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SSB 1105 Subcommittee Meeting on 2/15

A subcommittee meeting for Senate Study Bill 1105 has been scheduled for Wednesday, February 15, at 11:00am in Room 315.

A Zoom link for the meeting is here, and public comments can be submitted in advance, but we also recommend you email the subcommittee members below directly with your concerns about the bill.

What’s in SSB 1105?

  • Establishing an asset test for SNAP in Iowa. Households on SNAP would have an asset limit of $2,750, or $4,250 if a member of the household had a disability or was age 60+. Households with more than one vehicle would especially be at risk of losing their benefits.

    Iowa is currently one of 36 states that does not have an asset test for SNAP. Asset tests have been shown to discourage people from saving for emergencies and removing people from the program even when they fall below the asset limit, but fail to jump through the additional administrative hoops.

  • Requiring custodial parents to cooperate with the child support recovery unit to be eligible for SNAP. By definition, these are households with children in them, and we do not believe there is a way to implement this policy that would not take food away from children.

  • Requiring applicants for public assistance programs to complete a computerized questionnaire to prove their identity. We believe this provision could be improved by making this process voluntary and not mandatory, with an opt-out process.

  • Overhauling the state’s eligibility verification system for public assistance programs. The Department of Health and Human Services is nearing completion of a Business Process Redesign, why are we proposing an overhaul of the system right now?

Please contact the members of the subcommittee for SSB 1105 and ask them not to advance the bill!

Let’s not forget – SNAP enrollment in Iowa is at a 14-year low right now. SNAP benefits are 100% federally funded, and the state has a 50-50 cost share on administrative costs with the USDA, which have remained stable for over 10 years. SSB 1105, like HF 3, is a solution in search of a problem.

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IHC February 2023 Monthly Meetup

Join the Iowa Hunger Coalition for our next monthly meetup!

Wednesday, February 15, 10:00-11:00am

We’ll provide an update on bills we’re currently monitoring in the Iowa Legislature, give some basic information on what’s in the Farm Bill (which will be a big topic in Congress this year), and share updates from folks across the state.

Register to Attend
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Action Alert: SSB 1105

Update: the February 2nd subcommittee meeting for SSB 1105 was postponed.

Yesterday saw the introduction of Senate Study Bill 1105, which targets SNAP and other public assistance programs. A subcommittee meeting for this bill has already been scheduled for Thursday, February 2, at 10:00am.

Please contact the members of the subcommittee for SSB 1105 today and tell them you do not support this harmful bill!

Sen. Jeff Edler – jeff.edler@legis.iowa.gov
Sen. Mark Costello – mark.costello@legis.iowa.gov
Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott – sarah.trone.garriott@legis.iowa.gov

One note on the subcommittee meeting tomorrow: you can testify remotely in the Senate via Zoom!

Zoom Info for SSB 1105 Subcommittee

SSB 1105 is similar to House File 3, but is not identical. Some key differences:

  • SSB 1105 does not restrict the purchase of soda and candy from SNAP, nor does it include a $1 million appropriation for the Double Up Food Bucks (DUFB) program.

  • SSB 1105 does not contain the sections on work requirements for the Medicaid expansion population or banning the use of pre-populated forms for Medicaid.

Unfortunately, SSB 1105 does include some very harmful provisions that are also in HF 3, including:

  • Establishing an asset limit of $2,750 for SNAP households, or $4,250 if there is at least one member of the household with a disability or age 60+. Families with more than one vehicle would especially be at risk of losing access to SNAP.

  • Requiring custodial parents to cooperate with the child support recovery unit in order to be eligible for SNAP. By definition, these are households with children. There is not a way to implement this policy without taking food away from children.

  • Requiring all public assistance program applicants to complete a computerized questionnaire to prove their identity and creating additional eligibility verification processes.

Please contact the members of the subcommittee for SSB 1105 today and tell them to put a stop to this harmful bill!

Keep up the great work, advocates!