SNAP; TANF; public welfare; verification, the official text

PREFILED    NOV 24 2025

REFERENCE TITLE: SNAP; TANF; public welfare; verification

State of Arizona

Senate

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

SB 1002

Introduced by

Senator
Kavanagh

AN
ACT

amending title 46, chapter 2, article 2,
arizona revised statutes, by adding section 46-232; amending section 46-297.01,
Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to public assistance.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Title 46, chapter 2, article 2,
Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 46-232, to read:

START_STATUTE46-232. Supplemental nutrition assistance program; eligibility
evaluations; public posting; definitions

A. To determine or evaluate SNAP
eligibility, the department of economic security shall:

1. Enter into a data matching
agreement with the department of Revenue to identify households with lottery or
gambling winnings of $3,000 or more and, to the extent permissible under
federal law, to treat the data obtained as verified on receipt. To
the extent the data may not be verified on receipt, the department of economic
security shall refer those households with lottery or gambling winnings that
are equal to or greater than the resource limit for elderly or disabled
households as defined in 7 Code of Federal Regulations section 273.8(b) to the department of economic security for
further investigation.

2. On at least a monthly basis,
review information that is provided by the department of health services and
that identifies individuals who have had a change in circumstances that may
affect SNAP eligibility.

3. On at least a quarterly basis,
review the department'S information that identifies
individuals who have had a change in circumstances that may affect SNAP
eligibility, including a CHANGE in unemployment benefits, employment status or
wages.

4. On at least a monthly basis,
review the department's information that identifies
individuals who have had a change in circumstances that may affect SNAP
eligibility, including potential changes in residency as identified by out-of-state
electronic benefit transfer card transactions.

5. On at least a monthly basis,
review information that is provided by the state DEPARTMENT of corrections and
that identifies individuals who have had a change in circumstances that may
affect SNAP eligibility.

6. On at least a quarterly basis,
review information that is provided by the department of revenue and that
identifies households that have had a change in circumstances that may affect
SNAP eligibility, including potential changes in income, wages or residency as
identified by tax records.

7. On at least a quarterly basis,
post on the department's public website the following aggregated amounts that
were obtained from noncompliance and fraud investigations related to SNAP,
excluding confidential and personally identifiable information:

(a) The number
of SNAP cases that were investigated for intentional program violations or
fraud.

(b) The number
of SNAP cases that were referred to the attorney general's office for
prosecution.

(c) The amount
of Improper payments and expenditures.

(d) The amount
of monies recovered.

(e) The amount
of monies spent for improper payments and ineligible RECIPIENTS as a percentage
of cases that were investigated and reviewed.

(f) The amount
of monies spent by electronic benefit card transactions that occurred outside
of this state, categorized by state.

B. On at least a monthly basis, the
department of health services and the department of economic
security shall review the following information from federal sources to assess
a recipient's continued eligibility for SNAP:

1. Earned income information, death
register information, incarceration records, supplemental security income
information, beneficiary records, earnings information and pension information
that is maintained by the United States social security administration.

2. Income and employment information
that is maintained in the national directory of new hires database and child
support enforcement data that is maintained by the united states department of
health and human services.

3. Payment and earnings information
that is maintained by the united states department of housing and urban
development.

4. National fleeing felon information
that is maintained by the United States federal bureau of investigation.

C. If the department receives
information that identifies an individual who is enrolled in SNAP and that
indicates a change in circumstances that may affect that individual's SNAP
eligibility, the department shall review that individual's case.

D. For the purposes of this section:

1. "Department" means the
department of economic security.

2. "SNAP" means the
supplemental nutrition assistance program. END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Section 46-297.01, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE46-297.01. Electronic benefit transfer cards; replacements; out-of-state
spending; fraud investigation

A. The department shall
send each recipient who requests two replacement cards within a twelve-month
period a letter informing the recipient that another request will initiate an
investigation by the department to determine whether there is
fraud. If a third-party vendor is administering replacement
cards directly to recipients, the vendor shall notify the department after a
recipient requests a second replacement card in a twelve-month period and
makes any subsequent request thereafter.

B. After a recipient's
request for a third replacement card within any twelve-month period, and
any subsequent request thereafter, the department shall schedule an interview
with the recipient and, if the department has been granted a waiver, determine
whether there is fraud before issuing a new card. The recipient's request
for a fourth replacement card requires the department to schedule an interview
with the recipient to determine whether there is fraud before issuing a new
card.  The department shall request any necessary federal waivers to comply
with this section.

C. If a recipient uses more than ten percent of the
recipient's electronic benefit transfer card balance in a six-month
period on out-of-state purchases, the department shall schedule an
interview with the recipient to determine whether there is fraud.

D. On at least a monthly basis, the
department shall use the data from an electronic benefit transfer card to
identify any individual who has made purchases exclusively out-of-state
over a ninety-day period.  The department shall contact the individual
who is identified within thirty days to determine whether that individual
resides in this state.  If the individual does not reside in this state, the
department shall remove that individual within thirty days after contacting the
individual.  Within fifteen days after the individual's removal, the department
shall refer the individual to the United States attorney's office for the
district where the individual claims to reside.