First-time drug felons allowed food aid again

AUSTIN — Texas soon will allow tens of thousands of residents convicted of drug crimes to receive food assistance from the federal government, joining almost every other state in ending a ban that once covered the entire nation.

Legislation approved during this year’s legislative session will make Texas the 44th state to opt out of the ban, which former U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm, RTexas, inserted into President Bill Clinton’s 1996 welfare reform package.

Under the new policy, which takes effect Sept. 1, first-time drug felons will be able to get food stamps as long as they comply with the conditions of their parole and do not commit a second offense while receiving assistance. They still will be ineligible for

cash help through welfare.

Residents convicted of nondrug-related felonies will continue to be able to get benefits, as they were never included in the ban.

The change could help many of the 56,860 Texas residents currently on Community Supervision for drug offenses, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, and many more who already have cycled out of parole. It is unknown how many of them may seek food stamps, however.

Advocates hailed the move as a landmark reform for Texas, saying the scant attention it received during the session belied the transformative effect it could have on those most in need of help.

“It isn’t about rewarding people convicted of crimes. It’s about making sure that they do not become repeat offenders, and to do that, we need to give them some help,” said state Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, who spearheaded the change via a standalone bill and then, after that failed, through an amendment to a noncontroversial bill. “This will give them an opportunity to regain respectability by going out into the marketplace and making a living.” Opponents reject change

Opponents rejected that argument, saying the change only would encourage crime and waste taxpayer money.

“What we’re talking about is using public tax dollars to expand the federal government’s food-stamp program to convicted drug offenders,” said Rep. Matt Rinaldi, R-Irving. “I’m against allowing felons to feed at the public trough in an entitlement program such as that.”

Rinaldi and Republican Rep. Larry Phillips of Sherman were the only lawmakers to vote against the amendment, which drew little attention despite the precedent that it would overturn the 19-year-old ban.

In fact, the welfare-related proposal that got the most media attention this year was a measure to require residents to undergo drug testing before receiving food stamps. That bill died.

Still, supporters said they encountered serious opposition and only succeeded after agreeing to put in the provision regarding a second conviction.

“It was tough. It was a battle,” said Celia Cole, chief executive officer of Feeding Texas, an Austin-based group that runs food banks and advocates for policies that lead to a “hunger-free Texas.”

“The architects of the federal law were very smart in pushing the responsibility for opt-out down to the states, and that put statehouses having to take action on a very controversial issue,” Cole said. “Anytime you have something involving both drugs and welfare, it’ll be very controversial.” SNAP gives $125 per recipient

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program provides an average of $125 per month to recipients in Texas.

All of the additional funding will be provided by the federal government. No state agency is expected to have to spend more to process eligibility applications, according to the state health commission.

Nevertheless, a majority of states at least partially opted out in the first few years after the federal bill’s passage. More have done so recently, spurred, in part, by a 2013 Yale University study that found that affected felons in several states, including Texas, were more likely to sell their bodies for money to buy food.

Alabama also repealed its ban this year, leaving prohibitions existing only in Alaska, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, West Virginia and Wyoming. Thompson, the bill sponsor, said she hoped Texas’s move would lead to further changes here.

“Society for a long period of time has been big on punishing people, even after they’ve gone to prison. We’ve never let them think they’re free,” she said. “Hopefully, that’s changing.”