BATON ROUGE – The Legislature faces tight deadlines this week to keep food assistance flowing to 17% of the state’s residents and to adjust next spring’s election timetable.

The Louisiana House has approved an urgent request to repurpose $150 million by Friday to cover SNAP benefits for nearly 800,000 residents. The Senate plans to vote on the measure Wednesday.

Because of the federal government shutdown, Louisiana and other states are scrambling to find funds next month to pay for groceries provided by SNAP benefits. Louisiana is worried that, while it has the money, it is complicated to access it quickly, and the federal government may not pay it back.

The Senate passed two election bills 27-9 Saturday as the state awaits a U.S. Supreme Court decision on congressional district maps.

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