Georgia Lawmakers Introduce Bill Restricting Access to Cash Assistance

George has become the latest state to see legislation introduced that would restrict where Temporary Assistance for Needy Families payments, known as TANF, could be accessed electronically and how they could be used.

House Bill 138 would clamp down on the use of electronic benefits transfer cards, known as EBT, in certain types of businesses and for certain purposes.  not intended under the federal law that created the TANF program. The state law would also provide for reporting of suspected abuse, as well as investigations and sanctions against offenders.

The Georgia bill is just the latest in a parade of state legislative actions designed to cut down on misuse of TANF and other cash subsidies. A rash of media stories last month about abuse in the TANF program led to the introduction of restriction bills in states like New York, Indiana, Hawaii and now Georgia, industry analysts have observed. 

For more information visit the websites of the Electronic Funds Transfer Association and the eGovernment Payments Council. 

Complete Agenda for the upcoming eGPC Spring Technology Meeting

The eGovernment Payments Council will hold its 2013 Spring Technology meeting April 10-11 in Fairfax, VA. The meeting will be hosted by the Electronic Funds Transfer Association. The focus of the meeting will be new technologies and their potential use in government payments delivery. Here is the complete agenda:

eGovernment Payments Council

Spring Business Meeting

Hosted by the Electronic Funds Transfer Association

4000 Legato Road, Suite 1100

Fairfax, VA 22033

April 10-11, 2013

Time	Item	Owner
1:00	Welcome	Mr. Pfeuffer
1:15	Approval of last meeting’s minutes	Mr. Pfeuffer, Ms. Rosenak
1:30	Committee Reports
	Legislative	Ms. Vollinger
	State Forum	Ms. Kagee
	Technology and Policy Caucus	Mr. Sena
	Rules and Practices Caucus	Ms. French
2:30	FNS Update	TBD
3:30	Break
3:45	EBT—The Next Generation Recap	Mr. Pfeuffer
4:15	Head in the Clouds: Cloud Computing and EBT	Mr. Sena
5:15	Day 1 Adjournment
8:30	What, Me Worry? Will the implementation of EMV standards affect your EBT program?	Mr. Conser
9:30	EBT—The Next Generation 2013: Planning Update	Mr. Pfeuffer
10:00	Break
10:30	Complying with Section 4004: How States Plan on Implementing TANF Restrictions	Ms. Kagee
11:30	New Business	Mr. Pfeuffer
12:00	Adjournment

To register, visit the Events and Registration page at www.efta.org. Registration will be available the week of January 21.