Until the federal H.R. 1 law took hold, a Maryland SNAP recipient who was a veteran, who was homeless, or who had aged out of foster care before turning 24 did not have to show work hours to keep food benefits. Neither did a 60-year-old with no children at home, or a parent whose youngest child was 15. Maryland’s Department of Human Services (DHS) says all of those groups are now inside the rules, and that up to 80,000 additional Marylanders must report work hours to keep SNAP.
Anyone who cannot meet the requirement and has no exception gets SNAP for only three months, according to DHS. The rules took effect Nov. 1, 2025, and current recipients become subject to them at their next recertification, so many households are meeting them for the first time as their renewal dates come up.
Who Was Exempt Before and Who Is Not Now
DHS describes the change in two sentences. Before H.R. 1, adults ages 18 to 54 without a child under 18 in the home had to follow the work rules. Now the rules cover adults 18 to 64 without a child under 14 in the home.
The state’s Action Transmittal 26-09, issued Oct. 16, 2025, spells out which exemptions were removed: homelessness, veteran status, and former foster youth ages 24 and younger. It lists one new exception, for members of Indian, Urban Indian and California Indian groups…