Over 2/3’s of States Will Not Close the Gap
Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1), the federal share of SNAP administrative costs for states will be reduced by 50% from 50% to 25% of the total, requiring states to cover 75% of SNAP administrative costs starting October 1, 2026, the start of federal fiscal year (FFY) 2027. The USDA estimated in its Regulatory Impact Analysis that federal administrative spending on the SNAP program will decrease by about $16.9 billion over FFYs 27 to 31 and assumes the shift will have a negligible impact on SNAP benefit spending and participation. In other words, USDA assumes that administration spending will be absorbed by states with no effect on low-income SNAP recipients including how quickly states process applications.
Nearly 70% of states (37 states) that have increased their SNAP administrative funding in response to the law are still below the USDA’s estimated annual increase in state spending for SFY 27. Nine states still have not increased their SNAP administrative funding for SFY 27 (19%), while two states and territories have made increases, the amount of which is unclear due to lack of information from the state government. See full analysis below.