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NCSL Updates
9 Things to Know About the Proposed SAVE Act
If passed, the law will affect how prospective voters get registered and preempt state voter registration processes. NCSL breaks it down for you. Read more
Insights on SNAP Funding | What Could a $230B Cut Mean for States?
SNAP operates as an entitlement program in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The program is the nation’s largest antihunger program, providing nutrition support to over 40 million low-income people—over 12% of the U.S. population—according to a report by the Pew Research Center. (American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands and Puerto Rico receive a fixed amount of federal food assistance in the form of a block grant).
States could collectively see a 20.6% reduction in SNAP funds over 10 years if SNAP were to take the full brunt of $230 billion in reductions that the U.S. House Agriculture Committee has been charged with finding. This translates into potential SNAP funding reductions of $22.1 billion in 2026, ranging from $13 million (Wyoming) to over $2.9 billion (California), according to Commonwealth Fund modeling. Estimates for all 50 states may be found here. The Commonwealth report also estimates that 143,000 jobs would be lost across the country and that state and local tax revenues could fall by $1.8 billion in the first year. Every state would be impacted.
Specific changes to SNAP funding are still to be determined as Congress works through the budget reconciliation process. One proposal that has gained traction is imposing a state cost-share for SNAP benefits for the first time. Currently, the federal government pays 100% of the benefit and splits the program’s administrative costs with states. Modeling by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that even a modest 5% cost-share would result in a shift to the states of more than $44 billion in expenses over 10 years.
Other SNAP changes are also under consideration. A House Republican budget document released earlier in the year identified a number of possible federal savings, including:
- Repeal of the increase to the Thrifty Food Plan: The basis for determining SNAP benefits that had been required by the 2018 Farm Bill ($274 billion in savings over 10 years).
- Imposition of expanded SNAP work requirements: Increasing the current upper age limit that able-bodied adults without dependents are required to work from 54 to 56 ($5 billion in savings over 10 years).
- Ending broad-based categorical eligibility: An important state flexibility that reduces administrative burden for states ($10 billion in savings over 10 years).
NCSL will continue to monitor the budget process and share resources that affect states as specific proposals emerge.
NCSL on the Hill
NCSL staff met with several new Trump administration intergovernmental affairs officials last week at the Departments of Transportation, Energy and Agriculture to introduce the organization and its work, share information about our priorities, and seek insights into the goals of the agencies in the coming months. Officials voiced a desire to work with NCSL and receive input from state legislators. NCSL will continue its advocacy efforts with these and other agencies as the administration continues to develop and implement its policy objectives throughout the year. NCSL is working to set up virtual meetings for its standing committee members and these administration staffers. Stay tuned
NCSL staff were also on Capitol Hill for initial conversations with Senate Environment and Public Works Committee staff regarding surface transportation reauthorization. NCSL emphasized the importance of increased formula funding, flexibility and state consultation. NCSL will continue its advocacy efforts as Congress shapes this legislation in the coming months, and NCSL anticipates submitting additional comments to committee staff early this summer.
NCSL is also working on a letter to the Hill in support of funding for the Second Chance Act, which supports programs and services for individuals returning to communities after incarceration. First enacted in 2008 and reauthorized in 2018, the act has successfully reduced recidivism rates and addressed people’s reentry needs.
Executive Actions Update
Stay up to date on the evolving presidential action landscape with NCSL’s executive action tracker.
Administration Updates
Education Department Reopens Income-Driven Repayment and Loan Consolidation Applications
The online application form for these programs had been temporarily closed while the department said it was determining how it would comply with a court injunction that ceased implementation of the Saving on a Valuable Education repayment plan. Borrowers can now apply for the Income-Based Repayment, Pay As You Earn and Income-Contingent Repayment Plans; they may also apply to consolidate their loans. Read more
Court Updates
Justices Affirm Ghost Guns Federal Regulation
The Supreme Court held in Bondi v. Vanderstok that a 2022 federal rule interpreting the Gun Control Act of 1968 includes sellers of ghost guns or “weapon parts kits,” which are firearms assembled with parts or as kits and lack serial numbers. The court ruled that these weapon parts kits are firearms as defined by federal law. It reasoned that although a ghost gun must be assembled to become usable, it is still a “weapon of combat,” just as a table bought from a retailer is still a table even though the buyer must assemble it first. Pursuant to the court’s holding, ghost gun sellers and manufacturers must obtain a federal gun license, keep sales records, conduct background checks and mark their products with serial numbers before transferring the kit or firearms parts to a purchaser. Read the full opinion.
Supreme Court Hears Louisiana Redistricting Map Case
The justices heard arguments last week in Louisiana v. Callais, a case challenging the redistricting map approved by the Louisiana Legislature last year. The congressional district map, which created a second majority Black district, was challenged by a group of self-described “non-African American” voters and subsequently thrown out by a lower federal court. The state argued in favor of reinstating the map, with the Louisiana attorney general telling the court that the state did not want to be forced to return to court in the fall with a new redistricting map if the justices did not overturn the lower court. Read more
Justices Rule Crimes Committed by Inaction Can Still Be Crimes of Violence
The Supreme Court held in Delligatti v. United States that omission of a legal duty meets the requirements of New York’s second-degree murder statute even though the offender was not the actual cause of the victim’s death.
Salvatore Delligatti recruited gang members, gave them a loaded revolver and told them to kill a police informant, which they did. Delligatti was tried and convicted of violating a federal law (Title 18 U.S.C. Section 924(c)) that carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years for people who use or carry a firearm during a crime of violence. He was also charged with a federal racketeering offense and attempted second-degree murder under New York law. He contends that he did not commit a crime of violence required by the federal law.
The court disagreed and reasoned that failure to intervene in the use of physical force confers culpability. By way of example, the court pointed to the parent who does not intervene and intentionally kills their child when the child drinks bleach. It noted that the parent “makes use of the bleach’s poisonous properties” and ruled that an offender who fails to act and causes bodily harm by omission makes use of physical force as contemplated by the federal law’s definition of physical force. Read more