Maryland lawmakers consider tapping rainy day fund to backfill SNAP if federal payments stop Nov. 1

Leaders of Maryland’s Appropriations Committee and the General Assembly’s Budget and Tax Committee convened a joint briefing to consider whether state funds should temporarily replace federal SNAP benefits after the U.S. Department of Agriculture told states it would not issue November payments during the federal government shutdown.

The discussion centered on a short-term plan to cover likely November benefits — roughly $123 million based on August caseloads — by using the governor’s emergency authority to tap the state’s rainy day fund, and on legal and technical constraints that could delay reimbursement or the timing of payments.

David Romans, fiscal analyst with the Department of Legislative Services, told the committees: "As of August ... there were about 372,000 households in Maryland that were receiving SNAP benefits. That included 668,000 people. They received in the month of August the benefits, totaling a $123,000,000 as were federally funded benefits, and the average benefit per recipient was about a $184." Romans said USDA directed states on Oct. 10 to withhold November issuance files and later told states it would not pay benefits unless the shutdown ends. He added that media reports put the federal SNAP contingency fund between $5 billion and $6 billion but that USDA has issued guidance saying it will not use that fund for November benefits.

Romans and multiple lawmakers described the clearest, fastest state…