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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Seventh Legislature, First Regular Session
VETOED
human services; 2025-2026
Purpose
Makes statutory and session law changes relating to human services necessary to implement the FY 2026 state budget.
Background
The Arizona Constitution prohibits substantive law from being included in the general appropriations, capital outlay appropriations and supplemental appropriations bills. However, it is often necessary to make statutory and session law changes to effectuate the budget. Thus, separate bills called budget reconciliation bills (BRBs) are introduced to enact these provisions. Because BRBs contain substantive law changes, the Arizona Constitution provides that they become effective on the general effective date, unless an emergency clause is enacted.
H.B. 2955 contains the budget reconciliation provisions for changes relating to human services.
Provisions
Extended Foster Care Comprehensive Service Model
1. Requires the Department of Child Safety (DCS), within 10 days after the general effective date, to prepare a scope of work for an Extended Foster Care Comprehensive Service Model (Model) that includes supportive services and case management provided by contracted community providers for young adults who participate in the extended foster care program.
2. Requires the Model's scope of work to include:
a) weekly engagement with each young adult;
b) life skills training;
c) mental and physical health and well-being;
d) relational permanency;
e) education and enrollment assistance;
f) assistance with accessing safe housing attainment and stability for young adults;
g) career and employment planning and readiness;
h) assistance with accessing transportation services for young adults; and
i) flexible funding to support the unique needs of the young adult, including educational services and job training or workforce development.
3. Requires the Model to include an extended foster care success coaching program for young adults in the extended foster care program.
4. Prohibits each extended foster care success coach from having a caseload of more than 20 young adults.
5. Requires the extended foster care success coaching program to:
a) be based on a practice that is youth driven;
b) promote permanent connections;
c) support the development of an educational foundation and skill set that enables young adults to gain and maintain employment to support their financial needs;
d) assist young adults to reside in safe, stable and secure housing;
e) link young adults to appropriate services that address physical and behavioral health needs;
f) build skills for developing personal agency;
g) ensure that young adults have the cognitive and social-emotional competencies essential to survival;
h) operate from an evidence-based framework;
i) ensure that the young adults served are aware of their rights to normalcy;
j) assist young adults to advocate with caregivers to experience activities and opportunities that meet individual interests;
k) support caregivers in identifying root causes of behaviors that present barriers to transition and provide opportunities that assist young adults in healing and addressing underlying trauma;
l) develop feedback that allows young adults to communicate their needs and satisfaction with provided services; and
m) deliver interventions that are tailored to each young adult's strengths and experiences.
6. Requires DCS to supervise and monitor the success of the extended foster care success coaching program.
7. Requires each extended foster care success coach to:
a) successfully complete a DCS-administered foster care success coach training program;
b) possess a bachelor's or associate's degree or have equivalent credits equal to an associate's degree;
c) exhibit the belief that all young adults have the capacity to be successful in life; and
d) have experience working with youth or young adults.
8. Allows, in lieu of a degree or credits, an extended foster care success coach to possess skills acquired through alternative routes such as relevant job training, community college attendance, military service or an apprenticeship.
9. Requires DCS to:
a) solicit agencies to administer the Model within 30 days after the general effective date and select an agency within 90 days after the general effective date; and
b) implement the Model within 150 days after the general effective date.
10. Requires DCS to establish an Extended Foster Care Quality Review Committee (Review Committee) within DCS consisting of DCS staff members.
11. Requires the Review Committee to confirm that a young adult who participates in extended foster care:
a) meets eligibility criteria;
b) has connections to supportive adults who are actively involved in the young adult's life;
c) has a person-centered case and transition plan that supports the young adult's identified goals and future planning; and
d) is acquiring individualized skills to develop the tools that are needed to thrive outside of the extended foster care program.
12. Requires DCS, by November 1 of each year, to submit a report on the developed Model to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC), the Senate Health and Human Services Committee and the House of Representatives Health and Human Services Committee.
