SB 497 — AN ACT PROVIDING FOOD SECURITY FOR VETERANS, TRANSITIONAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE FOR OTHER PERSONS AFFECTED BY FEDERAL PROGRAM CUTS, A FOOD AS MEDICINE WAIVER PROGRAM, MEALS ON WHEELS PROVIDER RATE INCREASES AND ALIGNING NUTRITION ASSISTANCE APPLICATIONS WITH FEDERAL REGULATIONS.

in Section 4(c) "commissioner" was changed to "Commissioner of Social Services" for clarity and Section 4(d) was redrafted for clarity.

HS Joint Favorable Subst.

-LCO sSB497 / File No.

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486 The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose.

In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge.

Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note State Impact:

Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 27 $ FY 28 $ State Resources SF - Transfer $40 million None from Social Services, Dept.

GF - Transfer to $40 million None Social Services, Dept.

GF - Cost $2.1 million 335,000 Social Services, Dept.

GF - Cost See Below See Below Resources of the General Fund GF - Revenue 375,000 None Gain Note:

SF=Special Fund (Non-appropriated);

GF=General Fund Municipal Impact:

None Explanation Sections 1 and 2 establish the supplemental nutrition assistance transitional benefit account and require the Office of Policy and Management (OPM) to transfer $40 million from the Federal Cuts Response Fundto saidaccount.The Department ofSocialServices(DSS) will administer this account to support the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Transitional Benefit Program, established in section 4 of the bill.

Sections 3 and 4 result in administrative costs to DSS of approximately $1.2 million in FY 27 associated with modifying the eligibility and benefit system for participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Transitional Benefit Program.

DSS may incur additional costs to the extent increased staff are needed to support the program.

For context, the annual salary for eligibility staff typically ranges from approximately $63,5000 to $96,000, depending on the sSB497 / File No.

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Section 3 requires DSS to maintain supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) benefits to veterans who would otherwise lose such benefits due to work requirements under P.L.

119-21, effective 7/1/26.

Based on May 2025 enrollment data, there were approximately 300 veterans that may be impacted by such work requirements.

Assuming an average benefit of $194, benefits costs for this group would total approximately $58,200 per month.

Section 4 requires DSS to establish a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Transitional Benefit Program for vulnerable persons at risk of losing SNAP due to changes in federal work requirements and eligibility under P.L.

119-21.

Assistance must include (1) benefits of $194 per month for a period of not more than 12 months, (2) access to job training, and (3) case management to help document compliance with work requirements or eligibility for federal exemptions.

The bill requires DSS to limit the lookback period for SNAP work requirements to one month and allows for written verification from employers who pay in cash and self-attestation if experiencing homelessness.

For context, initial estimates of the number of individuals potentially impacted by changes in SNAP eligibility requirements totaled 36,000 (including but not limitedto veterans,thoseexperiencing homelessness, and households with children under age 18).

If everyone in this group were deemed eligible to receive the $194 monthly benefit under the bill, it would result in a monthly cost of $7 million.

Section 5 results in a cost to DSS associated with applying for an 1115 Medicaid waiver to provide Medicaid coverage for food as medicine through a pilot program.

DSS will incur costs of approximately $750,000 forcontractualsupporttodevelopthewaiver,withanassociatedfederal grants revenue gain of $375,000.

The state will also incur programmatic costs to support the three-year pilot program to provide produce prescriptions and nutritional counseling under a food as medicine program for Medicaid beneficiaries with chronic health conditions.

The commissioner may provide such beneficiary with vouchers or an sSB497 / File No.

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486 electronic debit card restricted to the purchase of a produce prescription.

The extent of such costs depends on the scope and structure of the pilot program.

Section 6 removes the requirement that people serving a probation sentence be doing so “satisfactorily” to be eligible for TFA and SNAP benefits.

To the extent this enables an individual to receive benefits sooner than they otherwise would have, DSS will incur TFA costs.

For context the average TFA benefit per person is approximately $250.

It is assumed any additional SNAP benefit costs would be covered by federal funds.

Section 7 results in a cost to DSS associated with modifying applications for individuals receiving federal SNAP benefits.

DSS will incur costs to print paper applications and may incur system costs to modify the online application.

Section 8 results in a cost of at least $145,000 in FY 27 and $158,000 in FY 28 associated with requiring rather than allowing DSS to increase the fee schedule for meals on wheels providers serving participants in the Connecticut Home Care Program, effective 7/1/26.

Current law allows DSS to provide increases at least equal to cost of living adjustments as measured by the consumer price index.

