House Finance Committee advances bill to help counties cover SNAP administrative shortfall
March 17, 2026 | Finance, House of Representatives, Committees, Legislative, Ohio
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House Finance Committee Chair Stewart advanced substitute House Bill 730 out of committee after proponent testimony from County Commissioners Association of Ohio President Denise Driehaus and extended questioning from members about the bill’s distribution formula and staffing impacts.
The substitute and related procedural motions were adopted and, after debate, Vice Chair Davila moved the bill be favorably reported to the Rules and Reference Committee. The committee voted 17–7 to report the bill.
Why it matters: Under recently enacted federal changes (referred to in the hearing as HR 1), the federal match rate for SNAP administrative costs is scheduled to fall from 50% to 25% beginning Oct. 1, 2026, producing a projected $38.2 million shortfall for Ohio counties. House Bill 730 would appropriate $10 million in state funds intended to draw down an additional $2.5 million in federal matching dollars to help local Job and Family Services (JFS) offices maintain staffing and accuracy in eligibility determinations.
What proponents told the committee: Commissioner Denise Driehaus, president of the County Commissioners Association of Ohio and a Hamilton County commissioner, testified that the bill’s $10 million state appropriation plus $2.5 million federal match is “important support to Ohio counties and their Job and Family Services agencies,” and said the funds would be used to administer SNAP applications and protect against increased error rates that could expose the state to federal penalties. Driehaus said that HR 1’s reduction in federal administrative match will create significant costs counties did not budget for and that counties have responded with measures such as levies or reallocation of other funds.
Opposition and alternatives: The committee’s ranking member offered an amendment (amendment 19907) that would appropriate $12.5 million — $10 million from the General Revenue Fund (GRF) and $2.5 million in federal matching dollars — distributed by a bipartisan formula tied to SNAP caseloads and households under roughly 100–200% of the federal poverty line. The sponsor and chair objected to concentrating the funds in a small number of large counties and instead defended a distribution intended to spread support across more counties. Vice Chair Davila moved to lay the ranking member’s amendment on the table; that motion carried 17–7.
Staffing and program risks: Members repeatedly pressed whether concentrating funds by caseload would leave larger counties under-resourced and whether reduced local staffing could raise SNAP error rates. Driehaus said some counties are increasing wages and using technology such as AI to identify and correct errors, but she warned that reduced staffing could increase caseloads per worker and raise error rates; the federal penalty structure linked to error rates (discussed in testimony) makes avoiding those increases a fiscal concern for the state.
Vote and next steps: The committee granted LSC harmonizing authority on the committee report and voted 17–7 to favorably report the bill to the Rules and Reference Committee. The clerk’s roll was open for signatures until 3 p.m. following the committee. The bill will proceed through the legislature according to normal committee and rules processes.
The committee did not take the ranking member’s substitute amendment for final adoption; the committee instead tabled that amendment during the hearing.
The substitute and related procedural motions were adopted and, after debate, Vice Chair Davila moved the bill be favorably reported to the Rules and Reference Committee. The committee voted 17–7 to report the bill.
Why it matters: Under recently enacted federal changes (referred to in the hearing as HR 1), the federal match rate for SNAP administrative costs is scheduled to fall from 50% to 25% beginning Oct. 1, 2026, producing a projected $38.2 million shortfall for Ohio counties. House Bill 730 would appropriate $10 million in state funds intended to draw down an additional $2.5 million in federal matching dollars to help local Job and Family Services (JFS) offices maintain staffing and accuracy in eligibility determinations.
What proponents told the committee: Commissioner Denise Driehaus, president of the County Commissioners Association of Ohio and a Hamilton County commissioner, testified that the bill’s $10 million state appropriation plus $2.5 million federal match is “important support to Ohio counties and their Job and Family Services agencies,” and said the funds would be used to administer SNAP applications and protect against increased error rates that could expose the state to federal penalties. Driehaus said that HR 1’s reduction in federal administrative match will create significant costs counties did not budget for and that counties have responded with measures such as levies or reallocation of other funds.
Opposition and alternatives: The committee’s ranking member offered an amendment (amendment 19907) that would appropriate $12.5 million — $10 million from the General Revenue Fund (GRF) and $2.5 million in federal matching dollars — distributed by a bipartisan formula tied to SNAP caseloads and households under roughly 100–200% of the federal poverty line. The sponsor and chair objected to concentrating the funds in a small number of large counties and instead defended a distribution intended to spread support across more counties. Vice Chair Davila moved to lay the ranking member’s amendment on the table; that motion carried 17–7.
Staffing and program risks: Members repeatedly pressed whether concentrating funds by caseload would leave larger counties under-resourced and whether reduced local staffing could raise SNAP error rates. Driehaus said some counties are increasing wages and using technology such as AI to identify and correct errors, but she warned that reduced staffing could increase caseloads per worker and raise error rates; the federal penalty structure linked to error rates (discussed in testimony) makes avoiding those increases a fiscal concern for the state.
Vote and next steps: The committee granted LSC harmonizing authority on the committee report and voted 17–7 to favorably report the bill to the Rules and Reference Committee. The clerk’s roll was open for signatures until 3 p.m. following the committee. The bill will proceed through the legislature according to normal committee and rules processes.
The committee did not take the ranking member’s substitute amendment for final adoption; the committee instead tabled that amendment during the hearing.
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