For a second time, the Senate Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development Committee has carried over SB139 Committee Chairman Phil Williams, R-Rainbow City, said the Alabama Department of Human Resources has concerns about the legislation to further restrict the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food stamp program in the state, as well as Temporary Aid to Needy Families, or TANF. The bill’s author is Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur.
Orr’s bill:
- Sets a lifetime limit of 36 months for temporary cash payments under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program.
- Suspends cash payments under the TANF program when a recipient fails to cooperate with an ongoing fraud investigation.
- Requires a county unemployment rate of 10 percent or greater to wave work requirements for SNAP.
- Requires individuals to cooperate with the Child Support Enforcement Division as a condition of eligibility for SNAP benefits.
The bill also requires Human Resources to:
- Automatically review, frequent large purchases using electronic benefits transfer, or EBT, cards.
- Set a number of purchases outside of the state that will automatically prompt the state to review the recipient’s residency status.
- Monitor all requests for replacement EBT cards and upon the fourth request require an office visit.
- Maintain a sufficient fraud investigative staff.
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