Assigned to APPROP                                                                                          AS PASSED BY COMMITTEE

ARIZONA STATE SENATE

Fifty-Fourth Legislature, Second Regular Session

AMENDED

FACT SHEET FOR S.B. 1221

SNAP; benefit match; appropriation

Purpose

            Appropriates $500,000 annually from the state General Fund (state GF) to the Department of Economic Security (DES) beginning in FY 2021 for the Produce Incentive Program.

Background

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a federally funded program run by DES that assists in the prevention of under-nutrition for low-income parents and their children by providing benefits for the purchase of food.

            The U.S. Food and Nutrition Service (U.S. FNS) determines various food items that SNAP enrollees can purchase, including: 1) breads and cereals; 2) fruits and vegetables; 3) meats, fish and poultry; and 4) dairy products (U.S. FNS).

            S.B. 1221 annually appropriates $500,000 to DES from the state GF beginning in FY 2021.

Provisions

1. Appropriates $500,000 annually, beginning in FY 2021, from the state GF to DES to:

a) plan, prepare and develop the infrastructure to implement a Produce Incentive Program for SNAP enrollees to purchase eligible Arizona-grown fruits and vegetables at authorized markets, stores and convenience stores;

b) provide matching monies up to $20 per participating SNAP-authorized site per transaction; and

c) conduct research and evaluate the Produce Incentive Program and the impact of the Program on purchases made by SNAP enrollees and producers.

2. Prohibits the monies from being spent without matching contributions from federal, local or private sources.

3. Specifies that matching contributions include monies or in-kind contributions.

4. Exempts the appropriation from lapsing and states that the monies do not revert to the state GF.

5. Defines eligible Arizona-grown fruits and vegetables and SNAP.

6. Becomes effective on the general effective date.

Amendments Adopted by Committee

1. Reduces the appropriation from $800,000 to $500,000.

2. Adds convenience stores to the list of SNAP-authorized sites eligible to participate in the Produce Incentive Program.

Senate Action

APPROP         2/4/20        DPA     9-0-0

Prepared by Senate Research

February 5, 2020

LMM/kja