Transcript Highlights:

• SNAP, as you heard yesterday, is kind of a hybrid where For SNAP, the federal government uses states
• States have to kick in money for the SNAP benefits.
• In the SNAP, but let's talk about higher education just a second.
• You've heard plenty about SNAP and Medicaid, and I'm not the person to...
• And so if someone does not qualify for SNAP or...

Transcript Highlights:

• To ensure New Mexicans don't go hungry due to SNAP changes at the federal level.
• Maintain the $100 SNAP supplemental. That program has been so robust that if we do not.
• Well, $12 million to maintain the SNAP for law. $1.2 million for the SNAP-Ed program at UNM and NMSU,
• To understand the SNAP benefits, to understand how we're going to proceed with dealing with the SNAP
• When we talk about having to backfill SNAP benefits, we know that there's an 18% error.

Transcript Highlights:

• SNAP needs their help. This is a use-it-or-lose-it situation.
• SNAP is a lifeline for so many of our residents.
• SNAP needs their help. This is a use-it-or-lose-it situation.
• SNAP is a lifeline for so many of our residents.
• SNAP is a lifeline for so many of our residents.

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The committee heard several Human Services measures focused on Medicaid access, long-term care benefits, home health reimbursement, SNAP administration, trauma-informed child welfare, and child abuse reporting. HP 702 would increase funding for Medicaid in-home services if federal matching funds are secured, and testimony from disability advocates supported the measure as needed to help people with disabilities cover medical expenses. HB 1477, described as a correction to a prior session’s mistake, would clarify that the monthly needs allowance for certain long-term care residents does not replace state supplemental payments and would raise the ceiling by $25 to fix the prior issue and by an additional $20 as a new benefit; DHS supported it with amendments, and the committee indicated it would amend accordingly. HB 713 would fund a DHS rate study for home health services, with the Healthcare Association of Hawaii strongly supporting it and describing rising labor costs, losses on Medicaid patients, and access concerns if agencies cannot keep serving Medicaid clients. HB 1099 would appropriate emergency funds to DHS after a USDA penalty tied to SNAP response times, with supporters including Catholic Charities Hawaii, Hawaii Public Health Institute, and others arguing the money should be reinvested in staffing and systems to improve access and avoid further penalties. HB 1079 would direct the Office of Wellness and Resilience and DHS to create trauma-informed assessments and training for Child Welfare Services staff; testimony from state offices and advocacy groups supported it, citing the Mālama ʻOhana Working Group, staff burnout, and the need for a sustainable train-the-trainer model. Finally, HB 239 would narrow when failure to provide a child’s needs constitutes abuse or neglect, but DHS raised concerns that the current wording could broaden abuse findings and leave families in poverty without a clear safety net, while the Honolulu prosecutor’s office opposed it, warning it could weaken mandatory reporting and hinder investigations of child abuse. No formal votes were taken in the portion provided, though the chair said HB 1477 would be amended and several measures were left open for further questions and testimony.

Transcript Highlights:

• So, really the importance of SNAP.
• > and<00:02:40.959> the We support SNAP participants and the We support SNAP participants
• Luen of Shipa in support. participating in SNAP and to expand food participating in SNAP and to expand
• but as well as SNAP.
• Many SNAP go food but as well as SNAP.

