Rep. Jeffers files bill in North Carolina House to address SNAP funding shortfall

The new bill filed by State Rep. B. Ray Jeffers seeks to ensure continued support for SNAP administration by replacing lost federal funding with recurring state funds, according to the North Carolina State House.

The bill, filed as HB 1071 on April 28 during the 2025 regular session, was formally listed with the short title: ‘SNAP Funding in Response to H.R. 1.’

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill appropriates recurring state funds beginning in the 2026-27 fiscal year to replace federal money lost for administering the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, due to Public Law 119-21. It allocates $16 million from the General Fund to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Division of Central Management and Support, allowing the department to share funds with any of its divisions that lose SNAP administrative receipts, but only up to actual losses. It also allocates $69 million to the Division of Social Services to distribute to counties in proportion to each county’s loss of federal SNAP administrative funding. The bill takes effect July 1, 2026.

Of the four sponsors of this bill, Monika Johnson-Hostler proposed the most bills (27) during the 2025 regular session.

Bills in North Carolina follow a multi-step process before becoming law. A lawmaker starts by filing a bill, which is assigned to a committee for review. The bill must be read three times in each chamber. If one chamber changes the bill after the other passes it, both must agree on the final version. Once both chambers approve the same bill, it goes to the governor, who has 10 days (or 30 if the legislature is not in session) to sign, veto, or let it become law without a signature.

You can read more about the bills and other measures here.

Jeffers, a Democrat, was elected to the North Carolina State House in 2023 to represent the state’s 2nd House district, replacing previous state representative Larry Yarborough.