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Tennessee DHS warns SNAP administrative costs could shift to state under HR1; Healthy SNAP pilot set for July
Summary
DHS Commissioner Clarence H. Carter told the committee that federal HR1 proposals shift SNAP administrative costs toward states and could require Tennessee to pay roughly $58.3 million for nine months of the change; DHS also said USDA approved Tennessee's Healthy SNAP waiver, launching July 31, 2026.
Clarence H. Carter, commissioner of the Department of Human Services, told lawmakers the federal legislative proposals in HR1 would shift significant SNAP administration costs onto states. "The cost of that to the state is $58,334,700 for 9 months," Carter said, describing the department's supplemental request to cover the first period of the change.
Carter also raised a second, related concern: the new federal approach ties some benefit costs to state SNAP error rates. He said Tennessee's most recent error rate was 9.47% and that penalties can begin when a state's error rate exceeds 6%.
Separately, DHS staff said USDA approved Tennessee's Healthy SNAP waiver (a pilot limiting certain high‑sugar or processed purchases), scheduled to go live July 31, 2026; DHS is still drafting the evaluation plan and said it will follow up with the committee on survey sampling and program metrics.
Provenance: topicintro SEG 1690, topfinish SEG 1860.
