Abbott cited uncertainty over federal funding of the program as his reason for rejecting the state’s participation.
www.texastribune.org
Gov. Greg Abbott vetoes funding for federal summer lunch program for low-income children
Gov. Greg Abbott has vetoed a $60 million budget measure that would have allowed Texas to enter a federal summer lunch program for low-income children.
The Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer, or Summer EBT program would have given qualifying families $120 per child to pay for lunches during the summer months in 2027. An estimated 3.75 million children statewide would have qualified.
The provision to join the program was tucked inside the state’s budget bill, Senate Bill 1. Texas would have had to pay part of the administration costs to tap into at least $400 million in federal support that would have paid for the lunch subsidies. But Abbott struck the provision in a list of vetoes released on Sunday.