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The HHS committee met in Room 224 and announced the hearing was being streamed live, with a one-minute limit on testimony. The chair explained that written testimony had already been reviewed and that speakers should either add new comments or stand on their written testimony. The committee first heard SB 2211, an emergency appropriation to the Department of Human Services. Testimony was overwhelmingly in support, including DHS, Aloha United Way, the Hawaii Food Industry Association, the Hawaii Public Health Institute, Catholic Charities, and many individuals. Supporters emphasized the importance of maintaining SNAP-related food assistance and emergency food delivery, while Catholic Charities raised a question about whether the bill’s language would also reach food banks serving food-insecure households that are not on SNAP. No opposition was heard and the bill was moved on without questions from members. The committee then heard SB 2025, which would exempt actively practicing advanced practice registered nurses from jury duty. Testimony was broadly supportive from nursing and health organizations, including the Hawaii American Nurses Association, the Hawaii affiliate of the College of Nurse Midwives, the Hawaii State Board of Nursing, and others. One witness from Kaiser Permanente requested an amendment to include physician assistants, and a committee member asked the Board of Nursing to review that request. The bill otherwise drew no opposition and no further member questions. SB 2038, relating to medication labeling, drew the most extended discussion. The measure would change labeling requirements for certain abortion medications, and testimony was split between supporters who framed it as a privacy and access issue and opponents who raised patient safety, ethics, and transparency concerns. The Department of Health supported the intent but requested an amendment to allow quicker access to private information during investigations without a subpoena. The Board of Pharmacy said it supported the written comments but noted operational challenges and possible cost impacts, while Kaiser said compliance would likely require manual workarounds and could slow pharmacy processes. The chair and members questioned whether patients could simply remove labels themselves, but witnesses said there could still be safety and access issues if the patient is not the one receiving the prescription. The committee then moved on to SB 2050, relating to chiropractic, which received support from the Hawaii Board of Chiropractic and the Hawaii State Chiropractic Association, with no substantive opposition noted. The hearing later turned to SB 201, relating to insurance, which appeared to be a new mandated-benefit measure tied to infertility/IVF coverage. The Hawaii Civil Rights Commission provided comments, while Hawaii Family Forum opposed the bill, arguing it went beyond medical infertility and raised ethical and public policy concerns. Kaiser and the Hawaii Association of Health Plans both asked for a study or audit, saying the measure could create new insurance mandates and increase costs for residents and employers. Private Work Hawaii strongly supported the bill as an equity issue. The committee noted there was no quorum for decision-making and deferred action on the measure to a later hearing, then recessed.

Transcript Highlights:

• SNAP.
• SNAP program, you've already pulled that out, but is that a deep enough review?
• About SNAP.
• The SNAP program... Some of the BIA schools, I understand, also receive funding.
• But what the fallout effect will be from SNAP... Is really going to be the unknown.

Transcript Highlights:

• Increased funding for SNAP administration call. Here's an example of the federal...
• SNAP admin, the administration part, not the benefit side.
• SNAP is a $565 million program on the benefit side, 100% paid by the feds.
• Those things will not start until October '27, basically, SNAP admin, as we said.
• SNAP admin, as we said.

Keywords: 994, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Lower than the national SNAP participation rate.
• The SNAP one is 1.54 now, I think.
• So SNAP benefit amounts are set at the federal level.
• And there's great concern with some of the SNAP cuts ahead, too.
• There's speculation that's coming from taking it from SNAP.

