Maryland legislation · 2026 Regular Session
Maryland SB461: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program - Heat and Eat Program - Study
Status: Signed into law, May 26, 2026
Requiring the Department of Human Services to study the potential number of households excluded from automatic standard utility allowance eligibility for the Heat and Eat Program within the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program due to enactment of the federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025; and requiring the Department to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, by December 1, 2026, to the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee and the House Appropriations Committee.
What the bill says
An act concerning Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program - Heat and Eat Program - Eligibility Study FOR the purpose of altering the eligibility requirements for the Heat and Eat Program within the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in the Department of Human Services to require a household to include an elderly or disabled individual requiring the Department of Human Services to study the potential number of households excluded from automatic standard utility allowance eligibility for the Heat and Eat Program within the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program due to enactment of a…
From the enrolled text, June 3, 2026:
AN ACT concerning Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program - Heat and Eat Program - Eligibility Study FOR the purpose of altering the eligibility requirements for the Heat and Eat Program within the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in the Department of Human Services to require a household to include an elderly or disabled individual requiring the Department of Human Services to study the potential number of households excluded from automatic standard utility allowance eligibility for the Heat and Eat Program within the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program due to enactment of a certain federal law; and generally relating to a study on eligibility for the Heat and Eat Program within the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the Heat and Eat Program. BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, Article - Human Services Section 5-506 Annotated Code of Maryland (2019 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: Article - Human Services 5-506. (a) In this section, "standard utility allowance" means a Maryland Energy Assistance Program payment to a household that is at least $21 per year. (b) (1) There is a Heat and Eat Program within the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in the Department. (2) The purpose of the Heat and Eat Program is to expand food access …