The Alabama Senate on Tuesday passed a bill that would prohibit food assistance recipients from using their benefits to purchase certain sodas and sugary processed foods.
SB 57, sponsored by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, is similar to those approved for 18 other states, including Tennessee and Florida by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Orr said in an interview after the bill passed that its intent is to tackle obesity in children.
“It’s primarily about obesity, particularly in the Medicaid program,” Orr said. “We’re one of the most obese states in the country, particularly among children, and hopefully it might have a small impact.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Alabama ranked fourth in the nation for adult obesity in 2024.
The bill does not change the amount of benefits distributed to Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients. It requires the Alabama Department of Human Resources (DHR) to request a waiver from the USDA to exclude candy and soda from the list of eligible items recipients can purchase with their benefits.
A message seeking comment from DHR was left Tuesday evening.
The waivers, approved by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., are part of the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again initiative.
The Senate adopted two committee amendments, both on a 23-2 vote. The first narrows the definition of soda as “Beverages that list, as the first two ingredients, any combination of: (i) carbonated water; and (ii) sugar, cane sugar, corn syrup, or high fructose corn syrup.”
The second amendment redefined candy to clarify that items like baked goods, jams and some drink mixes do not fall under the prohibited category. It also requires the Alabama Department of Revenue to keep track of a list of products that are not eligible for purchase.
Orr also proposed a floor amendment that he described as a “three strikes” amendment for retailers, allowing them to accidentally permit SNAP recipients to purchase high sugar products three times within one fiscal year before they are fined. The measure passed on a 23-2 vote.
“If there are three strikes where you have a retailer violating it, selling using the SNAP card to sell regular soft drinks with the sugar content. Then you get them a second time and get them a third time. Then they can have some fee or fine levied against them,” Orr said.
The bill passed 23-2 with little discussion. It moves to the House.
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