With a little more than a week until federal funding for food assistance programs serving half a million Nevadans ends, conflict is brewing between Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) and Treasurer Zach Conine (D) over how and whether state funds could keep benefits flowing.

Though states such as Virginia, Hawaii and Colorado have taken a variety of steps to cover the expected loss of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding as the federal government enters the fourth week of the shutdown, Nevada health officials say food stamp benefits will end Nov. 1 for approximately 500,000 Nevadans. The program costs about $90 million each month. 

The issue bubbled to the surface Wednesday when Lombardo’s office released a statement indicating that setting up a separate funding mechanism for the SNAP program would require legislative authorization and would take three to six months to implement and align with federal guidance — not soon enough to help with the timing of the loss of SNAP benefits.

In the statement, which called on congressional Democrats to end the shutdown, Lombardo included a fact sheet that said the state could seek to fund SNAP benefits through various emergency funds but regulations prohibit their use for funding SNAP directly. Nevada has already moved to extend a separate federal food assistance program for nursing mothers and infants using $7.3 million in emergency funding reserves.

On Friday, Conine’s office issued a press release highlighting the need for “state-based solutions” to continue food assistance funding, not naming Lombardo but noting that the Trump administration had scuttled emergency assistance proposals from the state “just yesterday.”

Conine elaborated in a call with The Nevada Independent, saying that an administration official had said an idea his office had proposed about using SNAP files to send out checks to Nevadans was a violation of federal regulations. 

“Now, our office and a number of lawyers who used to work for the [U.S. Department of Agriculture] that we’ve talked to think that that's probably not true, but they’re the administrator of the program, and so we immediately pivoted,” Conine said.

In a statement, Lombardo’s Chief of Staff Ryan Cherry said the governor’s office has been working on “proactive, bipartisan solutions” with state lawmakers and agencies for weeks.

“Instead of joining those efforts, the Treasurer has advocated for policies that run afoul of legal authority and the concerted efforts of the executive and legislative branch,” he said. “We remain focused on providing solutions for all Nevadans impacted by the federal government shutdown, and we encourage the Treasurer to join that partnership instead of sending inflammatory press releases.”

Behind the scenes, email records reviewed by The Nevada Independent show that the governor’s office had included Conine in conversations with the Trump administration about funding temporary SNAP benefits through state funds, but later asked Conine to step back.

Officials with the U.S. Department of Agriculture told Nevada state officials in mid-October that the state cannot transmit the SNAP data to create an emergency cash program or share SNAP household data with vendors overseeing the electronic benefit transfer system that allows SNAP recipients to pay for food with SNAP benefits.

As communications continued between Conine and SNAP vendors, Lombardo’s office told Conine that he was not authorized to speak with the vendor of the state’s SNAP program without the inclusion of the governor’s office over fears it would violate regulations — which could jeopardize future SNAP funding.

Conine told The Nevada Independent he has been focused on finding an alternative way for the state to fund SNAP benefits, noting the $1.2 billion available in the state’s Rainy Day Fund.

“We have 1 in 6 Nevadans on SNAP benefits, which means that 1 in 6 Nevadans at the beginning of November are going to have difficulty putting the food on the table,” he said. “We need every great idea to come forward and to find a solution here.”

In a response to a letter from three of Nevada’s congressional Democrats on Friday, Lombardo wrote that federal administrators have made it clear the state cannot directly cover the costs of the benefits and be reimbursed by the federal government, even if he were to call a special legislative session. He said his administration “has also reiterated this, repeatedly, to State Treasurer Conine.”

Lombardo added that he had directed state agencies and potentially the state National Guard to “to expand support for food banks and community partners that serve SNAP beneficiaries.”

“These resources will be available to any Nevadans in need of assistance as a result of the federal shutdown, like the thousands of Nevadans who are currently not receiving paychecks,” he wrote.

Conine said he published the press release as a call to ensure the state finds creative solutions to the crisis and wants to work with anyone who is interested in finding a solution. 

In the press release, Conine said the loss of benefits could lead to a reduced economic output  of $162 million for the state almost immediately. If the shutdown continues and December SNAP benefits are cut as well, Conine warned of a loss of $324 million in overall economic activity.

Asked about the emails and the governor’s office revoking Conine’s authorization to speak on behalf of the administration, Conine said he works on behalf of Nevadans.

“I don’t work for Donald Trump, and I don’t work for Governor Lombardo, and I certainly don’t work for [Lombardo Chief of Staff] Ryan Cherry or anybody else in that administration,” he said. “I would hope that everyone is focused on finding a way to put food on the tables of that half a million Nevada families who need it, and I think anything else is just a distraction from the work.”