To help counter the ongoing theft of SNAP benefits, Assemblyman William Colton (D—Gravesend, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach and Dyker Heights) has introduced legislation that, if enacted, would require the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) to issue chip-enabled EBT cards to individuals enrolled in the program, and reimburse them for any stolen SNAP benefits till their new, more secure cards are issued, as long as they did not participate in the theft of benefits.

The assemblyman introduced the legislation (A09358) as a way of combatting the rash of thefts from SNAP accounts via unauthorized transactions, whereby recipients of benefits suddenly found their accounts emptied of funds that they need to purchase food for their families. Beyond SNAP, the legislation would also require the replacement of EBT cards issued by or on behalf of New York State that provide access to a wide range of public assistance or benefit funds, from child support to medical assistance.

While the federal government had previously refunded amounts that were stolen from SNAP cards via skimming, cloning or phishing once the theft was proven, it stopped doing so on December 20, 2024. The state has already put in place a system that allows SNAP recipients to unfreeze their accounts on their smartphones when they are ready to pay for groceries, then freeze them right afterwards, and had indicated that it would look into updating the cards with chip-enabled technology, further to secure access to the benefits by mitigating scanning and skimming. However, as of now, that has not happened, and thefts are still occurring.

“We can’t allow SNAP recipients and their families to go without food because an easily fixable problem remains uncorrected,” said Assemblyman Colton. “Not everyone has a smartphone and those who do not remain especially vulnerable to having their benefits stolen. The state should move immediately to issue the more secure EBT cards to all recipients, and, until it does so, it should commit to covering losses that occur because of weaknesses in the technology that is currently in use. We know how to do this. There is frankly no excuse for delaying any further.”