Summary: The joint oversight hearing focused on food insecurity in California and how state and federal nutrition programs, agricultural production, and food distribution systems intersect. Assemblymembers emphasized that many Californians, including farmworkers, seniors, children, and communities of color, remain food insecure despite California’s agricultural abundance. Panelists and members discussed CalFresh, WIC, school meals, Sun Bucks, food banks, and the impact of federal policy changes, including possible nutrition cuts, tariffs, and immigration enforcement, on access to food and the agricultural workforce. Secretary Karen Ross described CDFA programs aimed at improving access to fresh food and supporting local agriculture, including the senior farmers’ market program, California Nutrition Incentive Program, Healthy Refrigeration Grant Program, Community Food Hubs, Farm to School, urban agriculture, and a proposed tribal food sovereignty program. She said these efforts help connect local producers to consumers, expand healthy food access, and build infrastructure such as refrigeration, mobile markets, and aggregation hubs. Department of Social Services Deputy Director Alexis Fernandez Garcia outlined CalFresh, CFAP, Sun Bucks, CACFP, emergency food programs, and tribal nutrition assistance, noting that CalFresh and related programs significantly reduce poverty and food insecurity, but participation gaps remain for non-English speakers, some Asian American communities, and undocumented households. PPIC researcher Tess Thorman presented data showing that 13% of California households experienced food insecurity in 2023, with higher rates among households with children and Latino, Black, and other households. She said nutrition programs reduce poverty and food hardship, but federal rules, income thresholds, immigration restrictions, and high living costs limit their reach. Members asked about simplifying applications, improving call center access, increasing outreach in multiple languages, and adjusting benefits for inflation. Officials said the state has used available federal options to streamline enrollment, improve customer service, and target outreach, but many core rules and benefit levels are set federally. The second panel shifted to food production and market access. A farmer, a UC food systems leader, and a produce distributor described efforts to connect small and medium farms with food banks, schools, universities, and Medi-Cal food-as-medicine programs. They highlighted programs such as Farms Together, the USDA Southwest Regional Food Business Center, Farm to School, food hubs, and climate-smart infrastructure grants as ways to create stable markets for local growers while improving food access. Speakers also raised concerns about land tenure, consolidation, regulatory burdens, labor constraints, and the loss of federal funding, and members discussed whether state investments and Prop. 4 funds could help sustain and expand these efforts.

Transcript Highlights:

• One, this is all associated with the SNAP changes, the waiver that we were granted, and the associated
• the WIC program, school lunch program, and other programs have more nutritional requirements than SNAP
• SNAP Nutrition Education is ended by the HR1 bill that was passed in July.
• So this is the end of SNAP Nutrition Education.
• is there is a benefit to the retailers and there's obviously a benefit to the Arkansans who are on SNAP

Summary: The committee reviewed three DHS out-of-state service contracts: a $690,000-plus sole-source contract for DCFS with Evident Change for maintenance and operation of the Child Welfare Structured Decision-Making practice hub; a $1.2 million sole-source contract for County Operations with Sifter Solutions to support a SNAP waiver compliance solution; and a $156,000 contract for Developmental Disabilities with Samaritan Integrative Services for psychiatric services at the Southeast Arkansas Human Development Center. The chair and staff explained the contracts and noted that the Evident Change and Sifter contracts were sole-source due to the proprietary nature of the systems or services involved. Most of the discussion focused on the Evident Change contract. Members questioned DCFS about long-term dependence on the vendor, the lack of a competitive bid, the absence of a clear off-ramp, and whether the state was paying more overall as the work was split into multiple contracts. DCFS said the contract before the committee was only for maintenance and operations of a web-based platform used daily for safety assessments and case planning, while a separate Evident Change contract covers case reviews, CQI work, and data management. The vendor said it was continuing to reduce its role and had begun off-ramp discussions, but members remained concerned that the state was too reliant on the vendor. Staff said the contract had to be approved by May 31 or the system could be turned off. The committee also discussed the Sifter Solutions contract, which supports Arkansas’s SNAP waiver pilot by providing a dynamic list of excluded products and a consumer app that scans barcodes and provides nutrition information. DHS said the waiver is intended to improve the nutritional value of SNAP benefits, that the contract is funded with remaining federal SNAP Nutrition Education dollars that would otherwise be returned, and that the University of Pennsylvania will conduct the evaluation at no cost. Members asked about the benefit to Arkansas, whether the app would include nutrition and budgeting information, and whether the state would own the application or need future renewals. DHS said the two-year term was intentionally aligned with the waiver period and that future procurement options could change. After discussion, the committee noted the items as reviewed and adjourned without objections or votes recorded in the transcript.

Transcript Highlights:

• We are facing a very hard time in October, as food stamps, SNAP, is going to be redirected and sort of
• We are facing a very hard time in October, as food stamps, SNAP, is going to be redirected and sort of
• This year we are looking at anticipated SNAP penalty of $70 million. Yes, it's on.
• Further, New York SNAP payment errors must be fixed so that we will not have to pay penalties to the
• We are concerned that there is no funding for SNAP-Ed.

