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Lawmakers press DHS on two‑year delay implementing broad‑based SNAP eligibility change
Summary
Senator raised frustration that legislation enacted two years earlier to change SNAP asset rules tied to categorical eligibility has not been implemented; DHS officials said they are still identifying maintenance-of-effort funding and have not submitted a federal funding package yet.
A state senator pressed Department of Human Services officials on Monday over a legislative change intended to expand SNAP eligibility, saying two years have passed without implementation.
Senator (unnamed in transcript) said the change Congress or the Legislature authorized would allow broader asset limits for SNAP recipients if certain criteria were met and expressed frustration at the lack of progress: “And we are 2 years down the road, from the passage of the legislation ... it is a little frustrating that we've not been able to make any progress whatsoever,” the senator said.
Mary Franklin, director of the Division of County Operations at DHS, told the subcommittee the change being discussed is “broad based categorical eligibility” and does not itself require a federal waiver. Franklin said the department must identify maintenance‑of‑effort funds that can be used alongside TANF‑related spending and demonstrate funding eligibility before it can implement the option and inform federal partners.
Franklin explained the department is “working to identify maintenance of effort funds that we can use to create this broadband categorical eligibility requirement,” and that the work remains ongoing. When the senator asked whether the department had submitted a waiver or a formal request to the federal government, Franklin said the option under discussion does not require a waiver but does require the state to present funding and a request in the form set out by the legislation.
The senator said the delay is concerning and suggested the issue needs a follow‑up conversation; Franklin said DHS continues to research and plan the funding alignment and expects further discussions.
Ending: Committee members did not vote on program design—DHS said funding alignment remains outstanding and that the agency will continue discussions to finalize an implementation plan.
