Full Text of HJR0063 98th General Assembly
HJ0063 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Over 2 million Illinois residents receive | 3 | | Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits; | 4 | | this number includes older adults, young children, people with | 5 | | disabilities, and working families; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Over 60,000 food-insecure Illinois residents | 7 | | enroll or re-enroll in SNAP every month; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, SNAP is an important component of Illinois' | 9 | | economy that generates over $3 billion in annual spending; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, The Department of Human Services issues SNAP | 11 | | benefits on the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, and | 12 | | 10th days of the month; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, The Department of Human Services has switched from | 14 | | operating on two fiscal months to utilizing one fiscal month, | 15 | | consistent with nearly every other state in the nation, for | 16 | | greater efficiency and accuracy; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, In order to minimize the "stretch" newly approved | 18 | | customers experience between their first and second issuances, | 19 | | the Department of Human Services instituted a 10 day issuance | 20 | | schedule, effective July 2013; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, The United States Department of Agriculture | 2 | | (USDA), which controls the funding for SNAP, sent a letter to | 3 | | each state encouraging states to stagger SNAP distribution | 4 | | throughout the month; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, The Department of Human Services must balance | 6 | | staggering benefits to meet the needs of retailers with | 7 | | minimizing hardship to SNAP recipients; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, The Department of Human Services, grocers, and | 9 | | poverty advocates are all interested in establishing a | 10 | | distribution system that meets the needs of all parties; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, On May 31, 2013, the Task Force on Hunger and the | 12 | | Efficient Distribution of SNAP Benefits was created by House | 13 | | Joint Resolution 43 of the 98th General Assembly to discuss | 14 | | these issues and prepare a report to the General Assembly that | 15 | | detailed how SNAP benefits could be distributed more evenly | 16 | | throughout the month without increasing hunger in the State of | 17 | | Illinois; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, On October 1, 2013, the Task Force prepared and | 19 | | submitted the report to the General Assembly which detailed an | 20 | | agreed, temporary solution to gradually move, over a 3-month | 21 | | period, current cases from the 4th, 7th, and 10th to the 13th, |
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| 1 | | 17th, and 20th days of the month, and to place new and | 2 | | returning cases on the 4th, 7th, and 10th days of the month; | 3 | | and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, As the number of cases on the 13th, 17th, and 20th | 5 | | days of the month will diminish over time, there is a need to | 6 | | continue to discuss a permanent solution for 2016 and beyond; | 7 | | therefore, be it
| 8 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 9 | | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | 10 | | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that the Task Force on Hunger and the | 11 | | Efficient Distribution of SNAP Benefits be re-established and | 12 | | remain active through December 31, 2015; and be it further
| 13 | | RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall add one additional | 14 | | member, appointed as follows:
One person appointed by the | 15 | | Governor who is a representative of a labor organization which | 16 | | represents workers primarily in the food industry; and be it | 17 | | further | 18 | | RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall work to identify ways | 19 | | to achieve a permanent solution on how SNAP benefits are | 20 | | distributed in Illinois that addresses how SNAP benefits could | 21 | | be distributed more evenly throughout the month without | 22 | | increasing hunger in the State of Illinois.
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