Bill Text: HI HR31 | 2024 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Requesting The University Of Hawaii Economic Research Organization To Conduct A Study Of Ways To Increase Access To Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Benefits.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 11-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-03-25 - Report adopted. referred to the committee(s) on FIN as amended in HD 1 with Representative(s) Garcia voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Pierick voting no (1) and Representative(s) Ganaden, Kapela, Woodson excused (3). [HR31 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2024-HR31-Amended.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	31
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII ECONOMIC RESEARCH ORGANIZATION TO CONDUCT A STUDY OF WAYS TO INCREASE ACCESS TO SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM BENEFITS.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, many low-income households struggle to purchase food due to Hawaii's high cost of living and food prices; and

 

     WHEREAS, more than one in six residents experience food insecurity; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the food stamp program, is crucial in providing food assistance to some of Hawaii's most economically disadvantaged residents; and

 

     WHEREAS, households with incomes that are two hundred percent above the federal poverty level are ineligible for SNAP; and

 

     WHEREAS, the 2023 United For ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) report highlighted that a family of four with a household income of $69,000 per year is ineligible for SNAP benefits but needs an income of over $100,000 per year to meet basic needs, including food and housing; and

 

     WHEREAS, if the same family earned just $1,000 less per year, or $68,000, the family would be eligible to receive more than $9,000 in SNAP benefits; and

 

     WHEREAS, the two hundred percent poverty level income eligibility cutoff for SNAP assistance creates a benefits cliff that disincentivizes individuals from reaching their greatest earning potential; and

 

     WHEREAS, many families just below SNAP's income eligibility threshold decline pay increases because the financial benefit of increased economic opportunities does not exceed the potential cost of losing SNAP benefits; and

 

     WHEREAS, SNAP is a highly effective anti-hunger initiative throughout the country; in Hawaii, SNAP supports over one hundred thirty thousand individuals and brings more than $630,000,000 into the State's economy each year; and

 

     WHEREAS, many families with incomes below the two hundred percent poverty level are ineligible for SNAP benefits for other reasons, such as citizenship status; and

 

     WHEREAS, many families who are eligible for SNAP are not enrolled; and

 

     WHEREAS, addressing the problem posed by the SNAP benefits cliff would help economically vulnerable households meet their basic needs without limiting their earning potential; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2024, that the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization is requested to conduct a study of ways to increase access to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study is requested to include:

 

     (1)  Public policy options for addressing the benefits cliff created by SNAP's eligibility requirements, including a cost-benefit analysis of expanding eligibility to households that are three hundred percent above the federal poverty level;

 

     (2)  An estimate of the number of Hawaii residents whose income is below the three hundred percent federal poverty level and who may become eligible for SNAP benefits if the State expands income eligibility to this level;

 

     (3)  An estimate of the number of residents who are currently eligible for SNAP, but not enrolled; and

 

     (4)  Other issues that the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization determines to be important in increasing access to SNAP benefits; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that all relevant State departments and agencies, including the Department of Human Services, Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, and the Department of Taxation, are requested to provide access to any information and data that the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization asks for to successfully complete the study; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization is requested to submit an interim preliminary report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2025; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization is requested to submit a final report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2026; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Director of Human Services, and Executive Director of the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization.

Report Title: 

University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization; Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; Study; Eligibility Requirements