HB 1797 — relative to eligibility for public assistance, including the New Hampshire employment program, family assistance program, and SNAP.

HB 1797-FN - AS INTRODUCEDAMENDED SESSIONBY 26-2927THE 05/08 HOUSE BILL11Mar2026... 1797-FN AN ACT relative to eligibility for public assistance, including the New Hampshire employment program, family assistance program, and SNAP.

1027h SESSION 26-2927 05/08 HOUSE BILL 1797-FN AN ACT relative to eligibility for public assistance, including the New Hampshire employment program, family assistance program, and SNAP.

Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── AMENDED ANALYSIS This bill:

Directs the department of health and human services to submit a waiver to the United States Department of Agriculture to prohibit the purchase of candy and soft drinks with SNAP benefits.

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HB 1797-FN - AS INTRODUCEDAMENDED 26-2927BY 05/08THE STATEHOUSE OF11Mar2026... NEW HAMPSHIRE In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty-Six AN ACT relative to eligibility for public assistance, including the New Hampshire employment program, family assistance program, and SNAP.

1027h 26-2927 05/08 STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty-Six AN ACT relative to eligibility for public assistance, including the New Hampshire employment program, family assistance program, and SNAP.

1 New Sections;Section;

SNAP;SNAP Benefit Eligibility Criteria and Verification Procedures.

DemonstrationAmend WaiverRSA to167 Prohibitby theinserting Purchaseafter ofsection Candy17-d andthe Softfollowing Drinksnew withsection: SNAP Benefits.

Amend167:17-e RSASNAP 167Benefit byEligibility insertingCriteria afterand sectionVerification 17-dProcedures. the following new sections:

167:17-e Demonstration Waiver to Prohibit the Purchase of Candy and Soft Drinks with SNAP Benefits.

On or before January 1, 2027, the department of health and human services shall submit a demonstration project waiver under 7 U.S.C.

2026(b) to the U.S.

Department of Agriculture, Food Nutrition Services, to allow the state to exclude candy and soft drinks from the definition of eligible foods under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Upon approval of the waiver, the commissioner shall adopt rules under RSA 541-A relative to the definition of candy and soft drinks for purposes of this sectionThe department shall provide periodic reports to the fiscal committee of the general court and the standing committees of the house of representatives and state senate with authority over health and human services issues throughout the waiver development, approval, and implementation processes.

A report shall be made to the fiscal committee of the general court and the standing committees within 6 months of the end of the first full year of waiver implementation and subsequently on an annual basis.

167:17-f SNAP Benefit Eligibility Criteria and Verification Procedures.

The department of health and human services shall enter into a data-matching agreement with the lottery and gaming commission to identify households with lottery or gambling HB 1797-FN - AS INTRODUCED - Page 2 - winnings of $3,000 or more and, to the extent permissible under federal law, treat this data as verified upon receipt.

To the extent that the data may not be verified upon receipt, department shall make such referrals as may be necessary to identify households with winnings equal to or greater than the resource limit for elderly or disabled households as defined in 7 CFR 273.8(b). 273.8(b). IV.

IV.

HB 1797-FN - AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE - Page 2 - VI.

The department shall enter into a data-sharing agreement with the department of economicemployment security to receive and review, on at least a semi-monthly basis, information relative to individuals in households enrolled in SNAP who indicated a change in circumstance that may affect eligibility for SNAP, including but not limited to potential changes in employment, income, or assets.

The department shall review, on at least a monthly basis, national fleeing felon information maintained by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation to assess changes in HB 1797-FN - AS INTRODUCED - Page 3 - circumstances for individuals in households enrolled in SNAP that indicate a change that may affect eligibility for SNAP.

section 2015(f) upon enrollment and during eligibility recertification with acceptable forms of proof of HB 1797-FN - AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE - Page 3 - citizenship or qualified alien status including birth or hospital records, voter registration cards, U.S.

LBA 26-2927 Revised04/07/2026 02/24/2026 HB 1797-FN- FISCAL NOTE AS INTRODUCEDAMENDED BY THE HOUSE (AMENDMENT #2026-1027h) AN ACT relative to eligibility for public assistance, including the New Hampshire employment program, family assistance program, and SNAP.

Estimated State Impact FY 2026 FY 2027 FY 2028 FY 2029 Revenue $0 $0 $0 $0 Revenue Fund(s) None Expenditures* $0 Indeterminable Indeterminable Indeterminable Increase Increase Increase Funding Source(s) General Fundfunds, federal funds Appropriations* $0 $0 $0 $0 Funding Source(s) None *Expenditure = Cost of bill *Appropriation = Authorized funding to cover cost of bill METHODOLOGY:

· The bill requires the Department to submit a demonstration waiver to the federal Food and Nutrition Service to allow for the exclusion of candy and soft drinks from the definition of eligible food under SNAP.

The Department anticipates that it will cost $416,000 (100% general funds) to facilitate retailers’ adoption of the new waiver rules, as well as $42,000 for certification and $47,000 for implementation (100% general funds).

The EBT vendor is expected to impose additional transaction fees, which the Department expects will come at a small cost of potentially $5,000.

Additionally, the Department anticipates $842,000 (100% general funds) of costs to build the waiver.

The costs of customer service related to the waiver are indeterminable, but the Department estimates $25,000 per fiscal year (100% general funds).

The Department assumes that the new waiver will be effective for FY29.

In total, the waiver will increase state expenditures by approximately $1.4 million in 2029.

It is unclear whether any federal funding will be available to defray the cost of implementation.

Based on available American Community Survey data, the Department estimates that approximate 20,000-25,000 New Hampshire households would lose SNAP eligibility from the repeal of categorical eligibility.Thiseligibility. would result in an indeterminable reduction in expenditures.

This would result in an indeterminable reduction in expenditures.