SB 1641

Abstract

Amends the Illinois Public Aid Code. Requires the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) to identify and flag college students who are potentially eligible to receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Provides that the factors to be used to determine potential SNAP eligibility shall be prescribed by ISAC in consultation with the Department of Human Services, but at a minimum shall include income information reported on a college student's Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Requires ISAC, in consultation with the Department of Human Services, to develop a notice that ISAC shall make available electronically to institutions of higher education that includes, at a minimum, college student SNAP eligibility criteria, the Application for Benefits Eligibility's website address, and the Illinois Hunger Coalition's Hunger Hotline. Requires Illinois institutions of higher education that participate in the Monetary Award Program to provide the notice in writing to all students who are enrolled or accepted for enrollment and are identified by ISAC as potentially SNAP eligible. Requires ISAC to adopt rules. Effective immediately. Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 Adds reference to: 305 ILCS 5/12-4.13b Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Reinserts the provisions of the introduced bill, but with the following changes and additions: Provides that the Department of Human Services shall consult with the Illinois Workforce Innovation Board (rather than with the Illinois Workforce Investment Board) to establish a protocol to identify and verify all potential exemptions to certain federal eligibility rules under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Provides that a career and technical educational program approved by the Illinois Community College Board that could be a component of a SNAP Employment and Training (E&T) program, as identified by the Department of Human Services, shall be considered an employment and training program under a specified provision of the Code of Federal Regulations, unless prohibited by federal law. In provisions requiring the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) to adopt rules concerning SNAP eligibility notifications to college students, requires ISAC to adopt the rules on or before October 1, 2020 (rather than on or before October 1, 2019). Effective immediately. House Committee Amendment No. 1 Requires the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) to annually include information about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in the language that schools are required to provide to students eligible for the Monetary Award Program grant (rather than requiring ISAC to identify and flag college students who are potentially eligible to receive SNAP benefits). Provides that the language shall, at a minimum, direct students to information about college student eligibility criteria for SNAP, and direct students to the Department of Human Services and to the Illinois Hunger Coalition's Hunger Hotline for additional information. Requires Illinois institutions of higher education that participate in the Monetary Award Program (MAP) to provide the notice to all students who are enrolled, or who are accepted for enrollment and intending to enroll, and who have been identified by ISAC as MAP-eligible at the institution (rather than requiring ISAC to develop, in consultation with the Department of Human Services, an electronic notice for institutions of higher education that includes, at a minimum, college student SNAP eligibility criteria, the Application for Benefits Eligibility's website address, and the Illinois Hunger Coalition's Hunger Hotline).