Committee advances bill asking state to seek waiver to bar SNAP purchases of candy and soft drinks

The Committee on Welfare Reform on Monday passed Senate Bill 79 favorably for passage, voting to advance the bill out of committee after brief discussion and a successful motion to close debate.

A committee reviser summarized the bill before the vote: “This would request or require the secretary to seek a waiver from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance or SNAP program to allow the state to prohibit purchase of candy and soft drinks with food assistance benefits,” the reviser said. Representative Humphreys moved that the committee pass Senate Bill 79 favorably for passage.

President Bergkamp then moved a call to question to end debate; Representative Riley offered the second. The committee chair called the voice vote and announced that “the ayes appear to have it,” and that the bill “passes out.”

Several members asked to have their dissent entered into the record after the vote. Representative Carr and Representative Roser asked that their no votes be recorded; Representative Brownlee Page also asked that her no vote be recorded.

The committee did not work further amendments to the bill during the meeting and moved on to a separate agenda item, Senate Bill 85, which committee members discussed at length without taking formal action.

No additional details on statutory language, a fiscal note, or a formal roll-call tally were given on the record at the committee session. The reviser’s brief explanation to the committee is the only on-record description of the bill’s effect: seeking a waiver from the federal SNAP program to prohibit candy and soft drink purchases.

The committee kept a future meeting day open; no final floor action was taken on Senate Bill 79 during this session.