A fed-up House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo warned welfare recipients last night no matter how tough times get, buying booze, tobacco and Lottery tickets with state-issued EBT cards won’t be tolerated.
The House agreed, voting 155-0 to ban the use of the cards for the frivolous purchases.
“Alcohol, tobacco products and Lottery tickets are not acceptable necessities of life,” DeLeo said.
The vote comes after a series of Herald reports on the abuse of the Electronic Benefit Transfer cards — which quickly became a campaign issue for Gov. Deval Patrick.
As the Herald first reported, Bay State welfare recipients blew nearly $200,000 in taxpayer dough on a broad array of luxuries last year — including alcohol, lingerie, tanning parlors, jewelry, movie theaters and even pets.
State officials argued that most of the $46.4 million that welfare recipients spent using the debit cards in fiscal 2010 went to supermarkets and pharmacies.
Welfare spokeswoman Jennifer Kritz said the Patrick administration “continues to support prohibiting the use of EBT cards to purchase alcohol and tobacco products and is in the process of reviewing the language in the House amendment to ensure that it is enforceable.” She added $4 million was collected last year from welfare frauds.
The state Senate must still rule on the get-tough bill.
The legislation warns store owners they cannot accept EBT cards as payment for alcohol, smokes or Lottery games.
Violators face a fine of up to $1,000.
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