(The Center Square) – A group of Wisconsin lawmakers are looking to ensure the state shares information on recipients of the Supplementation Nutrition Assistance Program with the federal government.
The bill comes as Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul has joined 21 other attorneys general in suing the federal government to avoid sharing the information, which includes the immigration status of recipients.
The SNAP bill passed the Assembly 54-39 and will have a public hearing in a Senate committee on Wednesday morning.
“Complying with President Trump’s White House should be no different than complying with President Biden, or any other administration,” Sen. Chris Kapenga, R-Delafield, wrote in testimony on the bill. “The supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution requires this.
“We cannot allow the disregard of law in our society. This is an increasingly disturbing trend in our country, yet it is not the first time we have seen this in human history. Every major civilization has gone through this disturbing trend right before they ceased being a civilization.”
In filing the lawsuit, Kaul said that he believes the U.S. Department of Agriculture is incorrectly limiting SNAP eligibility for refugees, asylum recipients and others admitted under humanitarian protection programs.
The largest issue in the bill becoming a law will be that Gov. Tony Evers has said he is against sharing Wisconsin’s SNAP data with the federal government.
Assembly Bill 1027 would also require Wisconsin to follow federal changes in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to SNAP requirements that included raising the upper end of the definition of “able-bodied” for SNAP work requirements from 50 years old to 65 and lowers the age of the care-taker restriction from those with an 18-year-old in their home to a 14-year-old.
“It is also important to be clear about what this bill does not do,” Rep. Nate Gustafson, R-Omro, said in testimony. “AB1027 does not change who is eligible for FoodShare, how benefits are calculated, or how the program is administered. It doesn’t expand or restrict the program. It is focused solely on compliance with existing federal requirements so that funding continues without disruption, and Wisconsin citizens can keep receiving the benefits they have been promised.”
Evers has requested that lawmakers send $69.2 million to the Department of Health Services to administer FoodShare, the state’s SNAP program. He said the funding is necessary to keep the state’s program under the 6% error rate that triggers a penalty.
Wisconsin’s SNAP error rate was 4.41% in 2024.
