Many Ohioans receiving food stamps would have their photos on the program’s electronic benefit transfer cards under legislation backed by Ohio House and Senate Republicans.
The legislation, which has not yet been introduced in the General Assembly, would exempt adults who have a disability, are age 60 or older, are a victim of domestic violence or have religious exemptions to being photographed.
Bill sponsors Sen. Matt Huffman and Rep. Tim Schaffer said Wednesday the photo requirement will deter people from using other people’s cards.
Stores would not have to check the cards for photos and could not turn away people if the shopper did not match the card photo, Huffman and Schaffer said. But retailers would be encouraged to report suspicious activity to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the program.
Ohio Auditor Dave Yost, who last year highlighted possible fraud in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, supported the legislation at a news conference. Yost said benefit cards can be traded for cash or drugs.
“Every instance where there’s something, even relatively small, it undermines public support for it,” Yost said. “At the end of the day, nobody in Ohio or America should go hungry, especially no child, and support for this program will be eroded by it being abused.”
Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, executive director of the Ohio Association of Food Banks, said she supports rooting out fraud in the program. But she said there could be unintended consequences from the photo requirement, such as a teenager or caregiver being turned away at the register.
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