DSS will incur additional costs of approximately $177,000 in FY 28 associated with the 7/1/27 COLA.

The Out Years The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would continue into the future subject to inflation as well as participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Transitional Benefit Program.

sSB497 / File No.

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486 OLR Bill Analysis sSB 497 AN ACT PROVIDING FOOD SECURITY FOR VETERANS, TRANSITIONAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE FOR OTHER PERSONS AFFECTED BY FEDERAL PROGRAM CUTS, A FOOD AS MEDICINE WAIVER PROGRAM, MEALS ON WHEELS PROVIDER RATE INCREASES AND ALIGNING NUTRITION ASSISTANCE APPLICATIONS WITH FEDERAL REGULATIONS.

SUMMARY This bill makes several changes to laws affecting nutritional assistance programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Principally, it:

1.

establishes the SNAP transitional benefit account and transfers $40milliondollarstotheaccount fromtheFederalCutsResponse Fund (§§ 1 & 2);

2.

requires the Department of Social Services (DSS) to establish a SNAP Transitional Benefit Program to help certain people at risk of losing benefits under P.L.

119-21 (see below) (§ 4);

3.

requires DSS to give veterans the same level of SNAP benefits as they would have received before P.L.

119-21 (§ 3);

4.

requires DSS to seek a Medicaid waiver for a three-year pilot program to give produce prescriptions (certain prescriptions for fruits and vegetables) and nutritional counseling to Medicaid enrollees with chronic health conditions (§ 5);

5.

removes a requirement that people serving a probation sentence be doing so “satisfactorily” to qualify for SNAP or Temporary Family Assistance (TFA) benefits and requires DSS to eliminate requirements on SNAP applications for applicants to attest that they do not have a probation or parole violation (§§ 6 & 7);

and sSB497 / File No.

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486 6.

requires, rather than allows, DSS to annually increase meals-on- wheels provider rates for the Connecticut Home Care Program for Elders (CHCPE) (§ 8).

P.L.

119-21, the federal FY 25 Reconciliation Law (commonly referred toasH.R.1ortheOneBigBeautifulBillAct)includedseveralprovisions affecting SNAP, including expanding SNAP work requirements, and making certain immigrant groups ineligible for the program.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

July 1, 2026, except the food as medicine provision is effective upon passage.

§§ 1, 2, & 4 — SNAP TRANSITIONAL BENEFITS SNAP Transitional Benefit Account The bill establishes the SNAP transitional benefit account as a separate, nonlapsing account and requires DSS to spend funds in the account to operate the SNAP Transitional Benefit Program the bill establishes.

The bill requires the Office of Policy and Management to transfer $40 million from the Federal Cuts Response Fund to the SNAP transitional benefit account for FY 27.

Program Eligibility The bill requires DSS to establish a SNAP Transitional Benefit Program for vulnerable people at risk of losing SNAP due to changes in federal work requirements and eligibility under P.L.

119-21.

Under the bill, a “vulnerable person” includes:

1.

a homeless person or someone at risk of homelessness;

2.

an adult diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder who is not otherwise classified as disabled;

3.

a young adult aging out of the foster care system;

4.

an adult who is a caretaker for a child between the ages of 14 and 18;

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486 5.

a person aged 55 to 64 years;

and 6.

anasylee, refugee,or other immigrant withavisa or pendingvisa based on human trafficking or domestic violence victim status.

The bill generally makes vulnerable persons eligible for transitional assistance under the program, but it sets additional requirements for certain vulnerable persons to be eligible for this assistance.

Specifically, other than asylees, refugees, and immigrants with victim status, the bill requires vulnerable persons to be:

1.

working or enrolled in a workforce program, 2.

demonstrating an active job search consistent with DSS requirements, or 3.

awaiting verification or documentation of work requirements or federal exemption from them.

The bill requires a vulnerable person to re-enroll in SNAP once he or she is able to complete the work-related requirements.

Program Benefits SNAP transitional benefits must include:

1.

at least $194 per month for up to 12 months, 2.

access to job training, and 3.

case management to helpanotherwise eligible vulnerableperson document compliance with work requirements or eligibility for federal exemptions to work requirements.

Program Implementation The bill requires DSS, when implementing the program, to:

1.

inform program beneficiaries about work requirements and other eligibility changes;

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provide, in consultation with the labor commissioner, access to job training programs for vulnerable people;

3.

implement systems to verify work hours, potential federal exemptions from requirements, and documentation from vulnerable people subject to the new work requirements;

4.

identify and help vulnerable people with unstable employment or health barriers;

and 5.

expeditiously resolve eligibility issues to prevent prolonged benefit loss.

