Proposal would require citizenship checks for Georgia families to access food aid

State House lawmakers approved new requirements for families applying for food assistance in what was one of the final votes on a key legislative deadline day, with the proposal passing after midnight Saturday. 

However, advocates have pushed back on the legislation, arguing that the changes would not adequately address errors within the system and urging lawmakers to instead increase funding for the department that oversees the program.

House Bill 947, sponsored by Dallas Republican Rep. Martin Momtahan, would implement new data-matching and verification procedures for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participants, including a check of their citizenship status, before a family can access benefits. It would also prevent families enrolled in the program from using their benefits to purchase food or drinks “in a food service establishment,” or any beverages, such as a coffee or smoothie, that are “prepared, mixed, or blended in a food sales establishment” like a convenience store.

Proponents of the bill say the changes are aimed at reducing Georgia’s payment error rate for the federal food aid program. That can be caused either by unintentional mistakes from the applicant, such as a recipient forgetting to report a change in how many people live in the household, or by a processing error, such as a government agency incorrectly calculating a household’s expenses. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Georgia’s error rate currently sits at 15.56%, and critics say the changes may actually worsen error rates while making it harder for families to access food.

Red states target SNAP fraud, errors under threat of costly federal penalties

The federal government currently pays for SNAP benefits and splits administration costs 50/50 with states. But starting in October, all states will be on the hook for 75% of their own administrative costs due to changes implemented under last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The new law also allows the feds to penalize states for their SNAP errors, requiring them to pay from 5%-15% of their benefit costs if their error rates are over 6%.

“If that error rate remains this high, Georgia taxpayers will face substantial federal callback penalties,” Momtahan said.

His bill, he added, “ensures that SNAP benefits are going to families who truly qualify, while protecting Georgia’s taxpayers from federal penalties.”

Rep. Robert Dickey, a Musella Republican, also urged lawmakers to pass the measure.

“This bill is about keeping us out of federal penalties,” he said. “If you want money for these children and for families that need it, this bill is needed so we do not fall into the trap of hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars going back to Washington because our error rate is high.”

An earlier version of the bill had restricted SNAP benefits from being used to purchase candy, energy drinks and juices with less than 50% fruit or vegetable juice, as well as some sodas and desserts. However, those restrictions had been removed from the legislation by the time it reached the House floor for a vote.

House Democrats criticized the bill, arguing that the restrictions on what SNAP recipients could purchase would unnecessarily penalize struggling families.

“A working parent in an urban food desert who purchases prepared food because their schedule and circumstances do not allow for home cooking is not making a frivolous choice,” said Rep. Inga Willis, an Atlanta Democrat. “They are making the best choice available to them given the constraints of their everyday lives.”

“What this bill does not do is change those constraints,” she continued. “It does not mandate that healthy, affordable food options be available to recipients before their current options are taken away. It simply removes options and leaves recipients to manage the consequences.”

Separately, lawmakers are also recommending that the state allocate nearly $11 million within next year’s budget to fund 319 additional compliance roles within the Georgia Department of Human Services — which is responsible for dispersing federal SNAP funds to Georgia residents — in an effort to reduce payment error rates.

Advocacy groups, such as Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta, say the additional documents required under the bill, such as those used to verify applicants’ immigration status, could pose barriers to families applying for food assistance, particularly if there is a language barrier involved.

“Paperwork really is a burden and can make or break whether or not someone is able to get through the process,” said the group’s policy director, Jennifer Lee.

A new provision requiring applicants to report the immigration status of their family members could also lead to a drop in the number of applicants within immigrant communities, even those who are legally present in the country, Lee said. The federal government has also made moves to monitor the immigration status of people using programs like Medicaid.

“I think the chilling effect is already occurring now, actually, around people not wanting to have contact with government programs, even if they’re eligible, just because of fear of how their data will be used,” she said.

The Georgia Budget and Policy Institute also voiced concerns that the additional verification requirements outlined in the bill could prevent eligible families from accessing the program, which could increase the error rates.

“We often think about errors as overpayments, but they are also underpayments,” said Ife Finch Floyd, the institute’s director of economic justice. “It really just is about accuracy and making sure that that family or household is getting the benefits that they are eligible for.”

As the bill advances, Floyd added, she hopes to see policies that help support the Department of Human Services as it implements the changes required under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

“We need to do more to support that agency, not create more burdensome administrative processes that are not going to help them in the long run and are certainly not going to help SNAP recipients,” Floyd said.

The bill passed the House with a 95-66 vote and is now awaiting action in the Senate. The Legislature adjourns April 2.