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Arkansas DHS presents emergency rule to implement Act 675; sets SNAP resource limit at $5,500
Summary
The Arkansas Department of Human Services presented an emergency rule to implement Act 675 of 2023, adding an eligibility definition for broad-based categorical eligibility and updating resource limits to $5,500 for SNAP-eligible households. The committee approved the emergency rule without objection, effective April 5, 2025.
Christy Putnam, secretary of the Arkansas Department of Human Services, presented an emergency rule to implement Act 675 of 2023, saying the rule “adds an eligible definition” and “updates resource limits to $5,500 for households that are in compliance with Act 6 75 of 2023.”
The committee approved the proposed emergency rule without objection, with review and approval effective 12:01 a.m. April 5, 2025. Members asked procedural questions about the timing; Putnam told the committee the department had sought technical assistance and legal clarification before finalizing the rule. “We were under the impression initially that we needed to look for some state match funding,” she said, and after further review staff identified a benefit that could be extended to all SNAP-eligible households and prepared the rule within about a week.
Committee leadership urged the agencies to be more expeditious when possible. No formal roll-call vote was recorded; the committee approved the rule by unanimous consent.
The rule is explicitly tied to Act 675 of 2023 and applies to households meeting the statute’s broad-based categorical eligibility criteria. The transcript did not specify further implementing language, administrative code citations, or whether the department will publish additional guidance for county offices.
The committee adjourned that item after approving the rule; no motions to amend or delay implementation were made.