Keywords: 993, senate, all

Summary: The Human Services and Labor budget hearing opened with Senate and Assembly co-chairs introducing members and naming secretaries for the record. The agencies covered included Human Services, Labor, Temporary and Disability Assistance, Children and Family Services, Veterans Services, Human Rights, Workers’ Compensation, the Welfare Inspector General, and the Public Employment Relations Board. Members then gave brief statements on their priorities for the upcoming budget negotiations. A major theme was affordability, with repeated discussion of child care, SNAP, housing, and worker supports. Senators and Assembly members highlighted the Senate and Assembly one-house proposals for a $500 million child care worker retention grant program, additional child care slots and subsidies, cost-of-living adjustments for human services workers, and expanded support for supportive housing, youth employment, HEAP, and energy affordability. Several members also emphasized food insecurity and SNAP-related issues, including funding to address payment errors, prevent penalties, expand SNAP education, and respond to expected federal changes. Labor-related issues included workers’ compensation fraud, wage theft enforcement, workplace violence, temporary disability insurance reform, and the creation of dedicated enforcement funding for the Department of Labor. Some members supported using workers’ compensation assessments or insurance-company-related funding to pay for anti-fraud efforts, while others preferred grants to district attorneys or broader DOL enforcement. There was also discussion of occupational health clinics, labor standards in any SEQRA changes, and expanding access to doctors in the workers’ compensation system. Veterans, child care, and public assistance fraud prevention were also discussed, including funding for veterans legal defense and mental health services, microchip/secure EBT cards to reduce skimming, and restoring or protecting various programs. No formal votes were taken; the hearing concluded with the chairs stating that the Senate, Assembly, and Executive would continue negotiations toward a final budget.

Transcript Highlights:

• Representative Gise, are these kids already available to SNAP benefits? Yes, yes, they are.
• You would have to qualify for SNAP to receive this.
• But those programs, they don't have to check for whether that child is SNAP or not.
• And this is also, we've got the same SNAP requirements that we see now.
• And so it would be those who are currently receiving SNAP.

Keywords: 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The next is the SNAP data demand, which has a sort of similar flavor.
• <00:24:27.039> payment vendors which administer SNAP payment vendors which administer SNAP
• Um, particularly with issues like Medicaid and SNAP benefits.
• with issues like Medicaid and SNAP with issues like Medicaid and SNAP benefits.<01:47:00.560>
• the Medicaid data sharing and the SNAP the Medicaid data sharing and the SNAP data<01:59:09.920>

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The Judiciary Committee held an informational briefing on the State of Hawaii’s affirmative litigation against the federal administration, with no public testimony. Attorney General Lopez and deputies said the office’s goal is to enforce the rule of law, not make partisan points, and noted that Hawaii is involved in 27 ongoing cases. They grouped the cases into four broad areas: immigration, funding freezes and grant terminations, federal agency dismantling/reductions in force, and protecting elections, health, and safety. Several immigration-related cases were discussed in detail. These included a challenge to the federal sharing of Medicaid data with DHS for immigration enforcement, a similar challenge to USDA’s demand for SNAP applicant and recipient data, and litigation over immigration-enforcement conditions attached to federal grants. The office also described the birthright citizenship executive order, saying it conflicts with the 14th Amendment and Supreme Court precedent; lower courts granted preliminary relief, and the U.S. Supreme Court later addressed only the scope of nationwide injunctions, not the merits. In the Department of Transportation case, the court granted a preliminary injunction against the “Duffy directive,” finding the immigration conditions lacked statutory authority, were arbitrary and capricious, and violated the Spending Clause and APA. The briefing also covered multiple funding disputes. In the education funding freeze case, the Department of Education and OMB withheld about $6 billion in formula funds, including roughly $33 million for Hawaii; after suit was filed, the funds were released. Other cases included the termination of over $11 billion in public health grants, which affected Hawaii Department of Health grants, the NIH indirect cost cap case, and NIH grant terminations tied to DEI, transgender issues, and vaccine hesitancy. The speakers said some cases have already resulted in preliminary or permanent injunctions, while others remain on appeal or are still being litigated.

