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Senate committee raises SNAP asset limit and indexes it to inflation after contentious hearing
Summary
The committee approved SB 675 to raise the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) asset limit to a number discussed near $5,070–$5,500 for individuals and to index the limit to inflation; DHS said the change affects assets only and estimated a small increase in participants but could not give precise projections; opponents warned of fiscal expansion.
Senators on the Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee approved SB 675 after extensive testimony from banking advocates, DHS officials and opponents about the likely scope and fiscal impact of raising SNAP asset limits.
Terry Benham of Impact Management Group (client: Southern Bancorp) urged the committee to increase the asset cap and index it for inflation, citing examples of people avoiding banks to preserve SNAP eligibility. Benham said the amendment raises the individual asset limit and ties it to inflation on a biannual basis; he cited Texas as a comparative state and said higher limits can help families bank assets.
Mark White of the Department of Human Services described implementation considerations and said the change affects only asset tests—"It does not affect the income requirements"—and that DHS lacked precise data to predict how many people would be added. DHS director Mary Franklin told senators there are roughly 304,000 individuals participating in SNAP, the equivalent of over 100,000 households; a 4 percent estimate mentioned in committee discussion would translate to roughly 12,000 individuals, according to committee math, but DHS cautioned data are limited.
Jamie Barker, representing the Opportunity Solutions Project, argued the change would expand welfare costs by millions annually and said indexed increases would erode legislative control over program size. "Even at that 4% number... that's about 14,000 people, that would become newly eligible... which equates to about $15,000,000 a year in new taxpayer money," Barker said.
Committee discussion probed whether the national average or prior proposals informed estimates and whether the fiscal note would accommodate the change. Sponsor and proponents emphasized access and facilitating banking for low‑income families; opponents raised fiscal and fraud concerns. After amendment negotiation and sponsor closing, the committee passed SB 675 by voice vote.
The bill includes an automatic biannual inflation adjustment and will require DHS to implement any administrative changes. Committee testimony left several numeric projections uncertain; DHS signaled it would provide further data as available.
