Rules around the federal food stamp program called Snap are changing, and states are under pressure to adapt.

As our June LaFleur reports, state lawmakers are considering changes that could kick almost 47,000 Kentuckians off the food assistance program.

That begins tonight's legislative update.

Last year, Congress voted to reduce Snap spending by hundreds of billions of dollars over the next decade.

Cuts will come in part from moving more administrative costs to the states.

States will soon be on the hook for handing out the wrong amount of Snap dollars to participants, which is referred to as error rates.

So we've got to get that error rate below 6% without having it below 6%.

We're going to experience an additional cost over 100 million.

This Northern Kentucky Republican proposes Senate Bill 257 to reduce costs of running the program.

These are federal dollars that all of us taxpayers paid to the federal government.

But Kentucky is responsible for holding a very compliant process and efficient process to keep eligibility on track.

The bill limits who can get food stamps, according to a report from the left leaning Kentucky Center for Economic Policy.

The bill lowers the income limit to receive Snap, meaning someone making $20,000 a year would still qualify, but not someone making $25,000.

A policy calculates that could kick 40,000 people off the program.

Recipients could only have so many assets like savings or car.

This could kick 7400 people off.

Snap.

Advocates are alarmed.

At a time when gas prices and diesel fuel is increasing, grocery prices continue to increase.

And we're lowering the threshold here.

That's kind of a what we call an exponential threat to food security for children and seniors in our community.

This will have a substantial impact.

Benefits.

Cliffs demonstrably, empirically impact school meal participation.

If enough students are kicked off the program because their parents lose Snap benefits, that will impact not just themselves, but their classmates.

The bill also calls for more frequent income and identity checks for participants.

So we'll work on more regular checks of state and federal databases that catch eligibility changes quickly.

So, as many know, if if you've got even people that have died, aren't necessarily being removed quick enough.

That'll hit our error rate.

Opponents say more checks won't reduce costs.

In some cases, and it's extremely error ridden.

It ties, snap benefits to new databases that can be, based on old or inaccurate information and conflicting information as well, which we know would lead to errors.

The Senate Families and Children Committee heard testimony and discuss the bill today, but did not vote on the measure.

And my demographic with the high utility price is high fuel prices, where transportation is our number one barrier is is going to be impacted, disproportionately.

So I have these concerns from a physical side and humanitarian side, how it impacts my district.

Tomorrow marks day 49 of the 60 day legislative session for Kentucky Edition.

I'm Jen Leffler.