LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE
[Second Reprint]
SENATE, No. 1713
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
220th LEGISLATURE
DATED: JUNE 28, 2023
SUMMARY
Synopsis: Requires standard certification period of 12 and 24 months, under
certain circumstances, within SNAP.
Type of Impact: Countervailing impact on State and county expenditures and revenue.
Agencies Affected: Department of Human Services; County welfare agencies.
Office of Legislative Services Estimate
Fiscal Impact Annual
State Cost Impact Indeterminate
County Cost Impact Indeterminate
State Revenue Impact Indeterminate
 The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) concludes the State and county governments will
experience an indeterminate decrease in expenditures under the bill, to the extent that the bill’s
provisions result in the Division of Family Development in the Department of Human Services
and county welfare agencies conducting less frequent certifications for certain Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) enrollees, thereby reducing administrative costs.
 Conversely, the department may realize an indeterminate increase in administrative costs under
the bill due to growth in the payments paid to the electronic benefits transfer card vendor as a
function of certain SNAP enrollees maintaining benefits under the longer certification periods,
instead of losing benefits absent the bill.
 As the federal government shares all administrative expenses of the program with the State,
both of these impacts will have identical impacts on State revenue in the form of federal SNAP
administrative cost-sharing.
Office of Legislative Services Legislative Budget and Finance Office
State House Annex Phone (609) 847-3105
P.O. Box 068 Fax (609) 777-2442
Trenton, New Jersey 08625 www.njleg.state.nj.us
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 While lengthening certification periods has been demonstrated to increase SNAP participation
rates, any increase in SNAP benefits under the bill due to increased caseload numbers would
not have any fiscal impact on the State, as SNAP benefits are paid directly from federal funds.
BILL DESCRIPTION
This bill requires the Department of Human Services to establish a standard certification period
of not less than 12 months within SNAP. The bill provides an exception for adult-only households
in which all members are elderly or disabled. Under this scenario, the department is to establish a
certification period of not less than 24 months, provided that such households are to have contact
with a State SNAP administering agency at least once every 12 months. These certification periods
are not to apply to initial certification periods for expedited benefit issuance or if a shorter
certification period is necessary to align with the certification periods of another program or to
ensure the proper issuance of benefits.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
None received.
OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES
The OLS concludes the State and county governments will experience an indeterminate
decrease in expenditures under the bill, to the extent that the bill’s provisions result in the Division
of Family Development and county welfare agencies conducting less frequent certifications for
certain SNAP enrollees, thereby reducing administrative costs. Conversely, the department may
realize an indeterminate increase in administrative costs under the bill due to growth in the
payments paid to the electronic benefits transfer card vendor as a function of certain SNAP
enrollees maintaining benefits under the longer certification periods, instead of losing benefits
absent the bill. As the federal government shares all administrative expenses of the program with
the State, both of these impacts will have identical impacts on State revenue in the form of federal
SNAP administrative cost-sharing.
Currently, pursuant to the New Jersey Administrative Code, county welfare agencies are
required to certify each eligible household for a definite period of time that cannot exceed 12
months, except for households in which all adult members are elderly or disabled, which are to be
certified for up to 24 months with at least one county welfare agency contact every 12 months. As
such, New Jersey county welfare agencies issue four, six, 12, and 24-month certification periods.
The certification period is the period for which households are eligible to receive SNAP benefits.
Households may receive benefits beyond the certification period; however, the SNAP recipient
must first submit certain documentation to a State administering agency to demonstrate eligibility.
As this bill would lengthen the certification period for certain non-elderly, non-disabled
households, county welfare agencies and the department will be required to process fewer
applications for certification. This estimate assumes that the resulting cost savings under the bill
will likely be minimal and derived from materials and services, such as paper, postage, and
technology support, rather than reductions to staff. The OLS cannot determine the number of non-
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elderly, non-disabled SNAP beneficiaries who currently are certified at a more frequent interval
than 12-months, but notes that in March 2023, of all 833,744 SNAP enrollees, 450,577, or 54
percent, were non-elderly and non-disabled.
Conversely, the OLS estimates that the department may experience an increase in
administrative costs in the form of capitation payments made to the State’s existing vendor,
Conduent State and Local Solutions, for administering the electronic benefit transfer card that each
SNAP beneficiary is issued to access benefits. As of September 2020, the most recent data
available, the State paid Conduent $0.65 per SNAP beneficiary per month for these services.
Under the bill, these capitation payments would increase for those SNAP beneficiaries that would
be disenrolled under the existing more frequent certification periods and who under the bill would
be able to continue receiving benefits until recertification occurred. While this impact is unknown,
the OLS estimates that the cost incurred by the department for 10,000 beneficiaries for a month
under this impact would be $6,500, with the federal government providing funds for half, or
$3,250, of this cost.
While lengthening certification periods has been demonstrated to increase SNAP participation
rates, any increase in SNAP benefits under the bill due to increased caseload numbers would not
have any fiscal impact on the State, as SNAP benefits are paid directly from federal funds.
Section: Human Services
Analyst: Sarah Schmidt
Lead Research Analyst
Approved: Thomas Koenig
Legislative Budget and Finance Officer
This legislative fiscal estimate has been produced by the Office of Legislative Services due to the
failure of the Executive Branch to respond to our request for a fiscal note.
This fiscal estimate has been prepared pursuant to P.L.1980, c.67 (C.52:13B-6 et seq.).