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Committee hears plan to improve SNAP access for Maryland college students, adds MCAPS self‑identification question
Summary
Sponsor and agency negotiators said many of the bill's substantive SNAP eligibility changes will instead be implemented through Maryland Department of Human Services guidance; the remaining statutory change would add an optional food-insecurity question to the MCAPS financial-aid application to flag students for outreach and campus resources.
Delegate Jared Solomon told the Appropriations Committee he and agency partners had negotiated changes to House Bill 1090 so most administrative SNAP student eligibility changes would be implemented through Department of Human Services guidance rather than statute, leaving one low-cost statutory addition: an optional food-insecurity question on the MCAPS financial-aid application.
"We've made a lot of changes that completely nullify the fiscal note," Solomon said, describing negotiations with DHS to update the SNAP manual and avoid creating open-ended fiscal obligations tied to federal reimbursements.
Supporters said many students who qualify for SNAP do not enroll because of complex eligibility rules and administrative hurdles; adding a simple self‑identification question to the financial‑aid form would allow colleges to target outreach to students who report recent food insecurity. "This would allow campuses the opportunity for outreach, specifically to students that may require additional support services," Brielle Penzini of Maryland Hunger Solutions testified.
MHEC said it supported the measure and committed to technical coordination with campuses; DHS staff agreed to update SNAP administration guidance so that students qualifying for work-study would not be blocked from receiving benefits while awaiting work assignments.
Student advocates testified about food insecurity at Maryland campuses and urged passage. Nicole Holt, an undergraduate at UMBC, told the committee she benefited from SNAP and campus support but said many students remain unaware of available resources.
Sponsors said the MCAPS-question change would carry a minimal fiscal cost and that DHS guidance would implement the more complex eligibility clarifications without statutory change. The committee did not vote at the hearing.
