Bucy Hunger Bill Waives SNAP Work Rules For Full-Time Students

The text as introduced · 1,294 words

89R1553 MM-D

By: Bucy
H.B. No. 1289

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to measures to address student hunger at postsecondary

educational institutions.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Subchapter Z, Chapter 51, Education Code, is

amended by adding Section 51.9231 to read as follows:

Sec. 51.9231. FOOD VENDOR CONTRACT REQUIREMENT. (a) In

this section, "institution of higher education" has the meaning

assigned by Section 61.003.

(b) A contract entered into by an institution of higher

education with a person for the person to sell or otherwise provide

food on the institution's campus must require the person, if

eligible, to seek authorization to become a retailer and accept

benefits under the supplemental nutrition assistance program under

Chapter 33, Human Resources Code.

SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 61, Education Code, is

amended by adding Sections 61.0763 and 61.07631 to read as follows:

Sec. 61.0763. HUNGER-FREE CAMPUS PROGRAM. (a) The board

shall establish and administer a hunger-free campus program to

support institutions of higher education in establishing essential

and sustainable solutions to hunger at institution campuses in this

state. The solutions must include:

(1) allowing students to donate meal credits from the

student's meal plan to be distributed to peers who may be facing

food insecurity;

(2) establishing food pantries on campus;

(3) developing, in collaboration with the Health and

Human Services Commission, capacity-building strategies for

increasing student enrollment in the supplemental nutrition

assistance program under Chapter 33, Human Resources Code,

including strategies for identifying students who previously

received meals under the national free or reduced-price lunch

program established under 42 U.S.C. Section 1751 et seq. and

enrolling them in the supplemental nutrition assistance program;

and

(4) any other solutions identified by the work group

established under Subsection (c), institution and campus

personnel, or the board.

(b) The board shall establish criteria under which the board

may designate a campus of an institution of higher education as a

Hunger-Free Campus if the campus applies and meets the

qualifications.

(c) The board shall establish a work group to develop best

practices guidelines for addressing student hunger on the campuses

of institutions of higher education, including methods for

implementing the solutions to hunger described by Subsection (a).

(d) The work group must include members who are

representatives of:

(1) the legislature;

(2) institutions of higher education;

(3) the board; and

(4) other relevant stakeholders.

(e) In determining the composition of the work group, the

board shall:

(1) ensure work group members represent various types

of institutions of higher education located throughout this state;

and

(2) appoint one work group member to serve as

presiding officer.

(f) Not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year,

the work group shall submit a report to the legislature regarding

its findings and recommendations.

Sec. 61.07631. HUNGER-FREE CAMPUS GRANT PROGRAM. (a) The

board, in coordination with the Department of Agriculture, shall

establish and administer a program to award grants to eligible

institutions of higher education to support efforts to fight hunger

on the campuses of those institutions.

(b) Subject to money appropriated or otherwise available,

the board shall award grants on a competitive basis to institutions

of higher education that have one or more campuses designated as a

Hunger-Free Campus by the board under Section 61.0763(b).

(c) The board shall determine the amount of each grant,

prioritizing grants made to institutions of higher education with

the highest percentages of eligible Pell grant program recipients

enrolled in the institution.

(d) Grants awarded under this section must be used by the

receiving institution of higher education to:

(1) address student hunger on the institution's

campuses;

(2) promote essential and sustainable solutions to

address basic food needs on the institution's campuses;

(3) raise awareness of services that address basic

food needs and that are currently offered on the institution's

campuses; and

(4) build partnerships at the local, state, and

national levels to address food insecurity among students.

(e) The board shall adopt rules to implement this section,

including rules establishing an application and selection process

for awarding grants.

(f) Each institution of higher education that receives a

grant under the program shall submit a report to the board, in the

manner the board prescribes, that describes how the institution

used the grant award.

(g) Not later than December 1, 2028, the board shall submit

to the governor, the lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the

house of representatives a report on the grant program under this

section. The report must include:

(1) the number and amounts of grants awarded;

(2) the impact of the program on establishing

Hunger-Free Campuses at institutions of higher education;

(3) the impact of the program on reducing the number of

students experiencing food insecurity; and

(4) recommendations for statutory or funding changes

necessary to implement successful innovations for reducing hunger

at institutions of higher education.

SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 33, Human Resources Code,

is amended by adding Section 33.020 to read as follows:

Sec. 33.020. SNAP ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN STUDENTS ENROLLED

IN POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION PROGRAMS. (a) In this section,

"postsecondary educational institution" includes:

(1) an institution of higher education or a private or

independent institution of higher education as defined by Section

61.003, Education Code; and

(2) a career school or college as defined by Section

132.001, Education Code.

(b) The commission shall, as authorized under 7 U.S.C.

Section 2015(o)(6), provide an exemption from work requirements to

provide supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits to an

individual who is:

(1) ineligible to receive supplemental nutrition

assistance program benefits based solely on the work requirements;

and

(2) enrolled as a student in at least 12 semester

credit hours in a postsecondary educational institution.

(c) The executive commissioner shall adopt rules to

implement this section, including rules that ensure a student

remains eligible for supplemental nutrition assistance benefits

during a break in the semester or academic term of the postsecondary

educational institution in which the student is enrolled.

SECTION 4. Section 51.9231, Education Code, as added by

this Act, applies only to a contract entered into on or after the

effective date of this Act. A contract entered into before the

effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the

date the contract was entered into, and the former law is continued

in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 5. (a) Not later than December 31, 2025, the Texas

Higher Education Coordinating Board shall establish the work group

required by Section 61.0763, Education Code, as added by this Act.

(b) Not later than December 1, 2026, the work group

established under Section 61.0763, Education Code, as added by this

Act, shall submit its initial report.

SECTION 6. Not later than December 31, 2026, the executive

commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission shall

adopt the rules necessary to implement Section 33.020, Human

Resources Code, as added by this Act.

SECTION 7. Section 33.020, Human Resources Code, as added

by this Act, applies only to an initial determination or

recertification of eligibility for the supplemental nutrition

assistance program under Chapter 33, Human Resources Code, that is

made on or after the effective date of this Act. A determination or

recertification made before the effective date of this Act is

governed by the law in effect on the date the determination or

recertification was made, and the former law is continued in effect

for that purpose.

SECTION 8. If before implementing any provision of this Act

a state agency determines that a waiver or authorization from a

federal agency is necessary for implementation of that provision,

the agency affected by the provision shall request the waiver or

authorization and may delay implementing that provision until the

waiver or authorization is granted.

SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.