LB 843

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                         LEGISLATURE OF NEBRASKA
                      ONE HUNDRED NINTH LEGISLATURE
                                SECOND SESSION
                  LEGISLATIVE BILL 843
   Introduced by Rountree, 3.
   Read first time January 08, 2026
   Committee: Health and Human Services
1   A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
2Program; to amend section 68-1017.02, Revised Statutes Supplement,
32025; to require the Department of Health and Human Services to
4submit a waiver as prescribed; and to repeal the original section.
5   Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,
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1Section 1. Section 68-1017.02, Revised Statutes Supplement, 2025, is
2   amended to read:
368-1017.02 (1)(a) The Department of Health and Human Services shall
4   apply for and utilize to the maximum extent possible, within limits
5   established by the Legislature, any and all appropriate options available
6   to the state under the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
7    and regulations adopted under such program to maximize the number of
8    Nebraska residents being served under such program within such limits.
9   The department shall seek to maximize federal funding for such program
10   and minimize the utilization of General Funds for such program and shall
11   employ the personnel necessary to determine the options available to the
12    state and issue the report to the Legislature required by subdivision (b)
13    of this subsection.
14(b) The department shall submit electronically an annual report to
15   the Health and Human Services Committee of the Legislature by December 1
16   on    efforts   by   the   department    to   carry   out   the   provisions   of   this
17   subsection. Such report shall provide the committee with all necessary
18   and    appropriate    information   to    enable      the   committee   to   conduct   a
19   meaningful evaluation of such efforts. Such information shall include,
20   but not be limited to, a clear description of various options available
21   to the state under the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program,
22   the department's evaluation of and any action taken by the department
23    with respect to such options, the number of persons being served under
24   such program, and any and all costs and expenditures associated with such
25   program.
26(c) The Health and Human Services Committee of the Legislature,
27   after receipt and evaluation of the report required in subdivision (b) of
28   this subsection, shall issue recommendations to the department on any
29    further action necessary by the department to meet the requirements of
30    this section.
31(2)(a) The department shall develop a state outreach plan to promote
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1   access by eligible persons to benefits of the Supplemental Nutrition
2    Assistance Program. The plan shall meet the criteria established by the
3   Food and Nutrition Service of the United States Department of Agriculture
4   for approval of state outreach plans. The Department of Health and Human
5   Services may apply for and accept gifts, grants, and donations to develop
6   and implement the state outreach plan.
7(b) For purposes of developing and implementing the state outreach
8    plan, the department shall partner with one or more counties or nonprofit
9    organizations. If the department enters into a contract with a nonprofit
10   organization       relating   to     the    state       outreach    plan,      the   contract     may
11    specify   that      the    nonprofit       organization        is   responsible      for    seeking
12    sufficient gifts, grants, or donations necessary for the development and
13    implementation of the state outreach plan and may additionally specify
14    that any costs to the department associated with the award and management
15   of the contract or the implementation or administration of the state
16   outreach plan shall be paid out of private or federal funds received for
17   development and implementation of the state outreach plan.
18(c) The department shall submit the state outreach plan to the Food
19    and Nutrition Service of the United States Department of Agriculture for
20   approval on or before August 1, 2011, and shall request any federal
21    matching funds that may be available upon approval of the state outreach
22    plan. It is the intent of the Legislature that the State of Nebraska and
23    the Department of Health and Human Services use any additional public or
24    private   funds      to    offset     costs     associated  with      increased    caseload
25    resulting from the implementation of the state outreach plan.
26(d)      The     department        shall       be     exempt       from     implementing       or
27   administering a state outreach plan under this subsection, but not from
28    developing such a plan, if it does not receive private or federal funds
29   sufficient     to     cover    the     department's  costs    associated        with     the
30    implementation       and    administration  of    the    plan,      including      any    costs
31   associated with increased caseload resulting from the implementation of
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1   the plan.
2(3)(a) It is the intent of the Legislature that:
3(i) Hard work be rewarded and no disincentives to work exist for
4    Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participants;
5(ii)     Supplemental       Nutrition      Assistance      Program      participants       be
6   enabled    to     advance    in    employment,       through    greater      earnings     or    new,
7   better-paying employment;
8(iii) Participants in employment and training pilot programs be able
9   to    maintain    Supplemental       Nutrition       Assistance    Program        benefits     while
10    seeking       employment    with    higher      wages    that   allow     them     to   reduce   or
11    terminate such program benefits; and
12(iv)     Nebraska     better     utilize       options     under      the    Supplemental
13    Nutrition       Assistance    Program      that      other   states     have      implemented     to
14    encourage work and employment.
