“Today the Senate has taken decisive steps to reform our
state’s welfare system and begin to rebuild the precious public trust and
program integrity that have been seriously damaged by a system with too much
tolerance for waste, fraud, and abuse,” said Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr
(R-Gloucester). “Our caucus has been unrelenting in the pursuit of
necessary reform measures, and we are pleased that many of them have been
incorporated into the bill that now leaves the Senate chamber.”
“Our steadfast efforts to reform our broken and wasteful
welfare system finally paid off today. While not a perfect bill, today
our Caucus was successful in making the reforms stronger and penalties
tougher. While this is a significant step in protecting taxpayer dollars
against waste and abuse, we must remain vigilant in making sure this Welfare
Reform Bill is not weakened on its way to becoming law,” said Assistant Senate
Minority Leader Robert Hedlund (R-Weymouth).
The bill released to the floor for debate already included
several important provisions championed by the caucus, including:
• Ending the shell game of issuing a temporary placeholder number in lieu of an
accurate Social Security number;
• Implementing the most vigorous system possible for verification of eligibility
and identity by requiring the cross checking of all available state, federal,
and commercial databases;
• Including the DTA website and fraud hotline on all EBT cards; and
• Ensuring EBT cardholders and those individuals who are authorized users are in
fact the ones using them by verifying their identity through such tools as
photos, fingerprints or other means of identification.
During yesterday’s debate Republican efforts continued to
strengthen the bill through several key amendments. Many of the amendments that
Senator Tarr, Senator Hedlund, Minority Whip Richard Ross (R-Wrentham) and
Ranking Senate Ways and Means Committee member Michael Knapik (R-Westfield)
succeeded in securing include:
• Requiring the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) to implement an
electronic system to reduce inefficiencies and inaccuracies caused by an
abundance of paperwork;
• Requiring the fraud detection program in DTA to refer any cases of suspected
fraud to the Program Integrity Division within DTA and the Bureau of Special
Investigations in the State Auditor’s office;
• Ensuring the DTA maintains proper control and custody of blank EBT cards,
addressing the concern highlighted in a State Auditor’s report identifying over
30,000 missing blank EBT cards;
• Suspending the liquor and Lottery licenses of those businesses that repeatedly
allow prohibited items to be purchased with EBT funds for 30 days;
• Requiring the DTA to post all reports online that are mandated by the bill;
• Requiring the DTA to conduct an enhanced review of recipients that use cash assistance
in states outside of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island,
New York, and Vermont;
• Enhancing the penalties of the crime of EBT trafficking on a third offense from
5 to 10 years imprisonment and/or a fine of up to $25,000, an increase of the
current $5,000 penalty;
• Denying the possibility of welfare benefits for those ordered to register as a
sex offender but who fail to do so following the hearing of an appeal;
• Requiring welfare recipients who participate in training or education programs
to prove their attendance and participation in them; and
• Preventing illegal immigrant families from displacing legal residents within
public housing.
“Our constituents have called for legislative action to
ensure those who are charged with spending taxpayer dollars are held to the
highest standard,” Senator Knapik said. “Although several efforts offered by
the Republican Caucus to increase accountability were defeated, I am pleased
with the legislature’s efforts to restore integrity to the commonwealth’s
public assistance programs and foster a more accessible pathway to
self-sufficiency for our state’s most vulnerable citizens.”
“This legislation is a significant step forward in tackling
the waste and fraud that has distressed the Commonwealth’s welfare system. Not
only will these reforms strengthen and enhance the integrity of the system, but
they will provide helpful resources for recipients to access employment
opportunities and increase their financial independence,” said Senator Ross.
“Following the passage of this bill we will remain committed
to capturing every opportunity for reform, including securing its passage into
law,” said Senator Tarr.
