Timothy Wiley

5/4/2026 

Timothy Wiley, Stupski Foundation 

Summary: 

“HR1” One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBA) passed 7/4/25.

• HR1 allocates $170.7 billion in additional funding for the Department of Homeland Security and its sub agencies, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Department of Defense (DOD). Federal assistance programs, including Medicaid, SNAP, student loan support, and green energy initiatives have received cuts in funding (American Immigration Council).  
• Following implementation of H.R.1, three major changes to SNAP took effect: 
• Benefits were tightened

• Costs shifted from federal government to state and counties
• SNAP-ED, the nutrition education program, was eliminated (Disability Belongs).

Background:

SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), also known as food stamps, is the largest anti hunger program in the United States, providing benefits for over 40 million people (Coulson, 1). 

• In 2024-2025, 5.5 million Californians received Calfresh benefits (LAO). 
• In Hawaiʻi, around 160,000 people received SNAP benefits, accounting for around 11.2 percent of Hawaiʻi’s population (Legislative Analyst’s Office, USAFacts). 

H.R.1 Changes: 

SNAP ED:

Elimination of federal funding for SNAP-ED Program:

Program provides classes and resources on healthy eating and budgeting, focusing on schools and community centers 

• USDA has told states to close grants and return unspent funds, programs funded by SNAP ED will end FY2026, thousands of classes and community programs will disappear across nation Disability Belongs).

SNAP-ED State Impacts: 

• HI: SNAP-ED lost $2.5 million in funding, losing cooking and nutrition education for $1.5 million individuals. Additionally, in October 2026, Hawaiʻi will be paying an additional $14.8 million out of the state budget once federal funding has been reduced (Hawaiʻi Hunger Action Network).
• CA: In California, their SNAP-ED program, CalFresh Healthy Living, will be discontinued June 30, 2026. H.R.1 ends $132 million in federal funding annually to support program
  • California may continue to use prior year nutrition education funding through September 2026 (LAO). 

Work Requirement changes:  

To qualify for SNAP benefits, participants must meet certain eligibility standards based on their income, assets, house size, immigration status, and proof of employment. 

• Prior to the passage of H.R.1, able bodied adults without dependents (ABAWD) ages 18-54 had to work or participate in training for 80 hours a month to receive benefits for more than three months in a three year period. 
• Parents or adults responsible for a dependent child under age 18 were exempt from strict time limits, and individuals experiencing homelessness, veterans and young adults aging out were generally exempt from the ABAWD exemptions. (Disability Belongs). 

• HR1 tightened regulations for qualifying individuals, expanding the ABAWD age status from 18-54 to 18-65 (Disability Belongs).
• Parents with children ages 14 years and older must also meet the requirements, and exemptions for veterans, people experiencing homelessness, and former foster youth are removed. 
• States are only allowed to pause the rule in areas with 10 percent or higher unemployment. 
• As of 4-06-2026, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, virtually no county is reaching the 10 percent unemployment rate, with most falling roughly between 2-6 percent (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). 
• H.R.1 even tightens regulations for lawfully present immigrants, targeting individuals like refugees and people claiming asylum in the U.S. It is estimated that these new regulations will affect 72,000 humanitarian immigrants.
  • Starting April 1, 2026, according to the California Department of Social Services, asylees, refugees, parolees, individuals with deportation or removal withheld, conditional entrants, battered non citizens, and Iraqis or Afghans with Special immigrant visas who are not lawful permanent residents, and certain Afghan and Ukrainian nationals granted parole during a certain period are all exempt from applying to Calfresh benefits (CDSS Social Services). 
  • Hawaiʻi’s immigrant restrictions on SNAP qualification began November 1, 2025
    • COFA citizens and Cuban/Haitian immigrants will still have access to SNAP Benefits
    • Refugees and asylum seekers will lose SNAP eligibility as they apply or recertify (HI Appleseed). 

Benefit Calculation Adjustments: 

• Under H.R.1, all future re-evaluations of Thrifty Food Plan (USDAs baseline calculated cost of a healthy diet) must be cost neutral, preventing SNAP benefits from reflecting actual food costs. As a result, average monthly SNAP benefits will have declined by $15 less per person by 2034 (FRAC).
• SNAP benefits are calculated using net income after deductions. H.R.1 narrows these deductions through limiting the utility cost benefit deductions to households who pay heating or cooling separate from rent and/or household includes a member over 60 or with a disability (CDSS Social Services).  
• H.R.1 requires states to cover more of the administrative costs of the program. In the fiscal year 2027, states will be required to cover 75 percent of program cost in comparison to 50 percent pre H.R.1 implementation (Food Research and Action Funding).

