Biggs, Kerr puts numbers on the ballot: SNAP errors, data-center costs, and water math

Congressman Andy Biggs named former state Sen. Sine Kerr as his running mate, positioning her to become Arizona’s first elected lieutenant governor, according to the Arizona Capitol Times. Biggs said he is “thrilled” to add Kerr, praising her agriculture background and credibility with farmers, ranchers, and policymakers. The pick gives the GOP ticket a rural-policy specialist at a time when water, utility costs, and welfare administration all carry measurable price tags for taxpayers.

This is the first year Arizona gubernatorial nominees must choose a running mate, and the new office’s duties will largely be defined by the next governor. Kerr’s record is steeped in water and agriculture. Biggs highlighted her work to secure more funding for the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority for conservation projects, while the Capitol Times noted many water stakeholders viewed Kerr and Rep. Gail Griffin as bulwarks against groundwater reform. The fiscal consequence is straightforward: the administration’s choices on water, utilities, and welfare errors will decide who pays and how much.

Start with SNAP. Arizona faces a potential $208 million penalty because the U.S. Department of Agriculture calculated the state’s payment error rate at 10.8 percent, the Capitol Times reported. Under H.R. 1, states with error rates above 6 percent must begin sharing SNAP costs starting in 2028. Biggs voted for the cuts that contribute to these changes. The Trump White House framed the law as ensuring sustainability and imposing “reasonable cost-sharing” to crack down on waste, fraud, and abuse. DES Director Michael Wisehart called the law sweeping, said DES moved quickly to comply, and emphasized error rates reflect under- and over-payments, not fraud.

Here are the human and budget signals the Capitol Times documented: more than 475,000 Arizonans lost SNAP benefits after last year’s federal cuts, and the state’s participation rate fell nearly 55 percent over the past year as of April. Yet 472,000 Arizonans received assistance in June, up 36,500 since April, suggesting caseload stabilization. At the Legislature, Senate Majority Leader John Kavanagh ran three bills to address the error rate and reform SNAP; Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed all three. Kavanagh said work and verification expectations are reasonable and argued states with larger losses likely had more ineligible people on the rolls. A Biggs spokesman previously said the candidate supports rooting out waste and a self-sufficient economy.

For taxpayers, the pivotal number is 6 percent. If Arizona drives its SNAP error rate below that threshold before 2028, the state avoids sharing benefit costs. If it does not, the state starts writing checks. DES says numbers are stabilizing. Voters should ask the Biggs-Kerr ticket whether they will publish a month-by-month error-rate reduction plan to get under 6 percent, and what administrative steps they will use to hit it without creating longer lines and paperwork dead-ends for eligible families.

Now to data centers, where the incentives ledger is finally getting scrutiny. In the 16 days before Arizona’s three-year subsidy moratorium began July 1, developers filed 113 tax-incentive applications, compared with 123 applications in the program’s prior 13 years, the Arizona Globe reported. That stampede is a tell. The subsidy was valuable enough to spur a run, which also signals taxpayer exposure if deals are mispriced or if grid upgrades are socialized onto residential ratepayers.

Rep. Gail Griffin pushed House Bill 2756 to get ahead of that cost shift. The new law requires utilities to publicly report proposed, completed, and canceled connections for extra-high-load customers, including megawatts requested, and directs the Arizona Corporation Commission and public-utility governing boards to set contract and payment requirements so data-center costs are not dumped on other customers. Griffin and House Republicans pitched it as a way to protect ratepayers while allowing growth.

Senate Minority Leader Priya Sundareshan calls the moratorium “a great start” and wants lawmakers to consider permanently eliminating the sales-tax exemption. She also wants better information on water use, whether companies pay their fair share for water, how their demand affects rates, and whether to require renewable power for such facilities. Commerce Authority rulings on those 113 applications, expected within about 60 days of complete filings, will shape the 2027 debate. As always, the required metric is cost per job, matched against lifetime water and power costs that someone will pay.

Kerr’s water posture matters here. The Capitol Times reported she left Gov. Katie Hobbs’ Water Policy Council and, along with Griffin, was seen by many water stakeholders as resistant to groundwater reform. Biggs praised her role in boosting WIFA conservation funding. If the GOP ticket leans on financing instead of new rules, taxpayers should demand clear deliverables: acre-feet conserved per dollar, aquifer levels improved, and project-by-project transparency. More money without measurable hydrologic gains is an accounting trick, not a solution.

Meanwhile, Arizona’s private safety net is straining under the SNAP shift. St. Mary’s Food Bank told the Capitol Times it has seen a 15 percent increase in visits over the last year, about 300,000 additional Arizonans served. Most food is donated; roughly 15 percent comes from the federal government, and the food bank buys another 15 percent, a share that has risen with food inflation and fuel costs. “We’re buying more food than ever before,” President and CEO Milt Liu said, adding that for nonprofits asked to fill the gap, “the math doesn’t math.” When public benefits are tightened without clean administration, local charities and, eventually, local taxpayers carry the load.

The Biggs-Kerr ticket now has a clear taxpayer scorecard. On SNAP, commit to driving errors under 6 percent and show the month-to-month. On data centers, publish the true ratepayer impact of extra-high-load connections and the per-job cost of any deals made before the moratorium. On water, pair any WIFA dollars with public, verifiable conservation outcomes and a plan to move beyond stalemates. Rural Arizona will “always have a seat at the table,” Kerr said. Taxpayers deserve a seat too, with numbers on the table and results that add up.

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