RTS Alerts Week of 02/10: Free School Lunches

HB2213 is on the Appropriations Committee agenda Wednesday (2/12) at 2:00 pm. Sign in to the Request to Speak (RTS) system and support this bill.

Why We Care In line with one of our policy priorities of all things Hunger, this bill aims to ensure that all children have access to school lunches. The ELCA social teachings on hunger and poverty include “Economic Life” and “Homelessness.” The first tells us, “outrage over the plight of people living in poverty is a theme throughout the Bible. The poor are those who live precariously between subsistence and utter deprivation. It is not poor people them selves who are the problem, but their lack of access to the basic necessities of life. Without such, they cannot maintain their human dignity.”

This is one of three bills we supported at Lutheran Day at the Legislature on Monday, February 10. Rep. Nancy Gutierrez spoke to our group about the importance of this bill, and why she was the primary sponsor.

Support

• HB2213 - appropriation; free school meals (support). Primary Sponsor: Nancy Gutierrez. Appropriates $3.8 million from the state general fund in FY2025-26 to the Department of Education to provide free school lunches for children who meet the income eligibility requirements for free and reduced-price lunches under the federal National School Lunch and Child Nutrition Acts. UPDATE: This bill passed in committee on Tuesday, January 28 — it’s a good early sign! — but moves on to the appropriations committee on Wednesday for funding approval.Your advocacy is still needed!

Hunger RTS Action Alerts. The following bills are moving through the Arizona legislature now. It’s time to make our voices heard and demonstrate our love and care for our neighbors.

Oppose

The bills LAMA and our anti-hunger coalition partners oppose unfairly target the most vulnerable Arizonans and take away much of the already meager support available to our neighbors living in crisis. If these bills pass, hungry Arizonans will have fewer options to put food on their tables.

• SB1071 - SNAP; TANF; public welfare; verification (strongly oppose). Primary Sponsor: John Kavanagh. Requires the Department of Economic Security (DES) to enhance eligibility evaluations for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients through data-sharing agreements with various agencies, such as the Department of Gaming and the Department of Health Services, to identify changes in circumstances like lottery winnings, residency changes, or incarceration, that may affect eligibility. DES is requried to conduct monthly reviews of income, employment, and other relevant records. Requires DES to use the data from Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards to identify any individual who has made purchases exclusively out-of-state for a 90-day period and determine whether those individuals reside in Arizona. UPDATE: Removed from Senate Regulatory Affairs and Government Efficiency hearing on January 22.

• HB2121 - SNAP; mandatory employment and training (strongly oppose). Primary Sponsor: Julie Willoughby. The Department of Economic Security must require able-bodied adults under the age of 60 receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to participate in a mandatory employment and training program, as outlined in federal regulations. Exceptions are provided for individuals meeting specific criteria, including compliance with work registration requirements under certain federal programs, caregiving responsibilities for young children or incapacitated persons, enrollment in qualifying educational or rehabilitation programs, or employment meeting specified hours or income thresholds. UPDATE: House Standing Committee Appropriations passed this bill Appropriations passed (11 - 6 - 0 - 1 - 0) on February 5. Cosponsors: Shamp, Montenegro, Carbone, Carroll.

• HB2122 - SNAP; work requirement waivers; exemptions (strongly oppose). Primary Sponsor: Julie Willoughby. Prohibits the Department of Economic Security from seeking, applying for, accepting, or renewing waivers of work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents under certain conditions unless required by federal law or authorized by state law. UPDATE: House Standing Committee Appropriations passed this bill Appropriations passed (11 - 6 - 0 - 1 - 0) on February 5. Cosponsors: Shamp, Montenegro, Carbone, Carroll.

• HB2165 - SNAP; prohibited purchases; waiver (strongly oppose). Primary Sponsor: Leo Biasiucci. Requires the Director of the Department of Economic Security (DES) to request a waiver from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to exclude candy, soft drinks, and comparable food items from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). If the waiver is granted, DES is required to prohibit SNAP enrollees from purchasing these items with program benefits. If the waiver is denied, DES must reapply annually until it is granted. UPDATE: Scheduled for House Health & Human Services hearing on February 17. Cosponsors: Shamp, Kolodin, Gillette, Fink, Angius

Monitoring

• HB2164 - public schools; ultra processed foods (monitoring). Primary Sponsor: Leo Biasiucci. Prohibits public schools from serving or selling "ultraprocessed foods" (defined) on campus during the normal school day. Does not prevent a student's parents or guardians from providing such foods to the student. UPDATE: House Standing Committee Withdrawn from Regulatory Oversight on February 5.

Using your RTS Account

• Navigate to azleg.gov, click on Legislative Information/Request to Speak)

• Sign in, click the blue ‘Request to Speak’ button

• Click ‘My Bill Positions’, enter the bill number, and let the title auto-fill into the field

• Indicate your position, and click ‘Add’

If you have any questions on these bills, make sure to read the bill texts, available on your RTS accounts! If you still want to know more about how these bills might affect vulnerable Arizonans, reach out to us at director@lamaz.org.

For a tutorial on navigating your RTS account check out our last post in this series!