AZ Center

Arizona faces potential $208M penalty over food stamp errors

The Arizona Center for Economic Progress, which lobbies to put more dollars into public programs, says that the error rate is not necessarily related to fraud or cheating.

“These errors can include cases in which an eligible family received slightly too much or too little assistance because of a processing delay, a mistake by an eligibility worker, incomplete information, or problems with a computer system,” the organization said in a press release June 24.

It also warns that even if Arizona does escape federal penalties, what’s in HR 1 will still result in higher costs for the state. That’s because federal law also shifts more of the responsibility of administering the food stamp program to states, regardless of the error rates.

Millions lose food stamps under Trump cuts. Arizona is hardest hit

Fourteen of Arizona's 15 counties are now subject to work requirements, compared to just one last year, said Joseph Palomino, director of the Arizona Center for Economic Progress.

Those changes, as well as the new demands for documentation, are making it harder for people to get timely access to benefits, he said, and they’re “falling through the cracks."

With new state budget, Arizona workers won’t have to pay taxes on tips

The Arizona Center for Economic Progress, a nonpartisan advocacy group, cautions that this short-term relief through $1.4 billion in tax cuts over the next several years could prove costly over time and reduce the tax revenue available to invest in state priorities.

“Arizona has lost nearly $11 billion to tax cuts over the past 30 years, while the state’s tax system remains one of the most regressive in the nation,” the group shared on Friday after the budget’s approval. “The state cannot keep cutting the revenue needed to fully fund child care, public K-12 education, health care, housing, water, and food assistance and still expect to build a strong, competitive economy."

Grijalva fights to restore SNAP for 473K Arizonans

"Arizona has become the clearest warning sign of what happens when federal policymakers shift costs and complexity onto states instead of protecting families' access to food," said Joseph Palomino, director of the Arizona Center for Economic Progress. "Nearly half a million Arizonans — including more than 205,000 children — have already lost SNAP, not because they stopped needing help, but because a harmful policy is making it harder for eligible families to stay connected to the assistance they need."

Arizona food stamp rolls drop by nearly 50%

So far, 473,793 Arizona resident have lost food stamp benefits, including 205,223 children, according Department of Economic Security data.

“Every new update tells the same troubling story: More Arizona families are losing access to basic food assistance at the same time they are being squeezed by rising costs,” said Joseph Palomino, director of the Arizona Center for Economic Progress. “SNAP is not just a line item in a budget. It is food for children, stability for families, and dollars flowing into local communities.”

“These losses should be a wake-up call for lawmakers,” Palomino said. “Arizona families need policies that help them stay stable, afford basic needs, and participate fully in the economy — not more barriers that push people closer to crisis.”

Arizona legislature needs reality check on budget proposal | Opinion

Arizona's legislature proposed a state budget that once again offered tax cuts. But cutting taxes means less revenue coming in to pay for everything the state needs. Time to fix the math problem.

Arizona’s budget debate is stuck in a place that no longer reflects reality.

For years, state lawmakers have treated tax cuts as a default strategy, arguing that they will magically produce growth, attract business and solve economic challenges. But budgets are not built on magic. They are built on math. And right now, the math doesn't add up.

The latest budget proposal makes that clear. The state is facing real constraints, yet instead of addressing the revenue shortfall, lawmakers are doubling down on the same approach: cutting taxes and hoping for a different result.

That is not a strategy. It is a gamble Arizona can no longer afford.

Arizona’s GOP budget: Tax breaks for data centers and Roth IRAs, cuts for the people who need food

But Joseph Palomino, director of the Arizona Center for Economic Progress, told the Mirror that many of the policies in the Republican budget were unpopular. 

“It’s not going to meaningfully address affordability, it’s not going to grow the economy,” he said.

Arizona leads nation in SNAP rolls decline after federal changes

Joseph Palomino, Executive Director of the Arizona Center for Economic Progress, said the decline traces back to changes in federal rules under what’s being referred to as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” along with a shortage of state workers needed to process cases.

“This really does go to the root of the changes that were made,” Palomino said.

He said the numbers are still falling month to month.

From February to March, “we did see another decline,” Palomino said.

DES, which administers SNAP in Arizona, said in a statement that it is “currently navigating one of the most significant structural changes to federal nutrition assistance in decades.”

Arizona sees largest decline in SNAP enrollment in country

TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) - More than 400,000 Arizonans have lost access to SNAP since last July, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Arizona is experiencing the largest decline in program enrollment in the country.

The decline followed the implementation of H.R. 1, also known as the Big Beautiful Bill, which went into effect in July. The legislation changed the funding structure for SNAP, expanded work requirements for recipients, and reduced eligibility for non-citizens.

Statewide and federal factors contribute to decline

Joseph Palomino with the Arizona Center for Economic Progress said the problem has been exacerbated by Arizona’s Department of Economic Security’s facing resource constraints.

“You have all this additional bureaucratic requirements, and then you have this terrible incentive for states to reduce their payment error rates or face a pretty significant cost shift,” Palomino said.

Over 450K Arizonans have been removed from SNAP program since July, including 196K kids

Arizona has now dropped more than 450,000 people from the SNAP program since federal changes went into effect last July. That includes 196,000 children no longer receiving benefits.

“SNAP is one of the most effective tools we have to help families put food on the table and keep local economies moving,” director Joseph Palomino said in a statement. “When hundreds of thousands of people lose that support, the consequences don’t stop at the dinner table — they ripple through our economy, our communities, and our future workforce.”

Arizona's food stamp program sees largest decline in US. Here's why

SNAP supporters said the state should proceed carefully to avoid kicking out people who truly need the help, and that overpayments seen in SNAP error rates don't necessarily mean someone is trying to game the system.

Take gig workers, said Joseph Palomino, executive director of the liberal-leaning Arizona Center for Economic Progress. A rideshare driver might earn money by working many hours one week, but not make the same amount the next week, a scenario that would impact SNAP eligibility, he said.

"I think we have to understand SNAP is a complex program that is meant to be so, and it's also meant to be flexible," he said.

Arizona leads nation in SNAP benefit losses, 400K affected

Advocates warn the impact could go beyond just families struggling right now. Joseph Palomino, director of the Arizona Center of Economic Progress, said the cuts are affecting more than just individual households.

"People being kicked off of SNAP, they're hurting those families. We're also hurting our economy and that is kind of what is lost, we are essentially shooting ourselves in the foot here," Palomino said.