H.R. 1 — or President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act — makes a lot of changes to programs like the SNAP food assistance program.
A new report from the New York State Association of Counties finds one of those changes would put local taxpayers on the hook for more than $160 million.
New York is one of the few states where counties administer SNAP. That means they will bear the brunt of a change that shifts more of the costs for the food program away from Washington.
Currently, the federal government handles 50% of the administrative costs for SNAP. In October, that will drop to 25%.
The NYSAC report estimates the shift could mean close to $110.8 million in new costs for New York City alone. Erie County would face $3.84 million in new costs, and Monroe just more than $3 million.
But Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden said smaller counties face a strain as well. The report estimates the county would face at least $250,000 in new costs and with tax levy increases capped at 2% without a board vote, that leaves less wiggle room to absorb the changes.
“My budget overall isn't supposed to grow more than that, a little more than a half a million dollars." Groden said. "Just the SNAP change is approximately $250,000, so right from the giddy up, half of my tax cap flexibility is now gone.”
Counties could also face more costs from another part of the bill: States will now face penalties based on the error rates in SNAP benefits. As it stands, New York could face a $1 billion penalty since it has an error rate of 13.1%. The state hasn’t decided how much to pass along to the counties.
“These payment error rates are further proof that state accountability is severely lacking in SNAP,” said Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins in a itnews release. “USDA has taken historic action to help interested states curb SNAP waste, and I hope other states, regardless of political leadership, prioritize needy families and the American taxpayer over politics.”
Error rates don’t necessarily mean fraud, advocates say. It could reflect mistakes in data entry of wages, for example.
Groden said the situation creates uncertainty when it comes to budgeting in future years, since the data rates are determined at the state level and not the local level.
NYSAC is asking congressional leaders, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jefferies of Brooklyn and U.S. Senate Minority Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to push for a reprieve so counties can better prepare for the transition.
“We need these individuals to use their influence and encourage their Republican colleagues to give us a delay, and that's why we put this report out,” said Stephen Acquario, executive director of the New York State Association of Counties. “We're trying to seek a delay in implementation of this massive change in this massive law that was passed one year ago. There's no reason why we can't get a two-year delay.”
Other states with high error rates have already received a two-year delay.
Acquario said efforts to get state lawmakers to absorb more of the costs during this year’s legislative session were unsuccessful. Lawmakers in New Jersey, another state where counties handle administrative costs for SNAP, voted to have the state absorb more of the cost shift as part of a budget approved Tuesday night.
The report said counties will also face increased costs to enforce the new work requirements and more frequent eligibility checks passed under the law.
Advocates say H.R. 1 has already led to fewer people using SNAP, a problem magnified by the cost shift. The number of New Yorkers on SNAP dropped 5% from July 2025 to March 2026, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
“We need those local agencies to be fully resourced, able to respond to questions, to provide a high level of one-on-one assistance to help people navigate these changes,” said Krista Hesdorfer, director of public affairs for Hunger Solutions New York. “It's much harder to do that if your administrative funding from the federal government is being cut in half, and that's exactly what's happening. It feels like agencies are being set up to fail, and ultimately that will jeopardize food access for New Yorkers.”
But Hesdorfer said people who need to access SNAP or other nutritional assistance shouldn’t be discouraged from seeking help. They should reach out to local agencies or nonprofit organizations like hers to ask questions.
