LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky lawmakers discussed but declined to vote on legislation Tuesday that would significantly restrict access to food assistance for thousands of state residents already facing federal benefit cuts.

Senate Bill 257, sponsored by GOP Sen. Shelley Funke Frommeyer of Alexandria, would reinstate financial asset limits and reduce income thresholds for Kentuckians qualifying for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The bill would also require the state Cabinet for Community-Based Services to review federal data on food assistance applicants monthly, compared with the current annual or semi-annual verification schedule.

More than half a million Kentuckians received SNAP benefits this month, 40 percent of whom are children, according to state data. Funke Frommeyer said the legislation "simplifies" requirements and ensures only the most needy access food assistance, arguing it would help reduce the state's error rate in administering the program—a metric that has taken on new significance under federal law.

Under a recently passed federal package, states with high SNAP error rates must pay a share of benefit costs, which the federal government has historically footed entirely. Kentucky's unofficial error rate hovers around 4 percent for 2025, below the threshold requiring state payment, a significant drop from the previous year's rate of about 9 percent.

The bill faced vocal opposition at the Senate Families and Children Committee hearing. Richard Gianzero, a pastor and executive director of the Kentucky Council of Churches, said cutting eligibility may save the state money but goes against the state's ethical and moral obligations. Gianzero argued that the bill imposes further bureaucratic restrictions to reduce the number of people in need rather than solving underlying poverty.

Eliminating what's known as Broad Based Categorical Eligibility would take food assistance from over 40,000 Kentuckians in 16,900 households—including 16,800 kids and 6,600 older adults, according to the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy. The increased verification requirements could actually increase the error rate and cost the SNAP program more overall, according to Jessica Klein with the Center for Economic Policy.

The timing of the bill's advancement adds urgency to the debate. Kentucky's SNAP rolls have already declined by about 81,000 individuals since the federal bill became law in July. The Senate committee did not vote on the bill after two Republican senators expressed concern over the lack of a cost analysis. The bill awaits further consideration in the committee as the legislature enters its final weeks of the 2026 session.