On Tuesday, legislators in Kansas allowed the state’s Covid-19 disaster emergency declaration to expire. In doing so, Kansas joined a growing number of states halting pandemic-related aid programs before the federal cutoff date.

By ending the disaster declaration, Kansas may have effectively opted out of a significant benefit boost: An “emergency allotments” provision that automatically boosted all households receiving food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) to the highest payment level. That policy lifted the average per-person monthly payment in the state from $106 in February 2020 to $193 this May.

A handful of other states have allowed their emergency declarations to expire, too. Because the emergency allotments are contingent upon emergency declarations at both state and federal levels, the end of a state-level declaration generally means the end of added benefits. South Carolina will stop issuing emergency SNAP allotments on August 1, for example, while a representative from Idaho said that state had already discontinued the payments. In other states, like Wisconsin, where Democratic governors in favor of disaster declarations have clashed with courts and lost, officials have been able to sidestep court rulings ending the disaster by negotiating directly with USDA to extend benefits. Already, 25 Republican-controlled states have opted to end the $300 weekly expanded unemployment benefits prior to the federal cutoff date; SNAP emergency allotments could follow a similar trajectory as unemployment levels fall and vaccinations rise.

Despite positive economic indicators, some argue that it’s too soon to cut off federal support. “Making what we deem a political decision has real world consequences for thousands of families who are just finally able to breathe a little easier because they know they have more money each month to put food on their tables,” said Jami Reever, executive director for the Kansas Appleseed Center for Law and Justice. “And we think that especially now as kids are home from school—and they’re going to be home for the next three months—families need a little bit extra.”

Read the full article about decreasing SNAP payments by H. Claire Brown at The Counter.