One of the impacts of President Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill passed earlier this year is that states will have to pay more to administer food stamp programs.
To keep staffing and resources steady, Florida would have to increase how much it spends on administering its Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP by about $50 million.
But that spending could help the state avoid greater costs. Another part of the Big Beautiful Bill requires states to pay a portion of their SNAP benefits if they have high error rates.
Florida’s rate last year was 15 percent. Under the rule, the states with high error rates would have to cover the cost of up to 15 percent of the SNAP benefits its residents receive starting in 2027.
Tampa Republican Representative Karen Gonzalez-Pittman said during a committee meeting Tuesday that’s something to consider as lawmakers decide how much to spend on administrative costs.
“That's going to cost us billions of dollars. So, is it a badge of courage to say that we have a lean administrative cost if we are going to have to pay billions of dollars out,” she said.
Error rates nationally have skyrocketed since the COVID-19 pandemic. Florida’s rate was at 5 percent in 2019. If it got back to that threshold, the state wouldn’t have to cover any portion of its residents’ benefits.
The Florida Department of Children and Families has submitted a budget request to make up that $50 million difference, but whether it is funded will be decided this legislative session.