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Data Hit

Average Periods of Unemployment Last Twice As Long As New H.R. 1 SNAP Time Limits

March 2026 | By Nishi Nair

A Hispanic man with two prosthetic legs showcasing his resilience and independence as he confidently prepares breakfast in his kitchen. With a focused expression on his face, he skillfully handles the cooking utensils, demonstrating his ability to overcome challenges and adapt to everyday tasks. The image beautifully portrays determination, strength, and the power of embracing life with a positive spirit.

CalFresh is California’s state version of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides modest monthly assistance to Californians with low incomes to purchase food, but the program has been significantly eroded by federal leaders.

In addition to the devastating funding cuts to food assistance and health care enacted by the 2025 Republican megabill, H.R. 1, the bill also imposes ineffective time limits on previously exempt groups receiving SNAP. Starting in June 2026, parents with a youngest child over 13, older adults, veterans, former foster youth, and people experiencing homelessness will all be subject to time limits that only allow three months of assistance over three years unless they are working 20 hours per week or qualify for an exemption.

SNAP time limits are grossly misaligned with the lived experience of those who are temporarily unemployed. Unemployment spells generally last six months — twice as long as the three-month time limit. As a result, many participants who already face significant barriers to work could lose their benefits even if they are actively looking for work.

State leaders should do everything they can to ensure that those who lose benefits due to ineffective time limits are still able to receive food assistance. Without the implementation of necessary protections, more Californians — many of whom already face systematic exclusion from economic security — could face further hardship.

CalFresh
Safety Net

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Millions of Californians are struggling to make ends meet and the affordability crisis continues to drive up the cost of basic necessities like groceries and rent. Simultaneously, the 2025 Republican megabill — H.R.1 — is further straining the budgets of low-income households, by making unprecedented cuts to health care and food assistance, and giving out over a trillion dollars worth of tax breaks to the already wealthy and corporations.

The California Earned Income Tax Credit, the Young Child Tax Credit, and the Foster Youth Tax Credit help millions of Californians afford basic necessities, yet California spends much less on these vital programs than on tax expenditures for profitable corporations.

Specifically, under Governor Gavin Newsom’s budget proposal, the state is estimated to spend almost six times more on tax breaks for corporations than on state tax credits for low-income Californians during the 2026-27 fiscal year.

Expanding refundable tax credits and closing corporate tax breaks are common sense policies as the federal safety net is being weakened and corporations are showered with new federal handouts. Policymakers can support Californians in combating the state’s affordability challenges by closing the “water’s edge” loophole and placing reasonable limits on corporate tax credits and deductions so that no profitable corporation pays next to nothing in corporate taxes.

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Safety Net
Taxes & Revenue

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Over 5.5 million Californians depend on CalFresh — California’s name for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — to put food on the table every month. CalFresh provides modest monthly food assistance and, as one of the few means-tested programs that reaches almost all low-income people, is the state’s most important anti-hunger tool.

In 2023, CalFresh was the most effective safety net program in boosting family resources, according to recent data. Over 850,000 more Californians would have been in poverty without CalFresh providing food assistance, which corresponds to a 2.3 percentage point increase in the poverty rate. Children across the state experienced an even larger reduction in poverty of nearly 4 percentage points as a result of CalFresh.

The latest data continue to show that poverty — and hunger — are policy choices. Recent federal inaction by the US Department of Agriculture to fund November 2025 SNAP benefits defies long-standing practice and threatens to increase hunger for millions of families. Policymakers have the tools to ensure that no one goes hungry in the world’s fourth largest economy. Even brief periods of hunger can have devastating effects on people, particularly children, which is why policymakers should boost investments to strengthen CalFresh and help all Californians meet their most basic needs.

CalFresh
Safety Net

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Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program, saves lives. It’s a lifeline that provides free or low-cost health coverage to over one-third of the state’s population — including children, pregnant individuals, seniors, and people with disabilities. 

Cutting Medi-Cal funding would mean taking critical care away from residents who need it the most in every congressional district. Without access to health coverage, Californians will face impossible choices that put their health and economic security at risk while also driving up long-term costs for the state. 

This table shows how many people in each congressional district rely on Medi-Cal, how many adults could lose coverage due to work requirements, and the level of Medi-Cal spending per district that fuels jobs and local economies.

For more on how federal cuts could affect nutrition assistance and other essential supports, see our report How Republican-Led Budget Cuts Could Impact Californians in Every Congressional District.

