SNAP Benefits Update As Eligibility Could Be Expanded in One State

Alaskans may soon get easier access to SNAP benefits thanks to a bill that would relax eligibility requirements.

SB 149, introduced on Tuesday, February 13, has proposed a range of changes to who is eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in America's northernmost state. Most notably, it would increase the household income requirement from 130 percent of the federal poverty line to 200 percent.

SNAP benefits provide monthly funds for low and no-income households throughout the U.S. that would otherwise struggle to afford adequate groceries. The funds are paid by the federal government and administered by state-level officials across the country, with not every state having the same household income requirements.

The household income requirement change is being proposed under the broad-based categorical eligibility (BBCE) policy enacted by the federal government.

Senate Majority Leader Cathy Giessel wrote in her sponsor letter that by implementing BBCE policy to increase the income requirement will prevent the "benefits cliff" that can cause families to "choose between feeding their families or accepting a pay increase."

"This cliff encourages a continued reliance on the program while discouraging self-sufficiency and financial stability," she wrote in the letter.

The bill will also see the creation of a new online application system and waive the SNAP asset test. Giessel, a Republican, said that administering "error prone" asset tests for all SNAP applicants will reduce staff time spent on processing applications, especially during periods of increased demand where "efficiency is crucial."

"By addressing the limitations of the current system and aligning with modernization efforts, BBCE emerges as a timely and strategic solution to the challenges faced by working families and seniors in Alaska," Giessel continued. "It is not merely a policy adjustment but a transformative step towards building a more reliant and prosperous future for Alaska and its residents."

Alaska Representative Genevieve Mina, a supporter of the bill, told Newsweek that the state has the "highest error rate in U.S. in processing SNAP applications." She said that the implementation of BBCE will help "reduce the application processing time by 90 minutes each, lightening the load on eligibility technicians, which is significant for backlogs that amount to tens of thousands of applications."

According to the sponsor letter, one in eight Alaskans could benefit from the changes brought forward by the bill.

As well as the bill, Giessel told Newsweek that food banks are being additionally funded to help the state's hungriest residents. "We have, in the governor's supplemental budget request for FY 2024, an appropriation of $3 million to provide grant funding to food banks, pantries and other organizations to provide food to Alaskans," she said. "In the FY2025 budget there is a proposed $1.5 million for food banks and pantries to make bulk purchases in an effort to promote food security."

The bill has been supported by the Food Bank of Alaska. "The current structure that SNAP is being administrated with kind of disincentivizes work and so by allowing families to save and get off the program, and also by eliminating the benefits cliff, it will incentivize and allow working families to be able to take that second job, to be able to accept raises," Ron Meehand, the director of government affairs at the non-profit group, told Alaska News Source.

"Right now, if you make even a dollar more [per hour], you ultimately end up losing benefits and can end up worse off."

Update 2/16/24, 3:45 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Genevieve Mina and Cathy Giessel.