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Panel advances bill expanding citizenship checks for entities that administer public benefits after hours of debate
Summary
The House Judiciary Committee voted to report HB 335 favorably, adding NGOs to state verification requirements for public-benefit recipients while adopting an amendment to exempt nonprofit food distribution; supporters said the change closes a funding loophole, opponents warned it would burden SNAP incentive programs and chill participation.
The Louisiana House Judiciary Committee on the evening of the docket advanced House Bill 335, a measure that would expand citizenship-verification duties to nongovernmental organizations that administer public benefits. Representative Chance Henry, the bill sponsor, said the change is intended to make sure state dollars reach U.S. and Louisiana citizens and to close a gap for cash allocations distributed directly by nonprofits.
The committee adopted an amendment inserting a carve-out for “the distribution of food by nonprofit organizations.” Representative Brett Jordan offered the amendment and urged members to adopt language that would protect food banks and direct food distribution. After questions and debate the committee voted to report the bill favorably as amended; the roll call recorded 12 yeas and 5 nays.
Why it matters: Opponents — including farmers, market operators and health providers who operate SNAP matching and nutrition-incentive programs — said the broader verification duty would impose significant administrative and audit burdens on small nonprofits that run farmers markets and mobile markets. Angelina Harrison of Market Umbrella and Madeline Pierce of Grow the Good told the committee their organizations administer matches and incentives already vetted by the state and that requiring citizenship checks for incentive distribution would be redundant, costly and likely to reduce participation.
What supporters said: Representative Henry and other proponents said the bill does not target emergency food distribution and framed the measure as an accountability step when state or legislative dollars are distributed to individuals rather than routed through an agency that already performs eligibility verification. Henry said the bill requires a reasonable effort to obtain proof of citizenship and then reporting if an applicant cannot provide it.
Public testimony: Farmers and nonprofit operators described the operational model used for SNAP matching: volunteers or market staff swipe SNAP EBT cards at a welcome tent, issue tokens or incentives, then later reconcile transactions with settlement reports. Several witnesses, including producer Conrad Cable, warned the measure would shift auditing and verification duties onto volunteers and lean nonprofit staffs, risking program attrition and lost revenue for small farmers.
What changed in committee: The amendment adopted on the floor clarified the bill will not apply to distribution of food by nonprofit organizations. Several committee members said that textual change reduced the scope of harms raised by witnesses, though some opponents said it did not address incentive distribution (a core function of Grow the Good), which they argued remains subject to the verification requirement.
What’s next: With the committee report, HB 335 advances out of judiciary to the next House stage for further consideration. The committee record shows a close vote and substantial public comment that may shape floor debate and subsequent amendments.
