by Jessica Dietrich, Director of Government Relations and Public Policy
State Updates
The Oklahoma Legislature has adjourned from regular session, capping off an odd session filled with cross chamber disagreements and high stakes policy negotiations. With the way regular session ended, a special session could be on the horizon for the legislature. House leadership had several priority policies that the Senate did not take up, and there are rumors they would still like to pass some of these policies in a special session. Two of those priority policies include the “TSET reset,” which modifies the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust in an effort to move Medicaid expansion out of the state constitution and into state statute, allowing the legislature a path to modify or eliminate Medicaid expansion in Oklahoma. HFO will continue to track these issues closely.
- HB 3032 by Rep. Lowe: Requires all school districts to provide and require the completion of a form for free or reduced-price meals upon enrollment and re-enrollment. Dead – not passed from committee by the deadline.
- HB 3490 by Rep. McCane: Provides a sales tax exemption and related identification card to SNAP participants. Dead – not passed from committee by the deadline.
- HB 3597 by Rep. Lepak: Prohibits undocumented immigrants from accessing SNAP and Medicaid benefits. Dead – not passed from committee by the deadline.
- HB 3638 by Rep. Gise & Sen. Thompson: Requires Oklahoma to participate in the federal Summer EBT program. Dead – not passed from committee by the deadline.
- HB 4110 by Rep. Ford: Directs the creation of a verification platform to be operated statewide for oversight of SNAP by OKDHS and a related Corrections Transparency Overlay system under the Dept. of Corrections. Dead – not passed from committee by the deadline.
- HB 4422 by Speaker Hilbert & Pro Tem Paxton: Requires immigration status checks for SNAP and TANF. Dead – not passed by the Senate.
- HB 4423 by Speaker Hilbert & Pro Tem Paxton: Requires immigration status checks for Medicaid and reporting when status cannot be verified. Dead – not passed by the Senate.
- SB 1253 by Sen. Bergstrom: Adjusts standards for eligibility under the SNAP program (specifically work requirements) to match related federal guidelines. Dead – not passed from committee by the deadline.
- SB 1299 by Sen. Bergstrom: Directs OKDHS to request waiver for additional SNAP purchasing restrictions. Dead – not passed from committee by the deadline.
- SB 1310 by Sen. Bergstrom: Links OKDHS executive compensation to SNAP payment error rates, restricts offsetting pay increases, establishes employee incentive fund. Dead – not passed from committee by the deadline.
- SB 1373 by Sen. Reinhardt: Creates no cost meals for all students and includes minimum meal quality and lunchtime standards. Dead – not passed from committee by the deadline.
- SB 1374 by Sen. Reinhardt: Creates a state-funded incentive for eligible schools to participate in Community Eligibility Provision and provide meals at no cost to all students. Dead – not passed from committee by the deadline.
- SB 1547 by Sen. Gillespie: Requires Oklahoma Medicaid participants to meet certain community engagement requirements. Dead – not passed from committee by the deadline.
- SB 1554 by Sen. Grellner: Prohibits nonprofits from knowingly or recklessly providing services to undocumented immigrants and declares entities in violation to be ineligible for funds and officers of such orgs liable for criminal fines and penalties. Dead – not passed from committee by the deadline.
- SB 1833 by Sen. Thompson & Rep. West: Requires Oklahoma to continue participating in the SNAP purchasing restrictions waiver and allows for additional items to be added to the waiver. Signed by the Governor on 5/1/26.
- SB 1895 by Sen. Reinhardt & Rep. Moore: Requires eligible school districts to notify OSDE if they decide not to participate in CEP. Dead – not heard on the Senate floor.
- SB 2022 by Sen. Standridge: Limits OKDHS from participating in any federal option that expands SNAP eligibility. Dead – not passed from committee by the deadline.
- SB 2061 by Sen. Nice & Rep. Grego: Creates the Oklahoma Food Policy Council and establishes membership, duties, and reporting requirements. Dead – not passed from House committee.
Have questions or concerns about any of the above legislation? Send an email to Bailey Ashbaker.
Raise the Wage Campaign
In June, Oklahoma voters will decide whether to raise the minimum wage through a statewide ballot measure, a proposal that directly intersects with the state’s ongoing struggle with food insecurity. Low wages are one of the strongest predictors of whether a household can consistently afford enough to eat. When earnings don’t keep pace with the cost of living, families are forced to make impossible tradeoffs between food, housing, healthcare, and transportation.
Research shows that higher state minimum wages are associated with lower rates of food insecurity among households with children. Strengthening wages also has broader economic implications: when workers earn more, they spend more locally, supporting small businesses, stabilizing demand, and reducing the strain on the charitable sector. Raising the wage floor is not just a way to reduce food insecurity; it is an investment in a more resilient, self-sustaining state economy.
Federal Updates
Federal Fiscal Year 2027 budget (October 2026 – September 2027)
Last month, President Trump released is his annual budget proposal. Similar to President Trump’s previous budget proposal, it included a $5 million proposed cut to Farm to School grants, $10 million proposed cut to School Meals Equipment grants, a proposed cut to the WIC fruit and vegetable benefit, decreasing it from $52 for pregnant/postpartum mothers and $26 for children to $11 for adults and $9 for children, respectively. The proposed budget would also eliminate the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, which provides food boxes to low-income seniors, and the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which supports families in need of energy assistance.
HFO opposes these proposed cuts to essential programs that help Oklahoma families, businesses, and nonprofits and will work with Congress to ensure these cuts are not enacted.
Farm Bill
The U.S. House passed the Farm Bill (H.R. 7567) on April 30 in a mostly partisan 224-200 vote. The bill is now in the Senate, where Republicans and Democrats are working on a more bipartisan version expected in the coming weeks.
The Nutrition Flashpoints (SNAP)
- Locked-In Cuts: The House bill preserves $187 billion in cuts to SNAP over 10 years (originally pushed through in last year’s H.R. 1). It keeps strict work requirements and limits future benefit adjustments.
- The “Rotisserie Chicken” Exception: In a rare bipartisan win, the House approved an amendment allowing SNAP to be used to buy hot rotisserie chickens, relaxing the historic ban on hot, ready-to-eat foods (a broader “Hot Foods Act” amendment failed).
- Fraud Prevention: The bill mandates a shift to chip-enabled EBT cards to prevent skimming and fraud and permanently bans EBT processing fees for retailers.
The Outlook
The House bill’s steep nutrition cuts are dead on arrival in the Senate. Expect an intense showdown later this summer as the two chambers try to reconcile their different versions.
H.R. 1 Impacts
Advocates across the nation continue to push to delay SNAP changes included in H.R. 1. Without Congressional action, the SNAP cost shift based on a state’s error rate takes effect in FFY 28 (October 2027) and is based on measurements of errors for October 2025 – September 2026.
A recent report by CBPP shows dropping SNAP participation across the country following some H.R. 1 policy implementation. Oklahoma has seen a roughly 10% decline in participation from December 2024 to December 2025.
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