Red tape could cost Mississippi $120 million in SNAP penalties, lawmakers warned

Mississippi could pay at least $120 million more a year to run its food assistance program unless lawmakers simplify reporting requirements, state Sen. Daniel Sparks and anti-hunger experts told Mississippi Today.

The state’s 2024 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program error rate of 10.69% would place Mississippi in a bracket that triggers the maximum penalty under a recent federal law that shifts some SNAP costs to states, Mississippi Today reported. How much a state pays is tied to its error rate, which measures how accurately officials determine eligibility and payment amounts.

Experts and lawmakers blame a 2017 state law, the HOPE Act, which eliminated so-called simplified reporting and instead requires recipients to report any income, household or address change within 10 days. Gina Plata-Nino, director of SNAP at the Food Research and Action Center, said Mississippi’s change-reporting system creates more paperwork, strains the agency and increases mistakes.

“When you only have 10 days to get this done, to not lose benefits, it does create more of a barrier for individuals and for the state agency,” Plata-Nino told Mississippi Today. She said payment errors usually reflect administrative and technical issues rather than intentional fraud.

Sen. Sparks has proposed legislation to simplify SNAP paperwork and placed the proposal in a House bill that extends the Department of Human Services’ reauthorization, Mississippi Today reported. House members last week sent the bill to a small negotiating group rather than sending it to the governor. Officials at the Mississippi Department of Human Services declined to comment; the agency’s director, Bob Anderson, has previously said he supports the Senate proposal, Mississippi Today reported. Lawmakers have until March 30 to file an initial negotiated proposal to keep the measure alive, the report said.

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