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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Seventh Legislature, Second Regular Session
AMENDED
human services; 2026-2027.
Purpose
Makes statutory and session law changes relating to human services necessary to implement the FY 2027 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.
S.B. 1855 contains the budget reconciliation provisions for changes relating to human services.
Provisions
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Fund
1. Establishes the SNAP Fund consisting of monies collected by the Department of Economic Security (DES) from federal deposits under SNAP.
2. Specifies that monies in the SNAP Fund are continuously appropriated.
3. Requires DES to deposit federal monies received for the federal administrative share under SNAP in the SNAP Fund before expenditure.
4. Repeals the SNAP Fund on July 1, 2027.
SNAP Eligibility and Enrollment
5. Requires DES, when determining or evaluating SNAP eligibility, to:
a) review its own data as well as information provided by the Arizona State Lottery Commission and the Department of Gaming to identify members of eligible households who have substantial lottery or gaming winnings, including online gambling winnings, and incorporate that information into eligibility determinations;
b) review information provided by the Department of Health Services and the Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry that identifies individuals who have had a change in circumstances that may affect SNAP eligibility; and
c) review DES's own information, as the state agency that collects wage information and administers unemployment insurance benefits, to verify eligibility for and the amount of SNAP benefits due to eligible households.
6. Requires DES, to assess a recipient's continued eligibility for SNAP, to review:
a) earned income information, death master file information, 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 maintained in the National Directory of New Hires database and child support enforcement data maintained by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; and
c) national fleeing felon information maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
7. Requires DES, if it receives reliable information indicating an individual enrolled in SNAP has a change in circumstances that may affect that individual's eligibility, to review the individual's case.
8. Prohibits DES from relying solely on self-attestation to confirm residency for SNAP eligibility, except in unusual circumstances set forth in federal law.
9. Repeals the outlined requirements relating to the review of SNAP eligibility and enrollment on July 1, 2027.
SNAP Reporting Requirements
10. Requires DES to report, to the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives (House) and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC):
a) on a monthly basis, the number of SNAP program cases, number of program participants and total benefits paid to persons who are categorically eligible for SNAP assistance; and
b) within 30 days after submission of the final month of quality control reviews to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service, an estimate of the payment error rate for the completed FY 2026 and the number and extent of errors attributable to SNAP recipients who are categorically eligible for SNAP.
11. Repeals the SNAP payment reporting requirement on July 1, 2027.
12. Requires DES, by June 30, 2027, to submit a report to the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House and JLBC detailing DES's efforts to improve the quality and timeliness of eligibility determinations for SNAP, including specific goals for, actions taken in and barriers faced during the reporting period.
Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) Cards Spending Report
13. Requires DES to include, in the prescribed spending report of SNAP and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefit, the:
a) number of SNAP cases that were investigated for intentional program violations or fraud;
b) number of SNAP cases that were referred to the Attorney General's Office for prosecution;
c) amounts of improper payments and expenditures;
d) amount of monies recovered; and
e) amount of monies spent for improper payments and ineligible recipients as a percentage of cases that were investigated and reviewed.
14. Repeals the additional EBT cards spending report requirements on July 1, 2027.
Out of School Time Grant Program (Grant Program)
15. Expands Grant Program eligibility to include school-age children between the ages of 5 and 18 years old who require out-of-school care, as specified, rather than children between 5 and 12 years old who require childcare.
16. Requires the Grant Program to reduce the cost of out-of-school time care or expand out-of-school time care at no cost to participating families, rather than reduce the cost of care by at least two-thirds.
17. Requires the DES annual report on the Grant Program to include the number of children newly enrolled in out-of-school time care programs, rather than the number of new and sustained child care slots.
18. Expands the definition of eligible grantee, in relation to the Grant Program, to include a nonprofit organization, public school and public or private child care provider that:
a) operates primarily during after school, before school or in the summer or at times when school is not normally in session;
b) serves only eligible pupils; and
c) is organized to promote expanded childhood learning, enrichment, child and youth development or educational, recreational or character-building activities.
19. Modifies the definition of eligible pupils, for the purposes of the Grant Program.
20. Allows Grant Program monies to be used to support partnerships between school districts and nonprofit organizations with a history of offering out-of-school time care services to eligible pupils for the purposes of capital expansion, facility improvements, construction, renovation and related capital expenditures on public buildings with the intent to expand out-of-school time care opportunities for rural communities.
21. Repeals the ability for the Grant Program to be used to support outlined partnerships between school districts and nonprofit organizations on July 1, 2027.
Speech and Audition Services Contracts
22. Requires DES, beginning July 1, 2027, and subject to available appropriations, to contract with listening and spoken language providers in Arizona to provide speech and audition services to early intervention programs and services to eligible families that have infants and toddlers who are deaf or hard of hearing.
23. Requires each contracted listening and spoken language provider to ensure that the provided services are administered or overseen by a certified auditory verbal educator or therapist in a natural environment or a clinical, educational or virtual setting.
24. Requires DES to refer eligible families that have infants and toddlers who are deaf or hard of hearing to at least:
a) contracted listening and spoken language providers; and
b) the Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind (ASDB).
25. Allows DES to adopt rules, policies and procedures necessary to implement the provision of speech and auditory services.
26. Allows DES to use up to 10 percent of monies appropriated for contracts with listening and spoken language providers for administrative costs.
Supplemental Early Childhood Listening and Spoken Language Services
27. Requires ASDB, by November 1, 2026, to transfer existing contracts for supplemental early childhood listening and spoken language services to DES.
28. Requires ASDB and DES to develop a memorandum of understanding that outlines the transfer of the contracts to ensure that families receiving listening and spoken language services have no lapse in those services.
29. Requires ASDB to transfer the remaining balance of the FY 2027 appropriation for supplemental early childhood listening and spoken language services, after all invoices have been paid to contractors, to DES.
30. Declares that DES succeeds to the authority, powers, duties and responsibilities of ASDB relating to speech and audition services.
31. Transfers, by November 1, 2026, all contracts in process of ASDB relating to supplemental early childhood listening and spoken language services to DES.
32. Specifies that all transferred contracts retain the same status with DES.
TANF
33. Continues to require DES in FY 2027 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.
34. 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.
Miscellaneous
35. Increases the relocation expenses an eligible tenant may receive from the Mobile Home Relocation Fund from $12,500 to $22,500 for a single-section mobile home and from $20,000 to $30,000 for a multisection mobile home.
36. Includes the costs of taking down, moving and setting up a mobile home in a new location as compensable moving expenses if the home is relocated within Arizona, rather than within a 100-mile radius of the vacated mobile home park.
37. Extends the delayed repeal date of the Military Family Relief Fund and the Military Family Relief Fund Tax Credit from December 31, 2026, to December 31, 2031.
38. Requires monies from the Housing Trust Fund, for the first four months of each fiscal year, to first be awarded for state matching monies for various federally funded programs.
39. Defines terms.
40. Makes technical and conforming changes.
41. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Amendments Adopted by Committee of the Whole
1. Extends the increase of relocation expenses that a tenant may receive from the Mobile Home Relocation Fund and expansion of permissible uses of relocation expenses to apply to all tenants eligible to receive relocation expenses, rather than only tenants who are eligible due to an increase in rent.
2. Allows, until July 1, 2027, monies allocated from the Grant Program to be used to support partnerships between school districts and nonprofit organizations with a history of offering out-of-school time care services to eligible pupils, as specified.
3. Makes technical and conforming changes.
Senate Action
ATT 6/10/26 DP 8-2-0
Prepared by Senate Research
June 11, 2026
MM/SDR/hk