13. Requires the report to include data and statistics on:
a) the support and services to be offered by the Model;
b) the extended foster care program's eligibility requirements;
c) the young adult's program responsibilities;
d) case and transition planning opportunities;
e) health insurance coverage for young adults in the extended foster care program;
f) educational opportunities for young adults in the extended foster care program;
g) opportunities for mentors through the extended foster care program;
h) transportation services for young adults in the extended foster care program, including obtaining a driver license; and
i) housing, including semi-supervised living arrangements if such arrangements best meet the young adult's needs.
14. Requires DCS to provide to JLBC a quarterly report that includes:
a) the number of young adults served in the Model;
b) the young adult's participation in regular reviews with extended foster care staff; and
c) other performance measures as updated by the Review Committee and as determined by the chairperson of JLBC.
15. Establishes the Extended Foster Care Comprehensive Service Model Fund (Fund), consisting of legislative appropriations, to be administered by DCS for purposes of implementing the Model and the extended foster care success coaching program.
16. Specifies that the Fund monies are continuously appropriated and exempt from lapsing.
17. Defines young adult as a person who is between the ages of 17.5 and 20 years old who participates or will participate in the extended foster care program.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
18. Requires the Department of Economic Security (DES), in order to determine or evaluate SNAP eligibility, to:
a) enter into a data matching agreement with the Arizona Department of Revenue (ADOR) to identify households with lottery or gambling winnings of $3,000 or more; and
b) treat the data obtained as verified on receipt, as permissible under federal law.
19. Requires DES, to the extent that the ADOR data is not verified on receipt, to refer those households with lottery or gambling winnings that are equal to or greater than the resource limit for elderly or disabled households as defined under federal law to DES for further investigation.
20. Requires DES, on at least a monthly basis, to review information that identifies individuals who have had a change in circumstances that may affect SNAP eligibility as provided by:
a) the Department of Health Services (DHS); and
b) the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry.
21. Requires DES, on at least a monthly basis, to review the Department's own information that identifies individuals who have had a change in circumstances that may affect SNAP eligibility, including potential changes in residency as identified by out-of-state electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card transactions.
22. Requires DES, on at least a quarterly basis, to review DES's information that identifies changes in circumstances for individuals that may affect SNAP eligibility, including a change in unemployment benefits, employment status or wages.
23. Requires DES, on at least a quarterly basis, to review information that is provided by ADOR and that identifies households that have had a change in circumstances that may affected SNAP eligibility, including potential changes in income, wages or residency as identified by tax records.
24. Requires DES, on at least a quarterly basis and excluding confidential and personally identifiable information, to post on its public website the following aggregated amounts that were obtained from noncompliance and fraud investigations related to SNAP:
a) the number of SNAP cases that were investigated for intentional program violations or fraud;
b) the number of SNAP cases that were referred to the Attorney General’s Office for prosecution;
c) the amount of improper payments and expenditures;
d) the amount of monies recovered;
e) the amount of monies spent for improper payments and ineligible recipients as a percentage of cases that were investigated and reviewed; and
f) the amount of monies spent by EBT card transactions that occurred outside of Arizona, categorized by state.
25. Requires DHS and DES, on at least a monthly basis, to review the following information from federal sources to assess a recipient’s continued eligibility for SNAP:
a) earned income information, death registration information, incarceration records, supplemental security income information, beneficiary records, earnings information and pension information that is maintained by the U.S. Social Security Administration;
b) income and employment information that is maintained in the National Directory of New Hires database and child support enforcement data that is maintained by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services;
c) payment and earnings information that is maintained by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; and
d) national fleeing felon information that is maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
26. Requires DES to review an individual's case if it receives information that identifies an individual who is enrolled in SNAP and indicates a change in circumstances that may affect that individual's SNAP eligibility.
