Chair Lee questions OMB on SNAP cost shifts from HR1 and state budget

Okay, we want to make sure you guys don't stay until dinner time.

So we want to get you guys out.

So we're going to go right into second round questions.

Okay, where do I begin?

Okay, so I'm going to start with the HRA SNAP state and federal funding cost shifts.

So at the General Welfare Committee's executive budget hearing, I brought up the snap cost shifts resulting from HR1.

We had hoped that the state would step up and include this funding in its enacted budget rather than shifting the burden to localities.

The first and most imminent cost shift is $111 million.

for the city's share of the state's new SNAP costs.

The executive plan does not appear to include this funding in HRA's budget to support this.

At the general welfare hearing, HRA testified that this funding will likely need to be added in a future financial plan.

So can you confirm that no funding was included in the enacted state budget to support this?

There was no funding provided, but at the same time, we do not, we have not heard from or had a confirmation from the state that this

$111 million would be passed along as a reduction to the city.

So not in the budget, no confirmation from the state that that will be passed along.

Okay.

And if not, have there been, so you just mentioned there have been conversations with the state about, did they say anything about appropriation of funding towards this in the future?

They didn't.

We obviously, you know, in the lead up to the enacted budget had several conversations and the result, of course, as we talked about.

So but this wasn't something where they indicated or confirmed that this was going to be

a reduction to the city's budget in the same context that we were talking about ways that we were going to receive additional state aid to help us with gap closing.

Okay, and do you think that we'll need to be?

Adding this into the FY27 adopted budget?

Well, I have to wait and see what, if there's confirmation from the state, there was nothing, again, in the enacted budget, so we don't have anything confirmed for the state for us to act on in our budget.

But if it comes to pass in a future plan, then we'll have to reflect it.

We would obviously want to make sure we're engaging with the state to be able to convey what the hardship would be with that $111 million if we had to see that reduction.

Right, because this is definitely going to be a huge impact to the community in New York.

Got to figure this one out.

One of the many conversations we'll be having in the next few weeks.

Okay.

Additionally, starting in October 2027, there will be an additional cost shift to states that could result in a 15% increase in the cost to states.

The rate will depend on the state's error processing rate.

And HRA testified that the state noted that this cost shift would likely impact HRA's budget.

Does OMB have an update on how this cost shift would affect the city's budget?

We're continuing to look at that with the agency and also with our, you know, administration colleagues that are looking at all the actions coming out of the federal government.

And so we don't have any confirmed, you know, information to act upon at this moment.

Okay.

And is there any possibility that implementation of this would be delayed?

Not that we know.