As an increasing number of Florida food-stamp recipients will have to meet work requirements to remain eligible, the state faces a potential hefty bill from the federal government for the program.
Currently, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits — commonly known as food stamps — distributed by the state are fully funded by the federal government.
But under the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” signed this summer by President Donald Trump, that could change on Oct. 1, 2027, when states could be required to contribute money based on payment error rates.
Bridget Royster, assistant secretary for the Florida’s Department of Children and Families’ Economic Self Sufficiency Program, said the agency is working to reduce its payment error rate, which reached 12.6 percent in the 2023-2024 federal fiscal year.
“The department is identifying operational process improvements, policy enhancements and technology solutions to ensure we continue to drive quality,” Royster told the House Human Services Subcommittee on Wednesday. “I’m proud to say we’re moving in the right direction and actively working towards achieving a payment error rate of less than 6 percent.”
In the past fiscal year, DCF oversaw the distribution of $6.8 billion in federal food assistance to 2.3 million households, according to the agency.
States with error rates below 6 percent would continue to be fully covered by the federal government, under the new law. Those with rates between 6 percent and 7.99 percent would be required to contribute 5 percent of the costs.
If demand for SNAP remained unchanged from the past fiscal year, an error rate within that range could result in a $340 million share from Florida for the program. And Florida’s share would increase based on higher error rates.
State payments would reach 15 percent if the error rate tops 10 percent.
The error rate isn’t based on fraud but overpayments and underpayments. Benefits are calculated based on household sizes and net monthly incomes, which can change and might not be immediately reported.
Royster said the state had allowed individuals to self-attest wages, rent and utility costs, but now requires recipients to document housing costs and utility charges.
The state’s error rate was 8.1 percent in the 2022-2023 federal fiscal year and hasn’t been below 6 percent since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Florida’s error rate for the past federal fiscal year is currently calculated at 15.13 percent, but that isn’t based on the full year.
Royster pointed to a series of hurricanes as a contributing factor to the growth in the error rates the past few years.
Meanwhile, 181,217 Floridians receiving federal food stamps were moved under work-requirement rules with the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”
Royster said the number is up from 16,452 in 2023.
“This is an estimate based on the guidance the department has received from our federal partners,” Royster said. “And this number could change based upon further clarification as requirements are applied.”
In 2024, Florida lawmakers expanded the ages for able-bodied adults without children or other qualifiers to meet work requirements for SNAP benefits if they were between the ages of 18 and 59. The age range had been 18 to 54.
The law signed by Trump on July 1, increased the upper age to 64 and removed exemptions from the work requirement for homeless people, veterans and former foster youths under age 24.
Another 9,753 people in Florida from other countries who are listed as asylees, refugees, victims of trafficking and parolees were also made ineligible for SNAP under the federal law, according to department data.
–Jim Turner, News Service of Florida
Leave a Reply