Payment Error Rate Policy

• It also establishes a new state requirement for the amount of federal SNAP coverage funded being based on how accurately a state administers SNAP guidelines.
• If states maintain a payment error rate of less than 6 percent, the entirety of the cost of the food benefit is covered by federal funding. However, only one state to date has ever achieved a payment error of 6 percent since 2003 (National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition).
• HI: If Hawaiʻi is to maintain a 6-8 percent error rate from 2024 (6.68%), beginning 2027 the state will have to pay $34.7 million for SNAP funding (Hawaiʻi Hunger Action). 
• CA: California, falling in the 10+ percent error bracket in the 2024 fiscal year (10.98%), will have to bear a state annual cost of $2.1 billion for SNAP funding (USDA Food and Nutrition Service, Cal Food Banks). 

Implementation Timeline:

Impact	Federal	Hawaiʻi	California
SNAP ED	October 2025States lose funding for SNAP education programs and restricts adjustments of the Thrifty Food Plan	September 2026Hawaiʻiʻs SNAP-ED program is expected to be terminated at this date, losing benefits for 15,000 households and $2.5 million in funding (Spectrum News, Aloha State Daily, HIAppleseed).	June 30, 2026California’s state version of SNAP-ED, CalFresh Healthy Living, will end by this date after serving an estimated 18 million Californians since 2018 (CDSS,Calfresh Healthy Living).
Reduced Utility Deductions	November 2025Restricted utility deductions, new immigrant restrictions, and expanded work requirements take effect.	November 1, 2025 Reduced Utility Deductions, immigrant restrictions, and expanded work requirements all begin HIAppleseed).	November 1, 2025 Reduced Utility Deductions begin.April 1, 2026SNAP restrictions for immigrants will beginJune 1, 2026New work requirements begin (CDSS).
Administrative Cost Increases	October 2026Administration cost increases, with States paying 75 percent of SNAP Administrative Costs.	October 1, 2026Hawaiʻi will pay around $14.8 million more for their state SNAP program (HIAppleseed).	October 1, 2026 The state will see a $480 million increase in annual cost, and through state law requiring counties to cover 30 percent of nonfederal share, counties will have to pay 190 million in additional costs (LAO).
	October 2027State Cost share, must pay for a share of SNAP benefits depending on error rate from FY2025 OR 2026 (California Budget and Policy Center).

Impacts and Response: 

According to the congressional budget office, around 300,000 people per month could lose SNAP benefits under these new guidelines between 2028 and 2034 (Congressional Budget Office).  

HI:

• As of October 2025, around 84,869 households (165,659 people) currently receive SNAP in Hawai‘i (State of Hawaiʻi Department of Human Services). 
• Under the new work requirements, it is estimated that 26,000 households in Hawaiʻi will be affected (State of Hawaiʻi Department of Human Services).  
• H.R.1 expands ABAWD age requirements to 65, pushing an estimated 16,570 kūpuna off the program unless they can meet the 20 hour per week work requirement.
  • Hawaiʻi already has many older adults that fall into a grey zone of employment, (unrecognized disabilities, inconsistent employment opportunities) further limiting SNAP working eligibility requirements (Hawaiʻi Appleseed). 
• In October 2026, Hawaiʻi will be paying an additional 14.8 million out of the state budget once federal funding has been reduced from 50 percent to 25 percent. (Hawaiʻi Hunger Action Network).
• Hawaiʻi Foodbank CEO estimates additional stress on Hawaiʻi food banks amidst federal budget cuts, during the last quarter of 2025, food banks served 173,000 individuals compared to the 169,000 individuals served during the height of the pandemic (Honolulu Civil Beat). 

CA:

• 5.5 million Californians prior to the passage of H.R.1 relied on CalFresh services. After the H.R.1 regulations, it is estimated 395,000 Californians could lose CalFresh coverage (California Department of Social Services).
  • Within this demographic, 1 in 4 persons experiencing homelessness, over 24,000 homeless Californians, will lose SNAP benefits due to H.R.1 regulations (California Budget and Policy Center). 
  • Unhoused adults of color receiving CalFresh benefits will be disproportionately harmed, with Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders, Asian, black, or multi-race persons aged 18-49 being at highest risk (California Budget and Policy Center).
• California food banks have seen an increased demand for food assistance, with one in five California households facing food insecurity (SacBee). 

Possible State Supplements/Responses to SNAP:  

HI: 

Hawaiʻi will have to explore new avenues to address food insecurity amidst federal budget cuts Hawaiʻi Appleseed).

• Hawaiʻi Appleseed suggests Hawaiʻi adopt the Elderly Simplified Application Project to make applying to SNAP easier for kūpuna. 
• They also suggest expanding the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program to provide low-income kūpuna with 50 dollars worth of coupons annually in conjunction with extending DA BUX style subsidies to this program, keeping Hawaiʻi dollars in the local economy. 
• Counties could also look to their Area Agencies on Aging programs to look for funding for older individuals for resources combating food insecurity. 

CA: 

California strategy to H.R.1 involves maximizing SNAP eligibility. 

• CDSS proposes individuals living in areas where the ABAWD work requirement is waived or broadly including unable to work status to physical and mental health disabilities (California Department of Social Services). 

State Senator Christopher Cabaldon proposes SB 1054 to instead require employers to provide information to the state employment development department to help prevent people from losing benefits for failing to report their hours (KQED).