MCLENNAN COUNTY, Texas (KXXV) — More than three million Texans rely on SNAP benefits, and a new federal cost-sharing requirement could force the state to pay hundreds of millions of dollars it has never had to budget before.
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The program pumps $7 billion in federal funds into Texas's economy each year. But under new rules tied to the "Big Beautiful Bill," states must now share the cost of SNAP for the first time in nearly 60 years — and if a state's payment error rate is too high, taxpayers could foot the bill.
The threshold is 6%. If Texas processes benefits incorrectly more than 6% of the time, the state must pay up to 10% of all SNAP costs.
Celia Cole, CEO of Feeding Texas, said the state is already above that threshold.
"If our error rate stays where it was last year, which is about 7.8%, that's above the threshold, then we could face roughly a 709 million dollar annual cost share," Cole said.
Cole said error rates climbed during the pandemic, when record numbers of Texans needed help and state workers were overwhelmed. She is now lobbying Congress for a two-year delay to give Texas time to improve its accuracy — a delay already granted to Alaska, Florida, and other states.
Without that delay, Cole said the state's options are limited.
"There are not a lot of options. It's either fund the cost share entirely or walk away from the program," Cole said.
She also warned that a cost-sharing requirement could lead lawmakers to look for ways to reduce how many Texans qualify for benefits.
"We are concerned that if there is a cost share, the legislature could look for every opportunity to reduce enrollment by limiting eligibility," Cole said.
Food banks are already seeing longer lines. SNAP enrollment has dropped 10% since the new rules took effect, and Cole cautioned that deeper cuts could devastate rural communities, where small stores depend on SNAP customers.
She stressed that food banks cannot replace the scale of the federal program.
"Food banks are very important, but we work in concert with SNAP. We are not interchangeable, so we cannot operate at a scale that SNAP operates," Cole said.
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