Georgia Preparing for Additional Snap Costs

THE CENTER SQUARE—Georgia is prepared to incur additional administrative fees for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and its high error rate gives the state more time to begin paying part of the benefit costs, according to the Department of Human Services.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump on July 4 last year, requires states to shoulder 75% of the program’s burden, an increase of 25%. Gov. Brian Kemp included $5.9 million in the fiscal year 2027 to account for the increase.

The legislation also requires states with an error rate of more than 6% to pay part of the benefits, which begin Oct. 1, and could be as high as 15%.

Georgia has the fifth-highest error rate in the country at 15.21%, but the bill gives states with rates higher than 13.34% extra time to reduce their rates.

As of May 31, the state had 651,073 active SNAP cases tied to 1,319,188 individuals, according to the Department of Human Services. The state distributed $244.8 million in SNAP benefits during May, according to the Department of Human Services.

If the state were forced to pay the required 10% of benefit costs as a penalty for its high error rate, it would put taxpayers on the hook for $24.5 million just for one month.

The department’s efforts to reduce the error rate include improving the Georgia Gateway eligibility system, the program beneficiaries use to manage their benefits. Case reviews are more rigorous, and staff members are undergoing expanded training, according to the department.

“The department has also launched a formal market survey to identify proven technology solutions and has submitted waiver requests to federal regulators seeking authority to automate more of the eligibility process, which would further reduce the staff-level and client-submission mistakes that drive most payment errors,” a department spokeswoman wrote in an email to The Center Square. “Georgia is committed to getting this right for the individuals and families who depend on SNAP, and we will continue pursuing every available tool to improve accuracy and program integrity.”

New SNAP error rates released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday show more than $10 billion in improper payments nationwide.

Tennessee Republican Rep. Tim Burchett, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency, said in a social media post that he is introducing two bills that would address fraud.

One would restrict Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits to U.S. citizens only. The second bill increases fines for what he called retail trafficking of SNAP benefits to up to $500,000.