1. a. The Commissioner of Human Services shall submit to the Food and Nutrition Service within the United States Department of Agriculture a request for a waiver, as authorized by 7 C.F.R. § 273.24(f), of the time limit on benefits for able-bodied adults without dependents who participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The commissioner shall seek either a Statewide waiver for time limits on benefits for this population, or a waiver for select geographic areas of the State.

b. At least once annually after the submission of the waiver pursuant to subsection a. of this section, the commissioner shall conduct a review of available data on labor and employment in the State produced by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development and the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics in order to determine whether to submit a subsequent request for a waiver of the benefit time limit for able-bodied adults without dependents participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The review shall consider each criterion of eligibility for a waiver as well as the availability of opportunities that will fulfill the work requirement described in 7 C.F.R. § 273.24(a). Based on the annual review conducted pursuant to this subsection, the commissioner shall submit a request for a waiver for the maximum number of areas which are eligible for a waiver. The waiver request shall be for all geographic areas which represent the largest number of individuals eligible for a waiver of the able-bodied adults without dependents time limits on the receipt of SNAP benefits. This support shall serve to fulfill the requirements described in 7 U.S.C. § 2015(o)(4)(A).

L.2016, c.11, s.1 amended 2022, c.29.