S.C. SNAP Changes Could Cut Benefit from 60,000

South Carolina leaders are promising more help to get people on food stamps back to work.

Some people who receive the benefits from SNAP will now have to meet new requirements. Gov. Nikki Haley announced those changes that will affect more than 60,000 individuals in South Carolina who currently receive the benefits.

Haley says the changes come as South Carolina's unemployment rates continue to fall.

Under the new standards, any able-bodied adult without dependents will be limited to three months of SNAP benefits unless they meet a work requirement or exemption -- that being at least 20 hours of work during the week or at least 20 hours of a job training.

Haley says the state was able to request a waiver like they have in previous years but believes this decision will move the state forward and put more of those individuals to work.

"We are in a position where we don't want that waiver anymore. We want to be able to increase job requirements. We want to be able to give more opportunities to these adults and allow us to do that," Haley said. "So through that, we are not going to ask for another waiver, we are going to say no we are going to increase the work requirements. We are not taking these benefits away but we see this as an opportunity to give more people work."

Right now there is more than 770,000 people in South Carolina receive the SNAP benefits. These new changes will not affect those who are disabled, elderly or who have dependents.