those requirements
outlined in 7 U.S.C. s.2020(e)(25).
�
���� 3.��� a.�� The department
shall:
���� (1)�� annually
issue guidance to all county welfare
agencies indicating which counties are eligible to participate in the RMP, and instructions
for participating in the RMP and appealing a non-eligible determination; and
���� (2)�� provide that the electronic benefit distribution
system implemented by the department pursuant to section 5 of P.L.1997, c.37
(C.44:10-75) allows all SNAP recipients who are eligible for the RMP to utilize
their benefits at all approved food vendors.
���� b.��� Under the oversight of the department, each county
welfare agency located in an eligible county that elects to participate in the
RMP shall, to the extent permitted by federal law, determine the number, type,
and location of restaurants to include as approved food vendors in the program.�
A county welfare agency shall consider the agency�s administrative capacity,
the location of participating restaurants, and SNAP recipient demand within the
county in making this determination.
���� 4.���
Each
public or private institution of higher
education in the State
that is located
in an eligible county that elects to participate in the RMP,
pursuant to section 3 of this act,
shall:
���� a.���� apply to become an approved food vendor in
the program, if the institution operates any qualifying on-campus restaurants;
���� b.��� annually provide all on-campus restaurants
not operated by the institution with information regarding the RMP and the
manner in which to apply for the program; and
���� c.���� annually inform enrolled students about
the program if an on-campus restaurant has been approved as a food vendor in
the RMP.
���� 5.���
The
commissioner shall issue a report no later than six months following the
effective date of this act, and annually thereafter, to the Governor and,
pursuant to section 2 of
P.L.1991, c.164
(
C.52:14-19.1
),
to the Legislature, which shall include,
but not be limited to, the following information regarding the RMP: the
counties eligible for participation and those that elect to participate; the names
and addresses of all approved food vendors in each participating county; and
the number of SNAP recipients participating in the program by county.� The
report shall also specify approved food vendor and participant information
regarding the program�s implementation at institutions of higher education
throughout the State.
���� 6.��� The Commissioner of
Human Services shall adopt rules and regulations pursuant to the
"Administrative Procedure Act" P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.)
to effectuate the purposes of this act.
���� 7.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.
STATEMENT
���� This bill establishes a
Restaurant Meals Program (RMP), within the New Jersey Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP � formerly the Food Stamp Program), in
the Department of Human Services.
�
The
RMP is to be
administered by the
department,
in conjunction with the State�s county welfare agencies, in
a manner
consistent with federal
statue and regulation, including those requirements outlined in 7 U.S.C.
s.2020(e)(25)
.
���� Generally, federal law
prohibits SNAP benefits from being used to purchase prepared food at
restaurants.� However, through the RMP, states have the option to allow
eligible homeless, disabled, or elderly individuals to use SNAP benefits at
approved restaurants that offer food at low or reduced prices.� The goal of
this program is to provide certain vulnerable SNAP participants, who may not
have the means to store and prepare food, access to meals.
���� Under the bill, the department
is required to: 1) annually
issue
guidance to all county welfare agencies indicating which counties are eligible
to participate in the RMP, and instructions for participating in the RMP and appealing
a non-eligible determination; and
2)
provide that the electronic benefit distribution system used
by SNAP recipients to purchase food can also be utilized by participants in the
RMP at all approved food vendors. �
����
Under the oversight of the department, each county welfare
agency located in an eligible county that elects to participate in the RMP is
responsible for determining the number, type, and location of restaurants to
include as approved food vendors in the program.� County welfare agencies must
consider the agency�s administrative capacity, the location of participating
restaurants, and SNAP recipient demand within the county in making this
determination.
���� Each
public or private institution
of higher education in the State
that
is located in an eligible county that elects to participate in the RMP
must
apply to become an approved food vendor in the program, if the
institution operates any qualifying on-campus restaurants.� Furthermore, the
institution must
a
nnually: 1) provide all on-campus restaurants not
operated by the institution with information regarding the RMP and the manner
in which to apply, and 2) inform enrolled students about the program if an
on-campus restaurant has been approved as a food vendor in the RMP.
�
���� Under
the bill,
the Commissioner of
Human Services is required to issue a report no later than six months following
the effective date of the bill, and annually thereafter, to the Governor and to
the Legislature that includes, but is not limited to, the following information
regarding the RMP: the counties eligible for participation and those that elect
to participate; the names and addresses of all approved food vendors in each
participating county; and the number of SNAP recipients participating in the program
by county.� The report must also specify approved food vendor and participant
information regarding the program�s implementation at institutions of higher
education throughout the State.