Show your work: Bill would force Michigan to open its SNAP books

A new bill introduced to the Michigan Legislature would force the state to share its data from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program with the federal government.

Bill sponsor Sen. Jim Runestad, R-White Lake, said that Senate Bill 1088 aims to shrink welfare fraud by mandating more reporting on the program that helps feed about 1.3 million Michiganders.

In June, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Michigan and three other states that won’t share certain SNAP data with the federal government.

“This bill will help reel in fraud within public assistance programs,” Runestad, R-White Lake, said in a news release. “It is an easy and simple ask for the state to give information to the federal government, yet Gov. Gretchen Whitmer refuses to do so.”

The federal government might fine Michigan about $300 million because roughly one out of every 10 of its payments through the food program is either too high or too low.

Under Senate Bill 1088, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services would be required to share benefit allotment and identifying data for individuals who receive SNAP benefits with several federal offices. Those would include the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the SNAP National Accuracy Clearinghouse and the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.

‼️Michigan needs to get serious about its fraud problem.‼️

My bill mandates that MDHHS turns over user data for the SNAP program to the US Department of Agriculture to protect the program from scammers.

Food stamps should go to the working families who need them most, not… pic.twitter.com/HBbgtNXtCB

— Jim Runestad (@SenJRunestad) July 9, 2026

The bill would also require the state health department to submit a quarterly report to legislators. It would include the number of duplicate SNAP accounts, the number of Social Security numbers of deceased people used to apply for the program, and the number of out-of-state transactions that were identified and blocked.

In fiscal year 2024, about 3,131 people reported that criminals stole their SNAP benefits, according to a document obtained through a records request from the state health department. Those benefits were likely stolen by persons who placed card skimmers in public places, cloned outdated card information, and then depleted the benefits in states across the country.

More than 100 people in Oakland County reported that their benefits were stolen in 2023 and 2024.

In 2023, more than 1 million electronic benefit transactions took place in states that don’t border Michigan.

Runestad called the bill an essential step toward restoring public trust in government programs and ensuring resources are available to those who truly need them.

“We have to take fraud seriously in our state,” Runestad said. “Simply talking about it isn’t enough. The budget keeps getting bigger, Lansing insiders’ pockets keep getting lined with cash, and criminals are scamming the very programs working people need to survive. We need action, and my bill is exactly that.”

SB 1088 is now being considered by the Senate Committee on Housing and Human Services.