Federal Policy
Health

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Californians and their communities are facing many ongoing challenges, including skyrocketing housing costs, families’ urgent need for affordable child care, and workers’ wages that aren’t keeping up with rising living costs. Fortunately, when state leaders addressed a $55 billion shortfall in the 2024-25 budget, they avoided many deep and harmful cuts that would have jeopardized Californians’ well being. However, their failure to permanently raise significant additional state revenue will limit their ability to protect progress from the emerging federal threats and meet the ongoing needs of Californians.

California spends tens of billions of dollars each year on tax breaks, some of the largest of which benefit the wealthy and profitable corporations. These tax breaks take billions of dollars away from communities, while perpetuating racial income and wealth gaps. Yet the ongoing revenue increases in the 2024-25 budget from reducing tax breaks amounted to just 0.2% of all budget “solutions” to close the shortfall. This year, the governor proposes tax policies that, when taken together, would raise a modest amount of revenue on net in 2025-26 but in future years would likely result in a net revenue loss or a roughly offsetting revenue impact.

With looming threats of deep federal funding cuts from the Trump administration and Congress, and the human, economic, and fiscal impacts of the Southern California wildfires adding to the list of challenges facing Californians, state leaders should act boldly by raising revenues — including eliminating tax breaks for the wealthy and profitable corporations — and investing in programs that help all Californians thrive. The budget should reflect the promise of the California dream — ensuring every California family has access to food, a safe and affordable place to live, quality child care, and economic security.

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Everyone wants to live in safe communities, and data show California continues to experience crime rates well below historical peaks. The property crime rate — the number of property crimes per 100,000 residents — was 2,273 in 2023, far below the peak of 6,881 in 1980. The violent crime rate was 511 per 100,000 in 2023, less than half the 1992 peak of 1,104.

Crime rates have ticked up in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Any rise in crime is concerning, but state leaders should avoid overreacting as crime rates remain at historic lows in California. Moreover, voters should be skeptical of efforts to use the ballot box to roll back justice system reforms by reinstating the costly and ineffective mass incarceration policies of the past.

Instead of resurrecting failed, incarceration-focused approaches, state leaders must advance strategies to reduce youth violence, strengthen families and communities, and target the longstanding structural barriers to opportunity — such as poverty and housing instability — that disproportionately impact Black, Latinx, and other Californians of color.

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Governor Newsom’s revised budget includes deeper cuts to vital programs and services that will negatively impact the lives of families with low incomes, foster youth, immigrant communities, people with disabilities, and many more Californians. Nearly 90% of the governor’s proposals to close the budget shortfall come from spending-related actions, including cuts and delays. In contrast, raising additional revenue makes up less than 4% and withdrawing from the rainy day fund makes up less than 6% of his proposals.

State leaders could prevent the most disastrous cuts by further tapping into the state’s rainy day fund and permanently reducing tax breaks for profitable corporations. California is slated to spend billions of dollars on tax breaks this year — despite the budget shortfall — with some of the most costly breaks primarily benefiting highly profitable corporations at a time when corporate profits have reached record highs. These tax breaks take billions of dollars out of the state budget that would be better spent supporting the health and well-being of Californians.

As policymakers navigate a challenging budget year and work toward a California for all, it’s crucial that fair taxation and increasing revenues be part of the solution. By tapping into California’s great wealth and reallocating resources to benefit all Californians, policymakers can chart a path forward where economic opportunity, affordable housing, accessible health care, quality education, child care, and other basic needs are within reach for every Californian.

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Policy-making should be based on facts and evidence, not false perceptions or political motivations. Proposals to increase penalties for shoplifting fail this test.

In California, shoplifting is a misdemeanor that applies when the value of goods taken is $950 or less. Retail theft that exceeds $950 may be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony. This standard was created by Proposition 47, a reform measure passed by voters in November 2014, and is one of the toughest in the country. For example, in Texas, a felony charge isn’t triggered until the value of stolen goods reaches $2,500 — much higher than in California.

Shoplifting remains well below pre-pandemic levels despite a recent rise. The shoplifting rate — the number of shoplifting crimes per 100,000 Californians — was 210 in 2022, the most recent statewide data available. This is down by 17% from 2014, the year that Prop. 47 took effect.

Policymakers should avoid resurrecting the failed, incarceration-focused policies of the past. Instead, California needs thoughtful solutions to real, high-priority problems. This includes addressing the root causes of crime by investing in housing, jobs, education, food assistance, and other strategies to ensure that all Californians can be healthy and thrive.

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California's crime rates are down significantly compared to past highs, despite a recent national increase. Learn how California's current crime rate compares to previous decades.

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