{"id":831557,"date":"2026-08-31T04:58:29","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T04:58:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/831557\/"},"modified":"2026-08-31T04:58:29","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T04:58:29","slug":"oh-snap-proposal-would-let-families-use-benefits-toward-water-bills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/831557\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018OH SNAP!\u2019 proposal would let families use benefits toward water bills"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2018OH SNAP!\u2019 proposal would let families use benefits toward water bills<\/p>\n

\"TiaraJACKSON, Miss. \u2014<\/p>\n

A Mississippi Public Service Commissioner is proposing a new way for eligible families to use their existing SNAP benefits to help pay residential water bills.<\/p>\n

Commissioner De\u2019Keither A. Stamps, Central District, introduced SNAP H\u2082O Sunday during a press conference at the Woolfolk State Office Building in Jackson.<\/p>\n

The initiative would seek federal authorization to allow eligible households to voluntarily direct a portion of their SNAP\/EBT benefits toward qualifying residential water and wastewater expenses.<\/p>\n

\u201cWater is essential. Access should be too,\u201d Stamps said.<\/p>\n

Under current SNAP rules, recipients can use SNAP\/EBT benefits to purchase bottled drinking water from authorized retailers. However, those benefits generally cannot be used to pay the residential water bill for water delivered directly to a home.<\/p>\n

Stamps says SNAP H\u2082O is intended to change that.<\/p>\n

The proposal would not create a new entitlement or provide additional SNAP funding. Instead, it would give eligible families another option for using benefits they already receive.<\/p>\n

Supporters say the proposal could help reduce water shutoffs, late fees, unpaid balances and reconnection costs. It could also provide participating water systems with a more consistent way to receive payments.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo new dollars. Just common sense,\u201d Stamps said.<\/p>\n

The proposal would still require federal authorization before SNAP benefits could be used toward qualifying residential water and wastewater bills.<\/p>\n

Stamps says the goal is to give families more flexibility while addressing water affordability.<\/p>\n

And his message for the initiative is summed up in a simple phrase:<\/p>\n

\u201cOH SNAP! H\u2082O.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u2018OH SNAP!\u2019 proposal would let families use benefits toward water bills JACKSON, Miss. \u2014 A Mississippi Public Service…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":831558,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[192,79],"class_list":["post-831557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/831557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=831557"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/831557\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/831558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=831557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=831557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=831557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}