Bill Text: NJ S3095 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Codifies federal regulations requiring bilingual materials and services for SNAP under certain circumstances.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-04-11 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee [S3095 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-S3095-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator M. TERESA RUIZ
District 29 (Essex and Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
Codifies federal regulations requiring bilingual materials and services for SNAP under certain circumstances.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning bilingual materials and services for the New Jersey Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and supplementing Title 44 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The division, in collaboration with SNAP eligibility determination agencies, shall provide bilingual SNAP information and certification materials, as well as bilingual staff or interpreters to assist SNAP applicants or beneficiaries, pursuant to subsection b. of this section.
b. (1) The division shall provide materials used in SNAP informational activities in the appropriate languages as follows:
(a) In project areas with less than 2,000 low-income households, if approximately 100 or more of those households are of a single-language minority;
(b) In project areas with 2,000 or more low-income households, if approximately 5 percent or more of those households are of a single-language minority; and
(c) In project areas with a SNAP eligibility determination agency that provides bilingual service as required in subparagraph (2) of this section.
(2) The division shall provide both certification materials in the appropriate languages and bilingual staff or interpreters as follows:
(a) In each individual eligibility determination agency that provides services to an area containing approximately 100 single-language minority low-income households; and
(b) In each project area with a total of less than 100 low-income households, if a majority of those households are of a single-language minority.
(3) If SNAP materials are required in only one language other than English, the materials may be printed in English on one side and in the other language on the reverse side. If the SNAP eligibility determination agency is required to use several languages, the materials may be printed in English and may contain statements in other languages summarizing the purpose of the notice and the telephone number that the household may call to receive additional information in the appropriate language.
c. In project areas with a seasonal influx of non-English-speaking households, the division shall provide bilingual SNAP materials and staff or interpreters, if during the seasonal influx the number of single-language minority low-income households that move into the area meets or exceeds the requirements in subsection b. of this section.
d. The division shall ensure that SNAP eligibility determination agencies subject to the requirements of paragraph (2) of subsection b. of this section and subsection c. of this section provide sufficient bilingual staff or interpreters for the timely processing of non-English-speaking applicants.
e. The division shall develop estimates of the number of low-income single-language minority households, both participating and not participating in the SNAP, for each project area and SNAP eligibility determination agency by using census data and knowledge of project areas and areas serviced by SNAP eligibility determination agencies. If these information sources do not provide sufficient information for the division to determine if there is a need for bilingual staff or interpreters, each SNAP eligibility determination agency shall, for a 6-month period, record the total number of single-language minority households that visit the office to make inquiries about SNAP, file a new SNAP application, or file to recertify SNAP benefits. Those SNAP eligibility determination agencies that are contacted by over 100 single-language minority households in the 6-month period shall be required to provide bilingual staff or interpreters. The division shall combine the data collected in each SNAP eligibility determination agency to determine the need for bilingual SNAP outreach materials in each project area.
f. As used in this section:
"Certification materials" means the SNAP application form, SNAP change report form, and SNAP notices to households.
"Division" means the Division of Family Development in the Department of Human Services.
"Project area" means the county or similar political subdivision designated by the division as the administrative unit for the eligibility determination agency's operations.
"Single-language minority" means households which speak the same non-English language and which do not contain any adult fluent in English as a second language.
"SNAP" means the New Jersey Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, established pursuant to the federal "Food and Nutrition Act of 2008," Pub.L.110-246 (7 U.S.C. s.2011 et seq.).
2. The Commissioner of Human Services shall adopt rules and regulations, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this act.
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill codifies federal regulations, found at 7 CFR s.272.4(b), which require the state agencies that administer the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to provide bilingual SNAP materials and services under certain circumstances. SNAP is a nutrition assistance program that serves as a safety net for low-income households. While the program is federally regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture pursuant to the "Food and Nutrition Act of 2008," Pub.L.110-246 (7 U.S.C. s.2011 et seq.), SNAP eligibility determination agencies, such as county welfare agencies, in New Jersey, under the supervision of the Division of Family Development (division) in the Department of Human Services administer the program. The federal government pays the full cost of SNAP benefits and splits the cost of administering the program with the State.
Specifically, the bill requires the division, in collaboration with SNAP eligibility determination agencies, to provide bilingual SNAP information and certification materials, as well as bilingual staff or interpreters to assist SNAP applicants or beneficiaries when there is a certain level of households that are of a single-language minority in the county or service area of the SNAP eligibility determination agency. Under the bill, "single-language minority" means households which speak the same non-English language and which do not contain any adult fluent in English as a second language. These provisions extend to areas where there is a seasonal influx of non-English-speaking households.
If SNAP materials are required in only one language other than English, the materials may be printed in English on one side and in the other language on the reverse side. For multiple languages, the materials may be printed in English and may contain statements in other languages summarizing the purpose of the notice and the telephone number that the household may call to receive additional information in the appropriate language.
Finally, the division is to develop estimates of the number of low-income single-language minority households, both participating and not participating in the SNAP, for each county or service area of a SNAP eligibility determination agency by using census data and knowledge of the area. If these information sources do not provide sufficient information for the division to make such a determination, each SNAP eligibility determination agency is required to record, for a 6-month period, the total number of single-language minority households that visit the office regarding SNAP. Those SNAP eligibility determination agencies that are contacted by over 100 single-language minority households in the 6-month period will be mandated to provide bilingual staff or interpreters. The division is required to combine the data collected in each SNAP eligibility determination agency to determine the need for bilingual SNAP outreach materials.
