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Georgia committee advances bill to tighten SNAP verification, expand fraud powers
Summary
A House committee advanced a substitute to House Bill 947 that tightens SNAP verification, gives the state inspector general broader subpoena authority and requires interagency data sharing; supporters say it will reduce error rates, while advocates warn increased documentation and asset checks could harm eligible families.
The House Culture, Committee and Consumer Affairs advanced a committee substitute to House Bill 947 (LC461440S) aimed at strengthening fraud investigations and tightening benefit verification for Georgia’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Sponsor Representative Montahan said the substitute strengthens oversight and ‘‘updates Georgia's fraud subpoena statute so that the inspector general leads SNAP-related subpoena requests’’ and that changes are intended to reduce the state’s SNAP error rate without cutting benefits. He described a phased rollout for some verifications to allow time for staffing.
Advocates and retailers who testified supported fraud prevention but differed on some details. Angela Holland, president of the Georgia Association of Convenience Stores, said retailers ‘‘worked with the sponsor’’ to make the substitute practical for stores. Kathy Kazava, president of the Food Industry Association, told the committee that about 1,400,000 Georgians — ‘‘1 in 8 Georgians’’ — receive SNAP and urged measures such as chip-and-pin EBT technology and encouraging recipients to lock their cards between transactions. Kazava offered a 2026 US Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General report to the committee for reference.
Opponents and advocacy groups warned the substitute could increase paperwork and errors. Ife Finch Floyd of the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute said provisions that would require broader asset and resource reviews risk increasing administrative complexity and errors, and could force families to choose between keeping a vehicle and receiving benefits. Floyd said restoring an asset test or narrowing categorical eligibility could lead to more mistakes during implementation and more training needs for caseworkers.
Cindy Battles of People’s Agenda highlighted concerns for mixed-status households and said language in the substitute could require documentation from household members who are not applicants, potentially jeopardizing children’s benefits when other residents cannot or will not provide documents.
On implementation, the sponsor said the bill delays major verification steps until 01/01/2029 for certain checks and that some provisions would take effect on 01/01/2027. Representative Montahan said the legislature is seeking appropriations to hire staff required for implementation and reiterated that some automation options are constrained by federal statute. He said the substitute ‘‘adds legislative oversight during that rollout’’ and requires agency reporting.
Committee members pressed for specifics about fiscal impacts and staffing. One member cited an estimate that meeting federal compliance could cost in the hundreds of millions at the state level; Montahan said the committee would seek an appropriation to fund staffing and technology needs.
After testimony and questions, Representative Jasper moved to pass the committee substitute to House Bill 947. The committee seconded the motion and, by voice, the chair announced the motion carried and the substitute passed out of committee.
What happens next: the substitute advanced by the committee will move through subsequent legislative steps required for House bills; sponsors and agency staff said they will continue coordinating implementation details and any required appropriations.
