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Committee reviews language to direct DCF to use discretionary SNAP exemptions and available federal units
Summary
Draft language would instruct the Department for Children and Families to fully utilize discretionary exemptions to extend SNAP benefits, including approximately 29,000 federal units that otherwise would not carry over to the next federal year.
The committee reviewed proposed language on Jan. 29 that would direct the Department for Children and Families (DCF) to use discretionary exemptions to extend Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Committee materials note roughly 29,000 federal units are available to extend benefits, and staff said those units will not carry over into the next federal year if unused.
Joint Fiscal Office staff described the language as submitted by the House Human Services Committee. Members questioned whether the draft text should use permissive language — "allow" — or stronger wording instructing DCF to fully utilize the units. A staff member said the explanation in the packet may be revised prior to the bill that appears on members' desks, and that the final bill text presented to the committee will not include the explanatory language that staff were discussing in committee.
Why it matters: using available federal units to extend benefits would provide near-term assistance to households that rely on SNAP, and it prevents the units from expiring at the federal-year cutoff.
Next steps: staff said the explanation language will be refined before the bill is printed, and that the committee may adjust the wording to reflect whether the direction to DCF is permissive or instructive.
