Republican West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice signed a bill into law Tuesday that will require state residents to work or volunteer to receive food stamps.
The requirement will begin Oct. 1 and will apply to people who use the program formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. The program funds up to $192 for food a month, or $6.40 a day.
To continue receiving SNAP benefits, West Virginia residents on the program between the ages of 18 to 49 will need to work or volunteer at least 20 hours a week. People with disabilities, parents with dependent children, pregnant women, and veterans will be exempt.
Anyone who does not meet the exemption, and does not meet the work requirements, will not be able to receive food stamps for any more than three months every three years.
Proponents of the work requirement say it will encourage people to work and become self-sufficient, while opponents say the laws are stigmatizing poor people and will result in people losing out on services that prevent them from going hungry. States that have implemented similar requirements have seen reductions in their SNAP rolls.
Federal guidelines stipulate that people without disabilities or children who are on SNAP must work, but most of the counties in West Virginia receive a waiver that exempts them from the requirement.
Counties have the waiver option available in places where unemployment is above 10 percent or if the average unemployment rate for two years is 20 percent higher than the national unemployment rate.
Under the new law, counties can no longer use the waiver.
