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Committee hears SNAP for Students Act; sponsors and DHS reach agreement on implementation via guidance
Summary
Delegate Jared Solomon urged the House Appropriations Committee to back HB1090, the SNAP for Students Act, which would streamline SNAP eligibility for qualifying college students and add an optional food‑security question to the statewide financial aid form for targeted outreach.
Delegate Jared Solomon and witnesses from Maryland Hunger Solutions, the Maryland Higher Education Commission and student advocates urged the House Appropriations Committee to support HB1090, the SNAP for Students Act, designed to make it easier for eligible college students to access federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and to help colleges identify food‑insecure students.
Solomon said much of the bill’s intent — clarifying when students who qualify for work‑study or other exemptions are SNAP‑eligible — can be implemented by the Department of Human Services through updated administrative guidance. DHS staff had agreed during drafting talks to update the SNAP manual to reflect the intended practices, and sponsors said a forthcoming sponsor amendment will remove sections the agency will carry out administratively. The remaining statutory change would add an optional question to the Maryland College Aid Processing System (MCAPS) financial aid form asking students whether they have experienced food insecurity (for example, inability to afford a meal) in a recent period; answers would be optional and used for campus outreach.
Advocates said college student demographics have changed and food insecurity is a growing barrier to academic success. Brielle Penzini of Maryland Hunger Solutions described the complexity of SNAP eligibility for students and testified the optional MCAPS question would produce better data and allow campuses to reach students who may need assistance. UMBC undergraduate Nicole Holt testified she receives SNAP and said students often do not know about campus resources; she supported the MCAPS question as a way to prompt targeted outreach.
The Maryland Higher Education Commission testified in support and offered to coordinate implementation and technical assistance for campuses. DHS representatives and the sponsor described a cooperative approach that aims to avoid creating a new fiscal obligation by using guidance and an inexpensive MCAPS modification (the fiscal note for the MCAPS change was small). Solomon said the sponsor amendment will remove duplicative statutory language and leave the guidance‑implementable pieces to DHS.
The committee did not take a final vote at the hearing. Sponsors said they will submit the agreed sponsor amendment reflecting DHS guidance commitments and the MCAPS question before returning to the committee.
