Key Points:

• Arizona senator proposes bill to reduce SNAP payment errors

• Bill requires monthly or quarterly reviews of recipients’ eligibility

• Arizona’s SNAP error rate may cost the state $139 million by 2028

An Arizona senator is looking to decrease the state’s error rate for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program payments to avoid paying more money to the federal government in the future. 

Sen. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, pre-filed a bill that would direct the Department of Economic Security to work with three state agencies and four federal agencies to conduct monthly or quarterly reviews of individuals’ eligibility information for changes in circumstances. Such reviews would include earnings of $3,000 or more from gambling, employment status, changes in residency, incarceration and changes in income or wages. 

The bill would also require the Department of Economic Security to publish the amounts of money that were obtained from noncompliance, fraud investigations and the amount of improper payments, among other requirements. 

At least monthly, the Department of Health Services and the Department of Economic Security would review information from federal sources to assess a recipient’s continued eligibility for SNAP. Those include earned income information, supplemental security income and pension information. It also includes employment information, child support enforcement data and national fleeing felon information maintained by the FBI. 

“It attempts to get rid of errors and cheating on SNAP,” Kavanagh said. “And, as we found out just recently, if we don’t do this, it’s gonna cost the state a lot more administrative money.”

The federal government funds 100% of SNAP benefits, but both the state and federal governments pay 50% of the administrative costs of the program. Now, under President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, states may have to pay more money in their share if the state’s error rate is above the federal error rate of 6%. 

Arizona’s error rate is 8.84% for Fiscal Year 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. According to an Arizona Joint Legislative Budget Committee analysis of the federal budget bill and its impact on Arizona’s state budget, the error rate is expected to increase to 10.4%. 

If the state’s error rate is between 8% and 10% in either Fiscal Year 2025 or 2026, the state would be responsible for 10% of the SNAP benefit cost, or to the tune of about $139 million in Fiscal Year 2028. If the error rate increases from 10% to 13.3%, the state would pay $208 million in FY2028. But during the first two years of implementation, if the error rate is above 13.3%, the state would not be required to contribute. 

“I’m suspecting the governor will not be so quick to veto this bill now that there’s a penalty for maintaining our higher than permitted level of error,” Kavanagh said.