AUGUSTA (AP) — Republican Gov. Paul LePage’s administration urged lawmakers Thursday to support a bill that seeks to allow the state to prevent people in the food stamp program from using benefits to buy items like soda, chips and candy.

Bethany Hamm, director of the Office of Family Independence, told the Health and Human Services Committee that taxpayer dollars should be used to help low-income families buy nutritious foods — not those fueling the country’s obesity problem.

Republican Sen. Roger Katz’s bill would direct the Department of Health and Human Services to request a waiver from the federal government to prohibit the purchase of taxable food items, like candy bars, iced tea and soft drinks. Items considered “grocery staples,” like milk and bread, aren’t taxed.

A similar measure was defeated in 2013, but Katz said he believes that voters clearly showed in November elections that they support changes to welfare and predicted more lawmakers will be on board now.

Hamm said the department could seek the waiver now but believes that getting legislative approval first would send a strong message to the federal government that the state is united in this effort.

Critics called it a wasted effort because the federal government has never been open to such a proposal. Others said it’s demeaning.

“This bill blames and shames people who find themselves living in hard times and it’s wrong,” said Mary Jo Skofield, an advocate with Homeless Voices for Justice.

They’re backing a measure from Democratic Sen. Chris Johnson that seeks to help nonprofit organizations create programs to improve the diets of people in the food stamp program.

Johnson and others said Thursday that low-income families turn to unhealthy foods because it’s all they can afford and that the state should be working to improve access to things like fruits and vegetables.