States can’t be passive on SNAP
With Washington changing the SNAP cost-sharing formula, states with high payment error rates could soon be on the hook for hundreds of millions.
Madison Ray argues in Governing that legislators should get ahead of the shift by improving program integrity and requiring scrutiny of “guidance” that quietly reshapes state policy. More broadly, she makes the case that state legislatures can no longer afford to be passive administrators of federal programs.
State lawmakers must step into the void, strengthening oversight now so state budgets and vulnerable families aren’t left paying the price later. There is also a broader responsibility to federal taxpayers.
Given the fiasco in Minnesota, I can’t think of a better time for state legislatures to be proactive with added oversight of federal dollars before lax oversight invites the kind of waste and scandal that erodes trust in safety-net programs.
— The Federalism Beat