SNAP Mandatory Employment and Training
a) in compliance with work registration requirements under Title IV of the Social Security Act or the Federal-State Unemployment Compensation System;
b) a parent or other member of a household who is responsible for the care of an incapacitated person or a dependent child under six years old;
c) a bona fide student enrolled at least half time in a recognized school, training program or institution of higher education, unless the recipient is ineligible to participate under federal law;
d) a regular participant in a drug addiction or an alcoholic treatment and rehabilitation program;
e) employed a minimum of 30 hours per week or is receiving weekly earnings equal to the minimum hourly rate under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1939, multiplied by 30 hours; or
f) 16, 17 or 18 years old, attending school, enrolled in an employment training program on at least a half-time basis or is not the head of a household.
28. Specifies that a person who is noncompliant with the work registration requirements of Title IV of the Social Security Act or the Federal-State Unemployment Compensation System is noncompliant with employment and training program requirements.
SNAP Work Requirement Waivers
a) required by federal law; or
b) authorized by state law.
30. Prohibits DES from exercising the state's option to provide exemptions from the SNAP work requirement unless authorized by state law.
EBT Transactions
31. Requires DES to use the EBT card to identify any individual who has made a purchase exclusively out-of-state over a 90-day period.
32. Requires DES to contact the identified individual within 30 days to determine whether that individual resides in Arizona.
33. Requires DES to remove the individual within 30 days after contact if the individual does not reside in Arizona.
34. Requires DES to refer the individual to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the district where the individual claims to reside within 15 days after the removal.
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
35. Continues to require DES in FY 2026 to screen and test each adult recipient who:
a) is eligible for TANF cash benefits; and
b) DES has reasonable cause to believe engages in the illegal use of controlled substances.
36. Continues to render any TANF recipient who tests positive for the use of a controlled substance that was not prescribed for the recipient by a licensed health care provider as ineligible to receive TANF benefits for a period of one year.
37. Establishes the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Fund (TANF Fund) consisting of monies received by DES from federal deposits for TANF.
38. Requires DES to administer the TANF Fund and to deposit all federal monies received under the federal TANF grant in the TANF Fund before making an expenditure.
39. Specifies that monies in the TANF Fund are continuously appropriated.
Veterans' Donations Fund
40. Allows the Arizona Department of Veterans Services to transfer up to 15 percent of the Veterans' Donations Fund (VDF) balance from the preceding fiscal year to the State Homes for Veterans Trust Fund at the beginning of each fiscal year.
41. Expands eligibility for scholarship award monies from the VDF to include spouses of all U.S. Army members who are in good standing and are serving in regular active duty, active duty reserve or active duty national guard, rather than spouses of only those members who are enlisted.
Child Care and Development Fund
42. Establishes the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) consisting of monies received by DES from federal CCDF Program deposits.
43. Requires DES to administer the CCDF and to deposit all federal monies received from the Child Care and Development Block Grant in the CCDF before making an expenditure.
44. Specifies that monies in the CCDF are continuously appropriated.
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Fund
45. Establishes the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Fund consisting of monies received by DES from federal deposits authorized by the WIOA.
46. Requires DES to administer the WIOA fund and to deposit all federal monies received under the WIOA in the WIOA Fund before making an expenditure.
47. Specifies that monies in the WIOA Fund are continuously appropriated.
Miscellaneous
48. Removes DCS from the list of agencies that are excluded from participating in the state motor vehicle fleet.
49. Defines terms.
50. Makes technical changes.
51. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
The Governor indicates in her veto message that H.B. 2955, and this version of the FY 2026 budget as a whole, does not provide adequate funding for health care coverage and K-12 education and inadequately addresses priorities such as childcare affordability, veteran homelessness and public safety. The Governor encourages working in a productive fashion to deliver a bipartisan solution for Arizonans.
House Action Senate Action
APPROP 6/12/25 DP 11-7-0-0 3rd Read 6/25/25 16-11-3
3rd Read 6/13/25 31-0-29
Vetoed by the Governor on 6/25/25
Prepared by Senate Research
June 26, 2025
MM/KS/ci