SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1741        FILED ON: 1/16/2025

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No.         

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Robyn K. Kennedy

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act to replace stolen benefits.

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PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1741        FILED ON: 1/16/2025

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No.         

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)

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An Act to replace stolen benefits.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Subsection (B) of Section 2 of chapter 18 of the General Laws, as so appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended after line 172 by inserting the following new paragraph:-

(t). promptly replace the full amount of financial assistance or nutrition benefits stolen through electronic benefit transfer card skimming, card cloning or other fraudulent methods, including organized identity theft schemes, to the extent the federal government fails to provide  federal funds to replace stolen benefits, provided that the thefts have been reported to or identified by the Department in accordance with procedures for making and verifying replacement claims established by the department.