Bill Caption

Relating to electronic benefits transfer cards used by or for recipients of benefits under certain assistance programs.

Fiscal Notes

Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for SB 866, As Introduced: a NEGATIVE impact of ($3,516,060) through the biennium ending August 31, 2023. 

The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of the bill. 

Bill Analysis

SB 866 is intended to help curb fraudulent use of public benefits provided by the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) by adding a photo identification component to the Lone Star Card which is used like a debit card for beneficiaries to access their cash benefits to make eligible purchases. In addition to the photo, the Lone Star Card would have information on reporting fraud online and via the fraud hotline. 

SB 866 would require the Department of Public Safety to provide HHSC with photos of a recipient and each person authorized on the recipient's account. The commission would use these photographs for the Lone Star Card. Certain exemptions to the photo requirement would apply.

HHSC would be required to monitor the frequency of requests from recipients for replacement cards and would have to submit a report with this information to the House and Senate standing committees representing jurisdiction over the financial assistance and supplemental nutrition assistance programs. 

Vote Recommendation Notes

We support effective efforts to curb fraud, including fraudulent use of taxpayer provided assistance. However, the photo id provision proposed by SB 866 is of questionable effectiveness, especially given the cost to update the Lone Star Card in this way, because there is no real enforcement mechanism. Grocery store clerks are unlikely to look at the photos closely enough to make them effective and lack the legal authority to decline a transaction for suspected fraud. For these reasons we doubt the costs of the bill would be outweighed by savings through fraud prevention. 

At the same time, we understand that a report on the frequency of requests for replacement cards may actually help curb fraud. We support this provision of the bill.

For these reasons we oppose SB 866 and recommend it be amended to remove the photo identification requirement. With the adoption of such an amendment we would withdraw our objection to the bill.