We Can’t Allow Families Experiencing Benefit Theft to Be Let Down Twice

As a growing number of low-income households across the country who rely on food and cash assistance to purchase food and other essentials began experiencing thefts of funds from their Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards, Maryland was among the first states to take action and ensure that people who experience theft can promptly have their benefits replaced. Now, proposed legislation puts that program at risk.

Families experiencing EBT theft cannot afford to not have their stolen benefits replaced. Households receiving benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA) should not only feel secure knowing that the state will do everything in their power to protect their benefits from theft, but that reimbursement of such benefits is guaranteed if such event were to occur.

These programs provide critical food and cash assistance that help meet families’ everyday needs. However, House Bill 1434 would potentially leave families who are victims of theft unable to afford basic expenses because it would make benefit replacement conditional on state policymakers having designated enough money for the program in the budget.

Under the current program, based on legislation passed last year, the state must promptly replace stolen benefits regardless of the amount of funds appropriated for the program. This structure is similar to other state programs linked to federal entitlement programs, such as the supplemental SNAP benefits for seniors 62 and older.

Before this program was in place, under the administration of former Gov. Larry Hogan, victims who reported the theft of their benefits to DHS were told they cannot be reimbursed. Now thousands of families have benefitted from this program since it began, with 9,212 recipients receiving replacement cash assistance and 9,296 having stolen SNAP benefits replaced in fiscal year 2023. As shared at bill hearings last year and in news coverage, families who experienced benefits theft prior to the reimbursement program were left unable to afford enough food or got behind on rent or other bills, leading to a chain of additional challenges for families who are already living on the margins.

HB 1434, which passed the House of Delegates and is under consideration in the Senate, would subject reimbursement to having available appropriated funds and does not mandate any minimum appropriation. This sets up a scenario in which some families could get reimbursement and others can’t. Marylanders whose benefits are stolen through no fault of their own should be able to count on having those essential funds restored whether their benefits are stolen at the beginning of a state fiscal year or towards the end.

HB 1434 would also put the program’s future in question. While Secretary of Human Services Rafael Lopez and Gov. Wes Moore have been very supportive of the program and have expressed committed to funding it, which may not be the case under a different administration in the future.

While it is important to recognize that the state is facing fiscal challenges, it is both unnecessary and unproductive to make cuts to this essential public benefits program at this time. The best way to reduce the cost of this program is to prevent theft from happening in the first place.

One of the biggest factors driving EBT theft is that these cards lack most of the security features that protect bank and credit cards. The Department of Human Services has recently rolled out a new card lock/unlock feature and education efforts to build awareness of this feature are ongoing. There are also additional security measures being implemented in other states, such as using chipped cards, which Maryland could pursue in the future.

Without the essential protections in place today, the burden of stolen benefits falls on low-income families that depend on them for survival. Every dollar in benefits they do not receive can significantly impact families’ ability to stay afloat. Notably, Black and Latinx households are far more likely than white households to earn poverty-level wages and are therefore more likely to qualify for safety-net benefits. While state and federal safety-net benefits serve a larger number of white households than households in any other racial or ethnic group, they serve a larger proportion of people of color. Social safety net programs also have a disproportionate positive impact in reducing poverty rates among households of color, emphasizing the importance of maintaining and strengthening such programs.

With already limited support networks and safety nets, families count on receiving the benefits for which they are eligible. Families jump through obstacles that are often administratively burdensome to receive benefits in the first place. As such, it is our responsibility to honor the commitment to support these families.