California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a lawsuit filed on Monday against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) over its recent directive demanding extensive personal data on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California as part of a coordinated multi-state legal effort led by the attorneys general of California and New York (Letitia James).
Driving the news: The USDA required states to provide sensitive information such as names, Social Security numbers, and addresses for SNAP recipients, covering data going back five years.
- The plaintiffs argue this demand violates federal privacy laws and exceeds the USDA’s authority, contending the data request is unlawful and dangerous.
The big picture: The lawsuit asserts that the USDA’s demand fits into a broader pattern of federal overreach in personal data collection, referencing previous instances where other agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, accessed private data from the IRS and the Department of Health and Human Services.
- California has taken similar legal action in the past concerning privacy issues related to Medicaid data, showing a pattern of state resistance to expansive federal data demands.
- The USDA has threatened to withhold administrative funding from noncompliant states, which poses a risk to programs reliant on this funding.
State of play: For California, losing this funding could amount to roughly $1 billion annually — a substantial sum used to operate SNAP programs vital to over five million Californians.
- AG Bonta warned that any disruption in funding could jeopardize food access for those relying on SNAP, impacting vulnerable populations such as children who depend on school lunches and disaster victims needing emergency services.
- Alongside California and New York, the coalition suing the USDA includes attorneys general from Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, Wisconsin, Kentucky, and the District of Columbia.
