The 2024 Florida Legislature expanded Florida’s SNAP work requirements by raising the statutory age for mandatory participation in the SNAP Employment and Training (E&T) Program to 59. SNAP work requirements are premised on racist stereotypes of participants as unwilling to work unless forced to do so, even though these stereotypes have been debunked. In fact, most SNAP participants already work unless they have a disability or are retired, in school, or caring for young children. Further, racial inequality in employment puts participants of color who are subject to mandatory SNAP work requirements on an uneven playing field for finding jobs. The unemployment rate for Black Floridians is almost double that of white Floridians.
In addition, the 2024 Legislature rejected bills (HB 409 and SB 776) that would have repealed the state’s 1996 law banning people with past felony drug convictions from ever participating in SNAP. This restriction was enacted by the state pursuant to the federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), which requires states to impose a lifetime ban on SNAP for people with a previous drug felony conviction unless the state opts out. This ban significantly impacts the ability of affected Floridians to meet critical needs, such as food and housing, and increases their likelihood to re-offend and return to prison. Black Floridians are disproportionately impacted by the ban, as Black people are more likely to be arrested or incarcerated for drug-related offenses due to systemic racism embedded in the criminal justice system. The ban has ended up costing the state millions of dollars.
At least 29 states have completely opted out of this SNAP ban. Yet, despite an overwhelming need for basic support to assist with rehabilitation and the cost to the state, Floridians of color who have been convicted of drug trafficking continue to be disproportionately prohibited by state law from ever participating in SNAP. A similar attempt to repeal this ban in Florida was also unsuccessful in 2022.