SNAP Program Work Requirements To the extent federal law allows, the bill requires the DSS commissioner to limit to one month the lookback period for federal work requirement compliance.

It allows her to accept (1) written income verification from a vulnerable person’s employer if the person is paid in cash or (2) self-attested information from a vulnerable person experiencing homelessness.

§ 3 — NUTRITIONAL ASSISTANCE FOR VETERANS The bill requires the DSS commissioner to give veterans the same level of SNAP benefits as they received or would have received before P.L 119-21 changed SNAP work requirements.

The bill requires DSS to provide this assistance irrespective of whether the veteran meets work requirements.

(Presumably, if the veteran meets federal work requirements, benefits are provided under the federal SNAP program.

The bill does not specify a program or funding source for benefits if the veteran does not meet federal work requirements.) By law, a veteran is any person who was discharged or released under conditions that were not dishonorable from active service in the armed forces.

§ 5 — FOOD AS MEDICINE PILOT PROGRAM The billrequiresDSS toseek afederal§1115Medicaiddemonstration sSB497 / File No.

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486 waiver for a three-year pilot food as medicine program for Medicaid enrollees with chronic health conditions.

Pilot Program Eligibility The bill requires the pilot program to provide services to Medicaid enrollees with chronic health conditions, which include:

1.

prediabetes, gestational diabetes, and types 1 and 2 diabetes;

2.

heart disease, including hypertension, hyper-cholesterol, dyslipidemia, and congestive heart failure;

3.

food allergies;

4.

celiac disease;

5.

chronic obstructive pulmonary disease;

6.

renal disease;

and 7.

obesity.

Pilot Program Benefits Under the bill, the program provides produce prescriptions and nutritional counseling.

“Produce prescriptions” are a prescription for fruits and vegetables without added salt, sugar, or fat given to a Medicaid beneficiary with chronic health conditions by a health care provider (a physician, physician’s assistant, APRN, certified dietitian- nutritionist, or certified diabetes educator).

The bill authorizes DSS to give the pilot program participants vouchers or electronic debit cards restricted to produce prescription purchases.

Reporting and Data Sharing The bill requires DSS to submit three annual reports to the Human Services Committee, due on January 15 in 2027, 2028, and 2029.

The reports must include:

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486 1.

how many Medicaid enrollees received produce prescriptions under the pilot program;

2.

data on the effect the prescriptions had on Medicaid enrollees’ health, including indicators such as blood sugar levels, blood pressure, and serum lipids;

3.

the pilot program’s effect on food insecurity ranges, as measured by the United States Department of Agriculture;

and 4.

state costs to provide Medicaid reimbursement for produce prescriptions, compared to any savings generated by participants’ improved health outcomes.

The bill requires DSS to share aggregated data on pilot program participant food insecurity with organizations that track data on food security and connect people who are food insecure to nutritional assistance.

§§ 6 & 7 — PROBATION COMPLETION AND PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY By law, people convicted of certain state and federal felony offenses are generally eligible for SNAP and TFA benefits if they have completed their court sentence.

Under current law, if the person is serving a period of probation as part of their sentence and is doing so satisfactorily, he or she is eligible for SNAP and TFA benefits.

The bill removes the requirement that people on probation be serving “satisfactorily” in order to qualify for benefits.

The bill also requires the DSS commissioner to remove any requirement that a SNAP applicant attest that he or she does not have a probation or parole violation on the SNAP application.

Additionally, the bill requires DSS to align applications with federal regulations excluding probation or parole violators from SNAP eligible households.

Under these regulations, to be considered a probation or parole violator, a state-designated impartial party must determine that the person violated a state or federal probation or parole condition, or sSB497 / File No.

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486 local law enforcement authorities are actively seeking the person to enforce probation or parole conditions.

The state must continue to process a SNAP application while awaiting verification of probation or parole violator status (7 C.F.R.

§ 273.11).

§ 8 — CHCPE MEALS-ON-WHEELS RATES Starting July 1, 2026, the bill requires, rather than allows, the DSS commissioner to annually increase thefeeschedulefor meals-on-wheels providers in CHCPE.

Under existing law, unchanged by the bill, any annual increase to the fee schedule must be by at least the cost-of-living adjustment as measured by the consumer price index.

COMMITTEE ACTION Human Services Committee Joint Favorable Yea 15 Nay 8 (03/19/2026) sSB497 / File No.

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