Proposed SNAP asset limit increase hits roadblock as DHS takes action on 2023 law

Yahoo

04-04-2025

Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance Advocacy Director Lance Whitney (right) speaks in favor of House Bill 1915, sponsored by Rep. Jon Eubanks (left), R-Paris, before the House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee on April 3, 2025. (Tess Vrbin/Arkansas Advocate)
Two Arkansas lawmakers expressed frustration Thursday that their efforts to allow food stamp recipients to save more of their income were delayed.
Arkansas is one of 13 states with an asset limit for SNAP recipients. Assets include cash on hand and in the bank, savings certificates and stocks and bonds, among other things.
Sen. Jonathan Dismang, R-Searcy, attempted in 2023 to raise the asset limit from $2,250 to $6,000 for Arkansans to qualify for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. He and Rep. Jon Eubanks, R-Paris, are cosponsoring a bill this year with the same provision, and House Bill 1915 would also require the asset limit to be adjusted for inflation every two years.
HB 1915 did not receive a vote Thursday after members of the House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee said they wanted clarity about how much the change would cost the state.
SNAP is entirely federally-funded with the exception of administrative costs, Department of Human Services Secretary Kristi Putnam said. Even so, Putnam said she opposed new changes to the SNAP asset limit while the state has not yet seen the impact of Act 675, the final version of Dismang's 2023 bill.
Act 675 kept the $2,250 asset limit — which the federal government increased to $3,000 last year — but authorized a USDA waiver request to allow exemptions for individual families with more assets. Those families would have a new asset limit of $5,500 and remain enrolled in SNAP as long as they receive an exemption within a year of exceeding the current limit, and they would only be allowed one exemption every five years. HB 1915 would repeal this provision and replace it with the $6,000 asset limit.
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed Act 675 after it had been amended twice. The original version would have raised the SNAP asset limit to $12,500, but Sanders said she opposed 'expanding welfare,' even after Dismang reduced the proposed limit to $6,000.
Advocates for child well-being call for removal of barriers to Arkansas SNAP participation
Earlier on Thursday, the Arkansas Legislative Council's Executive Subcommittee approved an emergency rule to amend DHS' SNAP Certification Manual with the requirements put forth in Act 675.
When asked why the policy took two years to enact, Putnam told the subcommittee that DHS 'made it more complicated than it needed to be.'
Act 675 and the new emergency rule allow families who qualify for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program to also qualify for SNAP. Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families expressed support for this policy change in a January report that called for the state to remove barriers to SNAP qualification and enrollment.
DHS Division of County Operations Director Mary Franklin told lawmakers in January that enacting Act 675 did not require a USDA waiver as stated in the law, but the department needed to ensure it had the funding to enact the policy.
Dismang said at the time that he was 'disappointed' that Act 675 had not been implemented at all in two years. He repeated this statement in an interview Thursday.
Eubanks similarly expressed disappointment with the lack of action on HB 1915. He told the Public Health committee that he had been under the impression DHS was neutral on the bill.
'How long are we supposed to wait?' Eubanks said. 'I believe we need to move forward on this.'
Republican Reps. Jeremy Wooldridge of Marmaduke and Cameron Cooper of Romance said they were sympathetic to the intent of HB 1915 but wanted to know the fiscal impact of the bill before voting on it.
Putnam said DHS will examine income trends and try to project how many people will remain on SNAP longer under a $6,000 asset limit.
She said DHS will have the fiscal impact report ready by Monday, and committee vice chair Wooldridge said members will vote on the bill Tuesday.
The bill would have to advance with no roadblocks or amendments in order to reach Sanders' desk by the end of the legislative session on April 16, Dismang said.
He also said potential fiscal impact should not be an issue, not only because SNAP is federally funded but also because allowing SNAP recipients to collect more assets while enrolled in the program 'should eliminate some of the turnover that may be occurring right now, so there may actually be a decrease in the demand that's getting placed on DHS.'
'I sure wish they were as diligent running impact [statements] on this as they are with some other bills that have run through the session,' Dismang said.
If HB 1915 does not clear the Legislature by April 16, Dismang said he is willing to try again in 2027, but there might be some ways to address the asset limit 'that do not require legislation' in the meantime.
In addition to Putnam, Opportunity Arkansas CEO Nicholas Horton spoke against HB 1915, saying it would keep low-income people reliant on government aid.
Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance Advocacy Director Lance Whitney disputed Horton's statements while speaking in favor of HB 1915. He said most SNAP beneficiaries are only enrolled in the program for 18 to 22 months on average.
'We are currently looking at seniors, veterans and households who are looking for the ladder to get out of the hole… to get out of these safety net programs, but they need to have the rungs on the ladder to reach that,' Whitney said.
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