Between February 2007 and July 2008, nine states took legislative or regulatory action to eliminate or significantly raise asset limits, or to exempt certain categories of assets from consideration in public assistance asset tests.  Three states – Arizona, Georgia, and New York – used categorical eligibility to eliminate asset limits in the Food Stamps program, with another state using categorical eligibility to significantly raise its Food Stamp asset limit.  Four other states exempted specific types of accounts from consideration in asset tests, with three states applying the exemption to all public assistance and the fourth limiting the exemption to TANF.  The most common account type exempted was 529 college savings plans. Finally, Texas increased its SCHIP asset limit.

The table below provides details on those states that implemented a policy change on asset limits between February 1, 2007, and July 1, 2008.