The Trump administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act will change how the nation’s biggest food assistance program runs in the Cowboy State. The new law also impacts eligibility requirements.
Currently, the federal government fully funds the food benefits made available through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, otherwise known as SNAP. The feds split administrative costs for things like processing benefits and determining eligibility with states 50-50.
But starting next October, states will take on 75% of those costs, as outlined by the new legislation. That means Wyoming’s Department of Family Services (DFS), which administers SNAP for the state, will need to pay about $3 million per year more than it currently does to keep the program running.
Corrine Livers is the senior administrator for the Economic Security Division at DFS.
“ Currently that money does not live in DFS’ existing budget, so we will have to go to the Legislature to ask for the additional funds to be able to run the SNAP program,” she said.
Livers said if the state doesn’t hold up its side of the bargain, federal law seems to indicate that the funding won’t come through at all.
“ We either get the money or the SNAP program goes away,” she said.
According to Livers, SNAP currently serves about 14,000 Wyoming families every month. But she said that’s only about a third of the number of people who could potentially be eligible for the benefits, based on income and census data.
Eligibility requirements
SNAP eligibility requirements are also shifting because of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
SNAP has general work requirements, and in the past, able-bodied adults ages 18 to 54 without kids also had to meet additional work requirements to qualify for benefits. Under the new law, that age range is extended to 18 to 64.
“ We do anticipate an increase of 35% of individuals who right now do not have that extra work requirement that will then be moved into the additional work requirement,” said Livers.
According to the SNAP Work Requirement web page, those additional work requirements involve any of the following:
- Work at least 80 hours a month. Work can be for pay, for goods or services (for something other than money), unpaid, or as a volunteer
- Participate in a work program at least 80 hours a month. A work program could be SNAP Employment and Training or another federal, state, or local work program
- Participate in a combination of work and work program hours for a total of at least 80 hours a month
- Participate in workfare for the number of hours assigned to you each month
Those additional work requirements now apply to more parents too. Recipients with kids under 18 used to be exempt. Under the new law, that cutoff is 14.
Veterans, people experiencing homelessness and former foster youth under 24 will also no longer immediately qualify for those additional work requirement exemptions.
Although those eligibility changes technically went into effect when the bill was signed into law in July, the USDA Food and Nutrition Service still needs to go through its rulemaking process and issue guidance to states on how to put those changes into practice.
Livers added that DFS will continue to collaborate with community partners to provide support to families as they navigate eligibility changes.
“What can we help with to make sure that family gets to work? What can we offer them to make sure that family gets to work? Do they need childcare? Do they need stable housing? If those things are needed, where can DFS help that family access them?” she said.
Penalties for higher error rates
Starting in October 2027, some states may also be required to fund some of the actual SNAP benefits in addition to administrative costs. The additional price tag will be based on their error rates – i.e. how accurately a state is processing who receives benefits through the program.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act outlines the following payment scale:
- States with error rates below 6% will have no benefit cost-share requirement
- States with an error rate between 6% and 8% must pay for 5% of the SNAP benefit cost
- States with an error rate between 8% and 10% must pay 10% of the SNAP benefit cost
- States with an error rate of 10% or more must pay 15% of the SNAP benefit cost
According to Livers, Wyoming’s current error rate is 5.12%. If the state were to maintain that rate moving forward, it would be exempt from the additional payment.
“ We're going to work hard as we always have,” she said. “ Integrity is an incredible responsibility to the state of Wyoming in issuing these benefits and we'll continue to do that. We anticipate to always continue to be below 6%.”
Livers reflected that the new rules still create something to consider when it comes to policy-making and budget-planning.
“ It's hard for a state to budget for a portion of a cost when you don't know what that percentage is until after that year is done,” she said.
Last fiscal year, the federal government contributed approximately $64 million for SNAP benefits in Wyoming. Each 5% penalty that Wyoming would have to take on if error rates increased would equal about $3.2 million.
In June, 23 governors reached out to Congress expressing their concerns about the changes and their impacts to states’ abilities to administer SNAP. Gov. Mark Gordon did not sign the letter.
Next steps
Livers said that she and her field offices haven’t received any questions about the changes so far. She’s worried that translates to a lack of information about the changes and their implications.
“ [It] tells me that families don't know about it, that it's either not being paid attention to or it's not widely being talked about,” she said. “It's hard to keep track and H.R. 1 [the One Big Beautiful Bill Act] was huge, and so it was hard to tease out what might impact you.”
Livers reflected that food security is a cornerstone in ensuring people’s safety. She said the department would work to roll out the necessary changes and ensure that Wyoming families are taken care of.
“ It's hard for people to wrap their heads around people needing the government's help in getting food, but it really is an incredibly important preventative measure for the health and safety of kids and families,” she said.
The president’s megabill also cut all funding for SNAP-Ed, which helps people learn how to stretch their food dollars. In Wyoming, that will mean a loss of $1.8 million in funding once the program comes to a close this September.