Transcript Highlights:

• Lucinda will discuss some of the changes to Medicaid and the SNAP program that will indirectly impact
• Some of the changes are expected to reduce the population on SNAP, and therefore there might be some
• changes in consumption among people who used to purchase food under SNAP, which would not be taxable
• Well, I think we knew generally that before this, SNAP benefits often didn't cover all the food needs
• Our deduction is playing that role in making sure that if your SNAP benefits are going away, at least

Transcript Highlights:

• share of the administrative and benefit costs of SNAP.
• It contains provisions relating to reducing the SNAP payment error rate.
• These SNAP provisions are going to help protect this program.
• I would add one additional comment on that, on the SNAP program.
• In this program, we're allowing SNAP to go up to 185% of that.

Keywords: 1182, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And, of course, SNAP and Medicaid, they're very interlinked.
• could otherwise go toward reducing the SNAP error rate in Florida.
• We have some concerns with this bill related to the self-attestation process for SNAP, the SNAP photo
• Same goes for SNAP.
• And then we've got to fix the SNAP requirements.

Bills: S0006, S0026, S0206, S0532, S0576, S1012, S1110, S1178, S1192, S1758, S1760, S7046, S7048

Keywords: child welfare, negligence, settlement, injury compensation, Department of Children and Families, motorcycle accident, compensation, Department of Transportation, legal claim, autism, autism spectrum disorder, ASD, special education, exceptional student education, ESE, teacher preparation, educator certification, micro-credential, loan forgiveness, student loan repayment

Summary: The Appropriations Committee met and considered a large agenda of bills, reporting several measures favorably. Early action included SB 6, a settled claim bill involving the Department of Children and Families and the estate of Leila Estrada and Sapphire Williams, which was approved for $3.8 million. The committee also passed a cybersecurity internships bill creating a Department of Commerce program with Cyber Florida, and SB 532, which lets clerks of court retain the full amount of certain excess revenue and clarifies foreclosure-sale procedures. Veterans housing measures, CS for CS for SB 1602 and SB 1604, were approved to create a pilot program and a related trust fund for vacancy relief and risk mitigation for veteran housing. The committee also favorably reported SB 1110 on Medicaid and insurance coverage for orthotics and prosthetics, with emotional testimony from a student and family describing the high cost and importance of activity-specific prosthetics. Members also approved CS for CS for SB 1012 after adopting an amendment that removed inmate emergency and specialty medical service compensation provisions while retaining changes to the contractor-operated institutions inmate welfare trust fund. Another bill, CS for CS for SB 1614, was narrowed by a delete-all amendment to focus on limiting the use of excess fees for new building construction by local governments. All of these measures were reported favorably after brief debate, with some support testimony submitted in writing or waived. The most extensive discussion centered on CS for CS for SB 17, a major Medicaid and public assistance overhaul. The bill would create a Joint Legislative Committee on Medicaid Oversight, allow the Legislature to retain its own actuary, tighten Medicaid program oversight, update encounter-data reporting, set performance standards for managed care plans, revise pharmacy benefit manager rules, and require DCF to implement SNAP fraud-reduction and payment-accuracy reforms, including photo IDs on EBT cards and updated work requirements. It also would direct agencies to seek federal waivers for Medicaid work requirements for able-bodied adults and expanded behavioral health services. After lengthy questioning and testimony, the committee adopted amendments adding a transitional medical benefits glide path for people who gain employment and later lose Medicaid eligibility, and exempting hospice patients with six months or less to live. Supporters argued the bill would improve accountability, reduce fraud, and save money, while opponents warned it would create administrative burdens, increase paperwork, and cause eligible people to lose coverage or food assistance. The committee ultimately reported the bill favorably as amended.

