Bill > SB142

This bill, titled "Snap Waiver," aims to modify the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps, in New Mexico. The key provision requires the secretary of the human services department to actively seek a federal waiver to exempt certain able-bodied adults, aged 18 to 49 and without dependents, from the program's three-month time limit on receiving benefits, to the fullest extent allowed by federal law. If a waiver isn't possible for certain areas, the secretary must track and report annually the costs, number of recipients affected by the time limit, and the number of people losing benefits due to non-compliance. Furthermore, the bill mandates an annual fiscal impact analysis of SNAP's employment and training program, conducted by the University of New Mexico's bureau of business and economic research, which will examine program costs, participation rates, employment outcomes, and benefit losses due to non-compliance with work requirements. The results of this analysis will be reported to legislative committees. The bill also appropriates $100,000 from the general fund to the human services department for fiscal year 2017 to cover the costs of this fiscal impact analysis.