Federal cuts to SNAP benefits that 459,500 New Mexicans depend on for food assistance could soon be offset by $192 million in state dollars, under the bill that will be taken up during Monday’s special legislative session.
The announcement came on Monday during a press conference held by New Mexico House Democrats and came just before the special session to address SNAP benefits was scheduled to get underway at noon.
“The legislation we are taking up in this special session will allow the state to provide food benefits for New Mexicans until federal funding is restored, or the next legislative session on January 20, whichever comes first. New Mexicans will receive this funding while it’s needed on their EBT cards on a weekly basis,” House Majority Floor Leader Reena Szczepanski (D-Santa Fe) said at the press conference.
House Speaker Javier Martinez (D-Albuquerque) said the legislation will be funded using $162 million in unspent money that had been allocated to the Healthcare Authority and $30 million from the General Fund that will be transferred to the governor’s contingency fund to replace dollars already used this month to cover ten days’ worth of benefits.
Szczepanski said the legislation will contain reversion provisions so that state-funded SNAP benefit payments cease once full federal benefits resume. Later, the House Appropriations and Finance Committee amended the bill to include a provision that allocates $50,000 for a review of the spending to ensure that SNAP recipients are getting the proper amount of benefits.
The call issued by Lt. Gov. Howie Morales, who is acting governor while Lujan Grisham is in Brazil at a climate change conference, also authorizes lawmakers to appropriate money for the judiciary for updating security measures and systems and to cover expenses related to the session.
The special session comes as the Trump administration is clashing with federal courts over whether they must provide states with the full $9 billion to cover SNAP benefits for November during the 40-day government shutdown.
On Saturday, the governor’s office announced that full benefits would be paid out by the state after the Trump administration agreed to abide by a court order requiring the administration to pay out full SNAP benefits. The Trump administration, however, later changed course, with the United States Department of Agriculture directing states in a memo to undo the issuance of full SNAP benefits and only pay out partial benefits.
In the memo, the USDA threatened to hold states liable for paying out full SNAP benefits.