Issue Brief 19-34
December 11, 2019
 Summary 

When Congress reauthorized the farm bill in late 2018, it excluded stricter time limits and work requirements for Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs) in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). However, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued a proposed rule last February to achieve the same policy result; the proposed rule is summarized in Issue Brief 19-09.

A final rule has now been issued, with an effective date of April 1, 2020. (A provision restricting the carryover of exemptions has an effective date of October 1, 2020.) Like the proposed rule, the final rule:

  • creates new core standards for waivers of time limits and work requirements
  • restricts statewide waivers and substate grouping
  • limits exemption carryovers

This Issue Brief compares current regulations to the proposed and final rules, and includes estimates of the potential impact of the rule.

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