PSC commissioner pushes SNAP-for-water bills idea even after colleagues reject it

By Alex Rozier | Originally published by Mississippi Today

The lone Democrat on the Mississippi Public Service Commission is looking to spur momentum for allowing SNAP benefits to go toward water utility bills. But the other two members of the PSC, both Republicans, rejected during a meeting Tuesday a resolution to support a change to state policy that he said would be the first of its kind.

Central District Public Service Commissioner De’Keither Stamps, who announced the initiative over the weekend, said he will continue to advocate for the idea, including with a letter to Gov. Tate Reeves.

“There are a lot of people who want to put more money into our (water) systems, but how about we just use the money we already receive?” Stamps asked at Tuesday’s meeting, arguing that the added revenue for water systems would help prevent rate increases and keep bills affordable for customers. “People should be able to pay for the water that comes to their house, no matter the delivery system.”

The commissioner reasoned that SNAP recipients are already using those benefits to buy bottled water, so the state should allow that money to support Mississippi’s public utilities, many of which are struggling to stay afloat financially.

SNAP is a federal assistance program to help low-income families afford food and is operated at the state level through the Mississippi Department of Human Services.

Even with state support, the idea would require federal approval, Stamps acknowledged. But the commissioner said officials he’s heard from around the country back the proposal, and Mississippi should be the place to spearhead it.

“We don’t have to follow Washington, D.C. all the time,” he said, later comparing it to when states created their own laws around abortion and marijuana. “We can spur them into action. If we do this as a state, I don’t believe the federal government is going to come after Mississippi for allowing people who can’t afford a water bill an alternative way to pay.”

Mark Jones, MDHS’ chief communications officer, confirmed to Mississippi Today that such a change in state policy wouldn’t comply with federal law. There is a set list of items allowed to be purchased through SNAP, such as fruits, vegetables, meat and dairy products, Jones explained.

After the COVID-19 pandemic, federal lawmakers created a temporary program, Low Income Household Water Assistance Program, that filled a similar need helping families pay their water utility bills. But that program expired in 2022, and efforts to reestablish the program since then have stalled in Congress.

After Stamps advocated for a resolution supporting the proposal at Tuesday’s meeting, neither Southern District Public Service Commissioner Wayne Carr nor Northern District Public Service Commissioner Chris Brown offered any comment, and the item failed.

“We’re going to keep pushing this issue until it’s done,” Stamps said in an interview after the meeting. “We’re not going to stop because people don’t see it.”

This article was originally published by Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Source: Original Article