ASSEMBLY APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

[First Reprint]

ASSEMBLY, No. 2363

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  MAY 19, 2022

      The Assembly Appropriations Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 2363 (1R) with committee amendments.

      As amended, this bill would require the Department of Human Services (department), to the maximum extent permissible under federal law, to establish a training program for county boards of social services that assist individuals with the SNAP enrollment and recertification process.  The purpose of the training will be to educate employees on current federal laws, regulations, and standards concerning SNAP, and standard best practices to comply with federal SNAP requirements.  The department will review the training program and curriculum each year and may modify the training program from time to time, as necessary, to incorporate any changes to the federal laws, regulations, and standards concerning SNAP.  Participation in the training program will be mandatory for all employees of a county board of social services who assist individuals with the SNAP enrollment and recertification process.  Each county board of social services will be responsible for ensuring that all required employees complete the training program, at least once in each calendar year. 

      This bill requires the department to publish county-level case tracking data on SNAP on its Internet website that includes, but is not limited to:  application approval rates, reasons for application denial, and average application approval time.

      As amended, the bill requires the Commissioner of Human Services to apply to the Food and Nutrition Service within the United States Department of Agriculture for any necessary waivers or approvals to implement the provisions of the bill.  The commissioner may adopt rules and regulations as may be necessary to effectuate the provisions of this act, which rules and regulations will be effective immediately upon filing with the Office of Administrative Law for a period not to exceed 18 months, and may, thereafter, be amended, adopted, or readopted in accordance with the provisions of the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.).

      As amended, this bill appropriates from the State’s General Fund the sum of $250,000 to the Department of Human Services to effectuate the provisions of the bill.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amendments clarify that the training program established by the bill will be for county boards of social services that assist individuals with SNAP enrollment and recertification processes.  The committee amendments provide that that the Department of Human Services (department) will review the training program and curriculum each year, instead of once every six months as originally provided in the bill, and the amendments clarify that the department may modify the training program as necessary.

      The committee amendments remove provisions of the bill that would have required the department to establish a one-year pilot program to conduct focused outreach efforts about SNAP benefits and to provide application assistance to certain populations.

      The committee amendments clarify that the Commissioner of Human Services may adopt rules and regulations as may be necessary to effectuate the provisions of the bill, which rules and regulations will be effective immediately upon filing with the Office of Administrative Law for a period not to exceed 18 months, and may, thereafter, be amended, adopted or readopted in accordance with the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act.

      The committee amendments appropriate from the State’s General Fund the sum of $250,000 to the Department of Human Services to effectuate the provisions of the bill.

      The committee amendments make various technical changes to the bill concerning formatting and grammar and update the bill’s title and synopsis.

FISCAL IMPACT:

      The Office of Legislative Services concludes that the Department of Human Services (DHS) will potentially realize higher administrative costs in order to establish the SNAP training program for employees of County Boards of Social Services and publish certain county level SNAP data on the DHS website.

      State revenues will likely increase under the bill, since the federal government provides matching funds for qualifying State administrative expenditures under SNAP.

      County Boards of Social Services may also realize increased costs, pursuant to a provision in the bill that requires each County Board of Social Services to ensure that all employees who assist individuals with the SNAP enrollment and recertification processes complete the SNAP training program newly established under the bill.