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AMENDMENT TO HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 43

2    AMENDMENT NO. ___. Amend House Joint Resolution 43 by
3replacing everything after the heading with the following:
 
4    "WHEREAS, Over 2 million Illinois residents receive
5Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits;
6this number includes older adults, young children, people with
7disabilities, and working families; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Over 60,000 food-insecure Illinois residents
9enroll or re-enroll in the SNAP program every month; and
 
10    WHEREAS, The SNAP program is an important component of
11Illinois' economy that generates over $3 billion in annual
12spending; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Prior to October of 2010, the overwhelming
14majority of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

 

 

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1benefits were distributed on the 1st of the month in Illinois;
2and
 
3    WHEREAS, Due to the SNAP distribution schedule, customers
4were relegated to shopping in crowded stores with elevated
5security, stores were unable to offer a high level of customer
6service due to the size of the crowds, customers who shopped
7later in the month found empty store shelves and diminished
8access to fresh fruits and vegetables, and employees saw their
9hours cut; and
 
10    WHEREAS, The narrow SNAP distribution schedule caused
11enormous operational issues for Illinois grocers and
12retailers, especially for those businesses that operated in
13areas with a high density of customers that purchased food with
14SNAP funds; and
 
15    WHEREAS, The SNAP distribution schedule also created
16operational issues for food banks, which experienced an
17increase in families in need at the end of the month when SNAP
18benefits ran out; and
 
19    WHEREAS, In October of 2010, after many meetings with
20representatives of the grocery industry and non-profit groups
21that have an interest in food access for low-income residents,
22the Illinois Department of Human Services instituted a change

 

 

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1in how SNAP benefits were distributed to Illinois residents;
2and
 
3    WHEREAS, In order to relieve the pressure off of businesses
4and customers at the 1st of the month, a large number of SNAP
5customers were shifted from the 1st of the month to the 4th,
67th, and 10th of the month over the period of one year with
7great success; and
 
8    WHEREAS, The Department of Human Services currently issues
9SNAP benefits on the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 7th, 8th, 10th, 11th, 14th,
1017th, 19th, 21st, and 23rd days of the month; and
 
11    WHEREAS, The Department of Human Services has decided to
12shrink the SNAP distribution dates to the first 10 days of the
13month; and
 
14    WHEREAS, The United States Department of Agriculture
15(USDA), which controls the funding for the SNAP program, sent a
16letter to each state encouraging states to stagger SNAP
17distribution throughout the month; and
 
18    WHEREAS, This change goes in the opposite direction of the
19advocacy position taken by the USDA and the movement of other
20states in recent years, changing their systems to stagger SNAP
21benefits throughout the month; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Neither grocers nor poverty and food advocates
2believe that technology should dictate policy and that more
3efficient solutions should be achieved to avoid hunger;
4therefore, be it
 
5    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
6NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
7SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that the Task Force on Hunger and the
8Efficient Distribution of SNAP Benefits is created; and be it
9further
 
10    RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall consist of the
11following 10 members, appointed as follows:
12        (1) four legislators, appointed one each by the
13President of the Senate, the Minority Leader of the Senate, the
14Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Minority
15Leader of the House of Representatives;
16        (2) the Secretary of the Illinois Department of Human
17Services or his or her designee;
18        (3) one person appointed by the Governor to represent a
19state-wide association exclusively representing retailers;
20        (4) one person appointed by the Governor to represent a
21state-wide association exclusively representing grocers;
22        (5) one person appointed by the Governor to represent a
23non-profit organization focusing on advancing justice and

 

 

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1opportunity for low-income Illinois residents;
2        (6) one person appointed by the Governor to represent a
3non-profit organization focusing on ending poverty; and
4        (7) one person appointed by the Governor to represent a
5food bank that serves a county with over 2 million residents;
6and be it further
 
7    RESOLVED, That the co-chairs of the Task Force shall invite
8representatives of the USDA and software contractors to
9participate in the Task Force; and be it further
 
10    RESOLVED, That the designee of the Speaker of the House of
11Representatives and the designee of the Senate President shall
12serve as co-chairs of the Task Force; and be it further
 
13    RESOLVED, That the members of the Task Force shall be
14appointed no later than 30 days after the effective date of
15this resolution; the members of the Task Force shall not
16receive compensation; and be it further
 
17    RESOLVED, That the Department of Human Services shall
18provide administrative support to the Task Force; and be it
19further
 
20    RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall prepare a report that
21details how SNAP benefits can be distributed more evenly

 

 

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1throughout the month without increasing hunger in the State of
2Illinois and shall submit this report to the Governor and the
3General Assembly by October 1, 2013; and be it further
 
4    RESOLVED, That the Task Force, upon issuing the report, is
5dissolved effective October 1, 2013.".