HB947: HB947 Georgia SNAP Healthier Choices Act of 2026; enact

Georgia's food stamp program, known as SNAP, is run by the state in partnership with the federal government. This bill, titled the Georgia SNAP Integrity Act of 2026 in its own text, adds new rules for how the Department of Human Services checks who qualifies and stays qualified for benefits. The bill limits automatic (categorical) eligibility and caps income and resource limits at current federal levels, shortens certification periods for unstable households, and requires income, residency, and citizenship checks within 30 days of application. It blocks a second month of benefits if verification is not finished after notice, and requires a pre-authorization accuracy checklist before benefits are approved. It also sets up regular data-matching with agencies like the Department of Public Health, Department of Corrections, Department of Labor, and the Georgia Lottery Corporation, limits waivers of work requirements without legislative approval, and bans using SNAP funds on prepared hot or cold drinks or restaurant meals. It becomes effective January 1, 2027.

• Restricts automatic (categorical) SNAP eligibility so it cannot cover noncash or in-kind benefits unless federal law specifically requires it.
• Requires the Department of Human Services to verify income, residency, and immigration or citizenship status for all household members within 30 days of application.
• Blocks second-month SNAP benefits for households that fail to submit required verification documents after being given written notice and a chance to respond.
• Sets up monthly or quarterly data-matching between the department and agencies like the Department of Public Health, Department of Corrections, Department of Labor, and the Georgia Lottery Corporation to catch changes in eligibility.
• Requires legislative authorization before the department can seek or renew federal waivers of SNAP work requirements.
• Bans SNAP benefits from being used to buy food at restaurants or to buy hot or cold beverages mixed or prepared on-site for immediate consumption.

Georgia households that receive or apply for SNAP food assistance, especially those with unstable income or nearing ineligibility; the Department of Human Services and its Division of Family and Children Services; and other 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 recipients would face faster and more frequent eligibility checks, shorter certification periods in some cases, and a risk of losing a second month of benefits if paperwork is not turned in on time. Retailers would also have to block SNAP purchases of restaurant food and certain prepared drinks.

• Section 3 revises O.C.G.A. § 49-4-15.1 so the department's inspector general, rather than the director of the office of fraud and abuse, applies for subpoenas in fraud investigations.
• Section 4 adds O.C.G.A. § 49-4-23, capping income and resource standards at federal levels as of January 1, 2026 and setting shorter certification periods (as short as one to two months) for households likely to become ineligible.
• Section 4 requires, by January 1, 2029, verification of all eligibility factors within 30 days of application and a pre-authorization accuracy checklist before any SNAP benefit is finalized.
• Section 4 adds O.C.G.A. § 49-4-24, requiring regular data-matching with the Department of Public Health, Department of Labor, Department of Corrections, Social Security Administration, and the Georgia Lottery Corporation to detect changes in eligibility.
• Section 4 adds O.C.G.A. § 49-4-25, barring the department from seeking or renewing federal waivers of SNAP work requirements without specific authorization from the General Assembly.
• Section 4 adds O.C.G.A. § 49-4-26, requiring EBT cards to display the recipient's name and a fraud-reporting hotline, and banning SNAP purchases at restaurants or for on-site prepared hot and cold beverages.
• Section 4 directs the Georgia Department of Agriculture and Division of Family and Children Services to support SNAP use at farmers markets and to report annually to the General Assembly on that program.
• Section 5 sets the effective date of the Act 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 fraud prevention
• work requirements
• food assistance rules