HB 947: Georgia SNAP Healthier Choices Act of 2026; enact

Georgia's food stamp program, known as SNAP, currently relies on federal eligibility rules and existing state fraud-examination procedures. This bill (whose text calls itself the "Georgia SNAP Integrity Act of 2026") tightens how the Department of Human Services verifies who qualifies for benefits and adds new state-level checks. It limits how the department can extend automatic eligibility or higher income and asset limits beyond what federal law requires, shortens certification periods for unstable households, and requires income, residency, and citizenship verification within 30 days of application. It blocks a second month of benefits if verification isn't finished on time, after the household gets 15 days' notice. The bill also requires monthly or quarterly data-matching with agencies like the Department of Public Health, Department of Corrections, Department of Labor, the Georgia Lottery Corporation, and several federal databases to catch changes in circumstances such as death, incarceration, or lottery winnings. It bars the department from seeking new federal work-requirement waivers without General Assembly approval, requires EBT cards to display anti-fraud information, and prohibits using SNAP benefits on prepared hot foods or made-to-order beverages. The law would take effect January 1, 2027.

• Restricts the department from granting automatic (categorical) SNAP eligibility or higher income and asset limits than federal law requires, unless federal law demands it.
• Requires the department to verify income, residency, and citizenship or immigration status for all applicants within 30 days, and blocks second-month benefits if verification isn't finished after proper notice.
• Sets up monthly or quarterly data-matching with the Department of Public Health, Department of Corrections, Department of Labor, the Georgia Lottery Corporation, and federal databases to catch changes affecting eligibility.
• Bars the department from seeking or renewing federal work-requirement waivers without a specific new law passed by the General Assembly.
• Prohibits using SNAP benefits to buy food from restaurants or made-to-order hot and cold beverages, and requires retailers to add point-of-sale controls to enforce this.
• Requires periodic reports to legislative committees on implementation progress and an annual report on farmers market SNAP participation.

SNAP recipients and applicants in Georgia, the Department of Human Services and its Division of Family and Children Services, retailers and food establishments that accept SNAP benefits, and state agencies such as the Department of Public Health, Department of Corrections, Department of Labor, and the Georgia Lottery Corporation, which must share data with the department.

SNAP applicants and recipients would face stricter, faster verification deadlines and could lose a month of benefits if paperwork isn't completed in time. Expanded data-sharing across state and federal agencies would flag changes like incarceration or lottery winnings automatically, and recipients would no longer be able to use benefits at restaurants or for made-to-order drinks.

• Section 3 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 49-4-15.1 to broaden the documents the department can subpoena in fraud investigations, expanding beyond recipients to include applicants, retailers, and state contractors.
• New Code Section 49-4-23 limits categorical eligibility and income/asset standards beyond federal minimums and requires shorter certification periods (as short as one to two months) for unstable households by January 1, 2029.
• Subsection (f) requires verification of all eligibility criteria within 30 days of application and bars issuing second-month benefits until verification is complete, after 15 days' notice to the household.
• New Code Section 49-4-24 mandates monthly or quarterly data-matching with the Department of Public Health, Department of Labor, Department of Corrections, the Georgia Lottery Corporation, and several federal databases, treating death and incarceration data as verified upon receipt.
• New Code Section 49-4-25 prohibits the department from seeking, applying for, or renewing federal work-requirement waivers without specific authorization from the General Assembly.
• New Code Section 49-4-26 requires EBT cards to display the recipient's name and anti-fraud information, requires citizenship verification, and bans using SNAP benefits at food service establishments or for made-to-order hot and cold beverages.
• Section 5 sets the effective date as January 1, 2027.

1. 2026-03-09Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2026-03-06House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
3. 2026-03-06House Third Readers (House)
4. 2026-03-06House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
5. 2026-03-04House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
6. 2026-02-18House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
7. 2026-01-14House Second Readers (House)
8. 2026-01-13House First Readers (House)

• Martin Momtahan (R, HD-017)Primary sponsor
• Charles Cannon (R, HD-172)
• Steve Tarvin (R, HD-002)
• Todd Jones (R, HD-025)
• Trey Kelley (R, HD-016)
• Mitchell Scoggins (R, HD-014)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 7, 2026

   95 yea, 66 nay (1 not voting, 15 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #687

• SNAP food assistance
• public benefits eligibility
• government data sharing
• food stamp fraud
• welfare work requirements