15(b)(i) The department shall create a TANF-funded program or policy
16   that, in compliance with federal law, establishes categorical eligibility
17    for     federal    food     assistance     benefits       pursuant      to   the    Supplemental
18    Nutrition Assistance Program to maximize the number of Nebraska residents
19    being served under such program in a manner that does not increase the
20    current gross income eligibility limit except as otherwise provided in
21    subdivision (3)(b)(ii) of this section.
22(ii) Such TANF-funded program or policy shall increase the gross
23    income eligibility limit to one hundred sixty-five percent of the federal
24    Office of Management and Budget income poverty guidelines as allowed
25    under    federal    law     and    under   7    C.F.R.    273.2(j)(2),       as    such   law    and
26   regulation existed on April 1, 2021, but shall not increase the net
27   income eligibility limit.
28(iii) To the extent federal funds are available to the Department of
29    Labor for the SNAP Next Step Program, until September 30, 2023, any
30   recipient of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits whose
31   household income is between one hundred thirty-one and one hundred sixty-
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1    five   percent      of   the   federal   Office     of   Management   and    Budget    income
2   poverty      guidelines    and     who   is   not   exempt    from    work    participation
3    requirements shall be encouraged to participate in the SNAP Next Step
4   Program administered by the Department of Labor if the recipient is
5   eligible to participate in the program and the program's services are
6    available in the county in which such household is located. It is the
7   intent of the Legislature that no General Funds be utilized by the
8   Department of Labor for the processes outlined in this subdivision (iii).
9   For purposes of this section, SNAP Next Step Program means a partnership
10    program between the Department of Health and Human Services and the
11   Department of Labor to assist under-employed and unemployed recipients of
12    Supplemental        Nutrition    Assistance     Program    benefits    in    finding    self-
13    sufficient employment.
14(iv) Such TANF-funded program or policy shall eliminate all asset
15    limits for eligibility for federal food assistance benefits, except that
16    the total of liquid assets which includes cash on hand and funds in
17    personal checking and savings accounts, money market accounts, and share
18   accounts shall not exceed twenty-five thousand dollars pursuant to the
19   Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, as allowed under federal law
20   and under 7 C.F.R. 273.2(j)(2).
21(v)   This     subsection    becomes     effective     only    if    the   department
22    receives funds pursuant to federal participation that may be used to
23    implement this subsection.
24(c) For purposes of this subsection:
25(i) Federal law means the federal Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, 7
26   U.S.C. 2011 et seq., and regulations adopted under the act; and
27(ii) TANF means the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
28    program established in 42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.
29(4)(a) Within the limits specified in this subsection, the State of
30    Nebraska opts out of the provision of the federal Personal Responsibility
31   and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, as such act existed on
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1    January     1,       2009,    that   eliminates  eligibility  for    the       Supplemental
2   Nutrition    Assistance  Program        for    any    person       convicted      of    a    felony
3   involving the possession, use, or distribution of a controlled substance.
4(b)     A        person    shall      be    ineligible  for    Supplemental  Nutrition
5    Assistance Program benefits under this subsection if he or she (i) has
6    had three or more felony convictions for the possession or use of a
7    controlled substance or (ii) has been convicted of a felony involving the
8    sale or distribution of a controlled substance or the intent to sell or
9    distribute       a    controlled     substance.  A    person       with   one    or     two   felony
10    convictions for the possession or use of a controlled substance shall
11   only be eligible to receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
12    benefits under this subsection if he or she is participating in or has
13    completed    a       state-licensed        or    nationally  accredited  substance      abuse
14    treatment program since the date of conviction. The determination of such
15    participation  or     completion    shall       be    made    by    the    treatment      provider
16    administering the program.
17(5) Unless expressly required by federal law, the department shall
18    not seek, apply for, accept, or renew a waiver of any work requirement
19   established by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program under 7
20   U.S.C. 2015(o), as such section existed on January 1, 2025, except that
21    the department may exercise the state's option to provide an exemption
22    from the work requirement under 7 U.S.C. 2015(o)(6), as such section
23    existed on January 1, 2025.
24(6) The department may, at its discretion, exercise its authority
25    under 7 U.S.C. 2015(d), as such section existed on January 1, 2025, to
26    require individuals, unless specifically exempted by federal regulations
27    or law, to participate in an employment and training program as defined
28    in 7 U.S.C. 2015(d)(4), as such section existed on January 1, 2025.
29(7) No later than October 1, 2026, and every October 1 thereafter,
30    the department shall submit a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
31    waiver pursuant to section 17(b) of the federal Food and Nutrition Act of
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1    2008 to the United States Department of Agriculture to waive Supplemental
2    Nutrition   Assistance   Program   eligibility   changes   for   refugees    and
3    immigrants enacted through section 10108 of Public Law 119-21.
4Sec. 2.    Original section 68-1017.02, Revised Statutes Supplement,
5    2025, is repealed.
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