S257 - 2026 Appropriations Act. (SL 2026-41)

The amount to be withheld (SNAP benefit cost-share amount) is equal to the sum of a flat assessment, which is applicable to every county, plus a proportional assessment, which applies to every county for which a payment error rate (PER) dollar amount is attributable. Using this formula, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) must, on or before October 1 of each year, calculate and notify the Secretary of each county's SNAP benefit cost‑share amount, which will be withheld from sales tax allocations in equal monthly installments and remitted to DHHS to pay the State's fiscal obligation.

DHHS must submit a report on the assessment amounts, by county, to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services (JLOC HHS) by February 1 of each year.

DHHS is required to use the State PER for the 2024‑2025 federal fiscal year for the first federal fiscal year that the cost‑sharing is implemented, unless the 2025‑2026 federal fiscal year results in a lesser cost‑sharing fiscal obligation for the State, in which case the PER for the 2025‑2026 federal fiscal year must be used. DHHS is required to submit, by February 1, 2027, an initial report to JLOC HHS and the Fiscal Research Division that includes the status of the implementation of this provision, the assessment amounts by county, and any recommendations.

The provisions requiring the county sales tax withholdings and the annual reporting requirement, other than the initial report, and specifying the applicable State PER for the first federal fiscal year the cost‑sharing obligation is in place, become effective October 1, 2027. The provision requiring the initial report due February 1, 2027, became effective July 1, 2026.