The Oct. 1 deadline arrived without fanfare. For Northern Arizona residents, it means the state is now paying more to run a food assistance program that serves half as many people.
Under H.R. 1, the 2025 federal tax and spending law, Arizona’s share of SNAP administrative costs rose from 50% to 75% on Oct. 1, according to the Arizona Department of Economic Security. The Legislature’s nonpartisan budget staff estimates that shift will cost the state General Fund $33 million this fiscal year and about $44 million a year after that.
The larger cost is still ahead. Starting in October 2027, states with a SNAP payment error rate of 6% or higher must pay part of food benefits themselves for the first time. Arizona’s error rate for federal fiscal year 2025 was 10.8%, USDA reported in June, above the national rate of 10.6%. At that level, the state would owe 15% of benefits, an estimated $208 million in fiscal 2028. Arizona can use its 2026 rate instead if it’s lower. That measurement year closed Sept. 30, but the official figure won’t be released until mid-2027.
The error rate measures overpayments and underpayments, not fraud. Meanwhile, Arizona’s SNAP rolls have fallen faster than any other state’s. More than 450,000 people have lost food assistance in Arizona since the law took effect, a drop of nearly half. In Coconino, Navajo and Apache counties, we have seen a 40 percent drop in SNAP Adult Participation since July 2025.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities notes that denying or delaying benefits to eligible households doesn’t count as an error, which gives states a financial reason to shrink caseloads.
The state’s response so far has been modest. DES requested $26 million a year for more staff to reduce errors. The budget Gov. Katie Hobbs signed includes $10.8 million in one-time funding for 146 positions.
What it means for Northern Arizona
Before H.R. 1, SNAP work requirements applied only in Maricopa County. The law now limits waivers to areas with unemployment above 10%, which currently covers only Yuma County. That means non-tribal recipients in Coconino, Navajo, Apache and Yavapai counties face work requirements for the first time. Tribal members are exempt, which matters here: state officials estimate one in three Navajo Nation residents receive SNAP.
People cut from the program have described calls to DES going unanswered and paperwork expiring before their cases were resolved.
What’s next
State legislators have proposed requiring a 3% error rate by 2030. In Congress, Rep. Adelita Grijalva has proposed excluding some administrative errors from the calculation.
The next governor and Legislature will write the budget that pays this bill. See where candidates for governor, Congress and the Legislature stand on food access in NAHAP’s 2026 Food Policy Voter Guide.
