Hicks-Hudson Condemns SNAP Funding Changes in H.B. 730

Today, state Senator Paula Hicks-Hudson (D-Toledo) issued the following statement after Republicans in the Ohio Senate passed House Bill 730, a capital reappropriations bill that also changes how the state distributes administrative funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to underfund the program in Ohio’s largest and highest-need counties.

“This distribution of SNAP funds for Ohio’s counties is not only inequitable, but also short-sighted,” said Hicks-Hudson. “The counties serving the largest populations of SNAP recipients will now receive less funds. The counties that keep the state’s SNAP error rates low will have less funds. The staff who process applications and address fraud, waste, and abuse will be reduced. 

“Residents of all 88 Ohio counties will soon experience the consequences of this shortfall. There will be cuts to JFS staff, longer wait times on applications, and less GRF funds due to loss in federal backing for the SNAP program when error rates rise, which means that every Ohioan will soon suffer the consequences of this rash Majority decision.”

Cuts to SNAP under the federal spending bill (H.R.1) created an estimated $38.2 million immediate administrative shortfall for Ohio’s SNAP program. To address this, Statehouse Republicans allocated $12.5 million distributed equally across all 88 counties, rather than by caseload, leaving urban counties facing multimillion-dollar shortfalls while fully funding smaller counties.

The bill now heads to the governor for his signature.