Utah DWS requests $13.3M to shield SNAP from federal cost shifts under HR1

SALT LAKE CITY — The Department of Workforce Services asked the Economic and Community Development Appropriation Subcommittee to approve $13,300,000 in general fund to cover new state responsibilities for administering the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) created by the federal reconciliation package frequently referred to in testimony as HR 1.

“That is our top request as an agency,” Director Casey Cameron told the subcommittee, saying the change shifts costs from the federal government to states and that Utah’s request is small compared with many states. Deputy Director Kevin Burt said the department expects the state’s administrative share to rise from a 50/50 split to a 75/25 split for administration, beginning in October of the transition year, and that the requested funds cover the increased state share of administration rather than a benefit expansion.

The federal law also introduces a mechanism that could — depending on a state's SN A P payment error rate — require states to pay a share of some SNAP benefit costs beginning in 2027. Burt said Utah’s most recent six-month submitted error rate is 4.82 percent, below the 6 percent threshold that would trigger a benefits cost share. “Utah consistently is below that 6% error rate,” Burt said.

Why it matters: HR 1’s changes could shift billions of dollars of costs to states if error rates are high; the subcommittee’s action on the budget request could determine whether Utah maintains staffing and systems that staff say keep the state below the write‑down threshold. Burt warned that without the $13.3 million, DWS would likely have to reduce staffing in eligibility determination units, which could increase the state’s error rate and risk future cost shifts.

The department described several strategies it says helped lower error rates, including a statewide integrated eligibility model, expanded electronic verification to reduce document collection and human error, and transparent performance measures the committee can track. Burt said federal regression testing can still alter the submitted error rate and that the number is not final.

The committee did not take a final vote on the request during the hearing. Staff said the fiscal analyst and legislators would review year‑to‑year variances to determine whether the $13.3 million will remain stable in future budgets.