'No Hungry Heroes' act advances to seek CalFresh waivers and referrals for veterans

Senator McNerney presented SB 1201, the "No Hungry Heroes" Act, explaining the bill would protect vulnerable veterans affected by recent federal SNAP (CalFresh) changes and create stronger links between CalFresh applicants and county veterans service officers.

David West of the California Association of County Veterans Service Officers testified the bill would seek federal waivers to exclude job search costs from income and ease work requirements for homeless or newly discharged veterans, veterans awaiting disability determinations, and veterans with children. Gabby Davidson of the California Association of Food Banks detailed the adverse effects of federal HR 1 changes and urged California to seek waivers to prevent veterans from losing benefits; she said an estimated 115,000 veteran families rely on CalFresh in California.

SB 1201 requires counties to provide direct referrals to county veterans service officers for applicants and asks the state to pursue federal waivers to exempt qualifying veterans from time limits and to exclude job search costs from income calculations. The committee moved the bill out to appropriations and placed it on call.

Why it matters: Supporters argued that federal work requirements and time limits can disproportionately harm vulnerable veterans, and that referrals to county veterans service officers can connect veterans to benefits and services they may otherwise miss.

Next steps: SB 1201 was referred to appropriations for fiscal review and potential outreach planning to counties and service officers.