EBT Reform Stall Causes $120M Grant Loss
A reform measure to halt use of Social Services electronic benefit transfer cards in strip joints and casinos was passed by the state Senate last month but the bill remains stuck in the Assembly’s Social Services Committee costing $120 million in federal aid. Bill co-sponsor Senator Patty Ritchie said, “Welfare benefits are intended to help those who have fallen on hard times, to feed their families and make ends meet, and taxpayer dollars shouldn’t be used to buy booze, cigarettes and lottery tickets.”