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Committee sends ballot-change bill tying Healthy School Meals funding to SNAP support to Committee of the Whole
Summary
Senate Bill 3 would permit surplus funds from a proposed Healthy School Meals for All measure to support SNAP administration, outreach and nutrition education; the committee voted 9–4 to advance the bill to the Committee of the Whole after testimony from counties, school nutrition directors, anti- and proponents and state agencies.
The House Health & Human Services Committee voted 9–4 to advance Senate Bill 3 to the Committee of the Whole. The measure would ask voters to approve funding for Healthy School Meals for All and allow any funds remaining after fully funding that program to be used to support the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) administration, outreach and education.
Sponsors said the change is necessary in light of federal cuts in HR1 that reduce SNAP administrative matching funds, remove SNAP education funding and shift certain costs to states and counties. Representative Katie Stewart, a co-prime sponsor, said HR1’s changes put “more than 300,000 low-income Colorado families” at risk of losing food benefits and described the bill as a means to give voters the choice to shore up school meals and protect SNAP through the state ballot measure.
County officials and food-access advocates uniformly supported the bill in committee testimony. Thomas Davidson of Counties and Commissioners Acting Together (CCAT) told the committee counties administer SNAP and asked lawmakers to let voters decide. Kevin Neiman of Colorado Counties, Inc. said his membership adopted a policy supporting increased funding for SNAP administration so long as it does not financially harm Healthy School Meals for All. County and anti-hunger witnesses described the administrative burden counties face and warned that the state could see a loss of tens of millions in federal administrative funds under HR1: Abby McClelland of the Colorado Department of Human Services testified that the state faces an estimated $38 million reduction in state fiscal year 2026–27 and roughly $50 million in subsequent years in administrative funds, and that a state-match requirement could require $90–$140 million in later years depending on error rates and caseloads.
School nutrition leaders and local food advocates urged full funding of the school-meals program first and highlighted local purchasing and nutrition education components. Shannon Thompson of the Colorado School Nutrition Association said the universal school meals program supports students and reduces stigma; Valley Roots and other local food hubs described how local purchasing and “double-up” programs increase market demand for Colorado producers. Hunger Free Colorado and other anti-hunger groups said allowing leftover funds to support SNAP administration and outreach would help keep families fed if voters approve the measure.
Opposition testimony was limited and focused on fiscal priorities and concerns about program waste. Erin Meschke, who testified in opposition, argued that universal school meals were unaffordable and cited food waste concerns and preferred tax relief instead of expanding the program.
Votes and next steps: The committee voted 9–4 to send SB3 to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation. Sponsors said that a successful ballot question and subsequent revenue would require follow-up implementing legislation in 2026 to set spending rules and guardrails.
Background: SB3 modifies the referral language for the Healthy School Meals for All ballot measure so that, after the program is fully funded (including reserves and local-purchasing grants), any remaining proceeds could be directed to SNAP administration, outreach, and nutrition education programs to offset damage from HR1.
