The Keeping SNAP in our Communities Act of 2023 would improve how the government handles cases when it wants to remove grocery stores and other retailers from the SNAP food assistance program. The bill requires the government to notify all owners and managers of a store by email when it issues a violation, extends the response time from ten to thirty days, and shifts the burden of proof to the government to prove wrongdoing by clear evidence. It also requires the government to turn over all records it reviewed within ten days if a store requests them, even if those records were normally confidential, though the store's lawyer must sign a nondisclosure agreement. Additionally, the bill directs the Department of Agriculture to study how often first-time trafficking violations result in permanent disqualification rather than fines, with results broken down by store size and owner demographics, and to analyze the government's fraud detection system. Most provisions take effect one year after the law passes, though the reporting requirement begins immediately.
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