HB 485-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2011 SESSION
05/01
HOUSE BILL 485-FN
AN ACT relative to requiring photo identification for food stamp program participants.
SPONSORS: Rep. Summers, Hills 26; Rep. Silva, Hills 26; Rep. LeBrun, Hills 26; Rep. Ohm, Hills 26; Rep. M. Reed, Hills 26; Rep. Whitehead, Hills 26
COMMITTEE: Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs
This bill directs the department of health and human services to request approval from the Department of Agriculture to establish a photo identification requirement for food stamp program participants.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
11-0630
05/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eleven
AN ACT relative to requiring photo identification for food stamp program participants.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Section; Food Stamp Program; Photo Identification. Amend RSA 161 by inserting after section 10 the following new section:
161:11 Food Stamp Program; Photo Identification. Pursuant to 7 C.F.R. section 274.10(b), the department of health and human services shall request that the Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) mandate the use of photo identification for continued eligibility in the food stamp program administered under RSA 161:2, XIII. Upon approval of the request by FNS, the department shall issue a photo identification card to each eligible household as proof of food stamp eligibility. Upon request, a household member, or the household’s authorized representative, shall present the photo identification card at issuance points, retail food stores, or meal services when exchanging benefits for eligible food. The department shall adopt rules under RSA 541-A relative to the use of photo identification cards required under this section.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
LBAO
11-0630
Revised 01/31/11
HB 485 FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to requiring photo identification for food stamp program participants.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Health and Human Services states this bill will increase state expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2011 and in each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on state, county or local revenue or on county and local expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department states New Hampshire currently issues Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards which require input of a unique and confidential PIN to be used. As a result New Hampshire is not required by federal regulations to issue photo identification cards in the food stamp program. The proposed bill directs the Department to request permission from the federal Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Services, to mandate the use of a photo identification card for continued food stamp eligibility and to be presented by the recipient when utilizing food stamp benefits. The Department’s EBT contract is part of a multi-state consortium making it ineffective to modify the contract to place a picture on each EBT card.
The Department makes the following assumptions concerning the fiscal impact of this bill:
• Federal rules require that photo identification cards issued provide for the ability of other appropriate household members or authorized representative to access benefits. The Department would need to issue separate photo ID cards to the casehead and to other family members.
• Currently there are 55,426 households consisting of 112,293 individuals receiving food stamp benefits. The Department assumes at least 112,293 photo ID cards would be required.
The Department estimated the following costs to issue the photo ID cards:
One card printing machine for each of 12 district offices $1,500 x 12 $18,000
250 packs of ID cards (5000 cards per pack) $50.00 x 250 $12,500
1200 printer ribbons (100 cards per ribbon) $50.00 x 1,200 $60,000
Total: $90,500
In addition the Department assumes additional cost will be incurred for training and for personnel issuing the cards.