Transcript Highlights:

• A vote for the ITL motion is a vote against the SNAP program. It's as simple as that.
• SNAP program. It's as simple as that. SNAP program. It's as simple as that.
• was to increase the percentage of SNAP was to increase the percentage of SNAP program<01:29:51.520
• The SNAP program is valuable for those in need and for New Hampshire's businesses.
• But HR1 changed aspects of SNAP program.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, increase SNAP payment accuracy and improve SNAP administration, uh, enhance program integrity in
• accuracy<00:03:09.360> and Uh increase SNAP payment accuracy and Uh increase SNAP payment
• accuracy and improve<00:03:09.800> SNAP<00:03:10.040> administration, improve SNAP administration
• First, this recommendation protects SNAP First, this recommendation protects SNAP for<00:04:10.360
• We have about 25 in the SNAP proposal.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We also conduct interviews with our SNAP recipients.
• We also conduct interviews with our SNAP recipients.
• The same thing happens to our SNAP recipients.
• Just a few questions about the SNAP program.
• You need to improve your timeliness in SNAP.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• /22 to 10/24…” From 12/22 to 10/24, you paid Tetris basically $7 million for quality assurance for SNAP
• Sorry—providing the money on the SNAP benefits for the summer food program.
• Solutions from 1/25 to 6/30/25, $9 million, to implement an integrated eligibility system for the SNAP
• But this particular one does not have But this particular one does not have to do with the SNAP or the
• That's a lot of money that we're spending behind the scenes on SNAP benefits to make sure that they're

Keywords: 924, joint, all

Transcript Highlights:

• No, I just wanted to, you know, thank you on some of the issues between SNAP and SNAP fraud and all these
• No, I just wanted to, you know, thank you on some of the issues between SNAP and SNAP fraud and all these
• No, I just wanted to, you know, thank you on some of the issues between SNAP and SNAP fraud and all these
• c><00:53:59.200> and<00:53:59.599> all<00:53:59.799> these snap and and snap fraud
• and all these snap and and snap fraud and all these other<00:54:00.240> things<00:54:00.480><

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The Health and Human Services committee heard several gubernatorial nominations and appointments, beginning with Sunshine Cho and Barbara Tom for the Language Access Advisory Council. Both nominees said they stood on their written testimony and expressed interest in continuing to serve, and multiple organizations testified in strong support. No opposition or questions were raised on either nomination, and the committee moved on after hearing the testimony. The bulk of the meeting focused on GM 642, the nomination of Ryan Yamane to be Director of the Department of Human Services. Yamane gave an extensive opening statement describing his social work background, long public service career, and philosophy of compassionate, balanced leadership. He emphasized DHS’s role in helping people from keiki to kūpuna with dignity and support, and shared personal stories from disaster response and family-service work to illustrate his approach. Support testimony came from a wide range of state officials, agency directors, community organizations, health systems, advocacy groups, and former colleagues, who praised his leadership, problem-solving, communication skills, and empathy. One witness, Moani Kiala Katherine Tu Alun, testified in opposition, raising concerns about retaliation and safety issues affecting foster youth and alleging harmful treatment within Child Welfare Services. Another witness, Angela Melody Young, supported the nomination and said Yamane could help overcome barriers for vulnerable communities and improve DHS programs such as financial assistance, SNAP, and disability services. The committee also heard from DHS staff and related officials about the uncertainty surrounding possible federal funding and staffing cuts; Yamane said the department is gathering information, coordinating with Budget and Finance and federal partners, and preparing to prioritize services and adjust if federal changes affect programs. No votes were taken in the portion of the meeting provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• statuses, as well as funding for education and training programs to allow beneficiaries to maintain SNAP
• in the face of these harsh new work requirements, funding to maintain SNAP for the elderly and disabled
• Both SNAP and food banks are part of the solution.
• And so, that's the SNAP changes, the section I just referenced.
• And I'll give you another example, Madam Chair, Representative, the senior benefits or SNAP that this