HR 140 Hawaii House · 2025 Regular Session

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES TO APPLY FOR AND IMPLEMENT THE ELDERLY SIMPLIFIED APPLICATION PROJECT IN THE STATE.

This House Resolution (HR 140) requests Hawaii's Department of Human Services (DHS) to apply for and implement the Elderly Simplified Application Project (ESAP) for SNAP benefits. It directly affects low-income seniors aged 60+ without earned income, aiming to simplify their access to food assistance by waiving in-person interviews, extending benefit certification to 36 months, and allowing flexible verification. The resolution asks DHS to seek federal approvals and update its rules to adopt ESAP, which is designed to reduce barriers to SNAP enrollment for seniors. Hawaii currently does not participate in ESAP despite SNAP supporting over 130,000 residents and contributing $630 million annually to the state economy.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2025

Committee Review

Mar 2025

House Passage

Mar 2025

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Mar 7, 2025 Last action Mar 27, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

HR140 → HR140_HD1 · 1 edit

MINOR

The document was reformatted from a plain text legislative bill into a structured digital file format, with no substantive policy changes to the bill's content. The resolution requesting the Department of Human Services to implement the Elderly Simplified Application Project (ESAP) remains identical in all material provisions.

TECHNICAL

Document structure changed from plain text to structured digital format with metadata headers, but all legislative text and policy provisions remain unchanged.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the House by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 27, 2025

Lower · Passed

Resolution adopted in final form.

lower

Mar 27, 2025

Lower · Passed

Adopted as amended in HD 1 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Hussey, Templo, Ward excused (3).

lower

Mar 27, 2025

Lower · Passed

Reported from HSH (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1639) as amended in HD 1, recommending adoption.

lower

Mar 20, 2025

Lower · Passed

The committee on HSH recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 8 Ayes: Representative(s) Marten, Olds, Amato, Chun, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Takayama, Alcos, Garcia; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Takenouchi.

lower

Mar 14, 2025

Committee

Referred to HSH, referral sheet 22

lower

Mar 7, 2025

Introduced

Offered

lower

8 primary · 0 co-sponsors