New state laws ban gambling on welfare cash

New state laws ban drinking, smoking, gambling on welfare cash

Compiled by Elizabeth Stuart , Deseret News

Published: Monday, July 9 2012 4:40 p.m. MDT

A growing number of states are moving to ban welfare recipients from spending government cash on vices such as cigarettes and liquor.

Ten states have passed laws restricting purchases and 14 more have legislation on the table, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In addition to cigarettes and alcohol, states are also prohibiting spending on strip clubs, gambling and guns.

The trend is inspired by a new federal law that will cut support to states that don't ban the use of cash benefits in liquor stores, gambling establishments and adult entertainment businesses by 2014, USA Today reported. States stand to lose $125 million.

The federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as food stamps), supplies the poor with grocery money, wrote USA Today's Marisol Bello. The welfare assistance is designed to cover non-food necessities and comes in the form of an "electronic benefit transfer" debit card.

In at least eight states, news outlets have reported people using welfare debit cards to withdraw thousands of dollars from ATMs in casinos, liquor stores and strip clubs, Bello wrote.

"Public assistance is designed to help needy families provide for their children until they can transition back to the workforce and become self-sufficient,” state Sen. Thomas Libous, who sponsored a law in New York, told the New York Post. "This common-sense legislation would protect hardworking taxpayers from abuse while ensuring that individuals receiving welfare benefits continue to get the temporary assistance they need and deserve."

But even with laws on the books, even supporters say it will be difficult — though not impossible — to police welfare recipients' spending habits.

For example, New York's law, which is winding its way through the senate, bars welfare recipients from withdrawing cash from ATMs inside liquor stores, betting parlors and sex clubs. But there is nothing keeping people from withdrawing cash elsewhere and spending it wherever they please, New York Magazine reported.

Massachusetts passed a law last year prohibiting people from spending cash assistance on alcohol, tobacco and lottery tickets, but so far no one has turned in any violators, according to USA Today. It is "not possible to pinpoint what is being purchased, as many retail stores sell a variety of products including food, household items, alcohol and tobacco," said Alec Loftus, a spokesman for the state's Office of Health and Human Services.

Critics say the laws reinforce stereotypes that depict the poor as undeserving and wasteful. This year, 28 states also proposed legislation requiring welfare recipients to undergo drug testing, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Seven states have approved such measures.

"Most people receiving public assistance are grateful for their benefits, and are using them correctly to get back on their feet after suffering financially devastating circumstances," wrote Vicki Davey of examiner.com. "This is an important issue because yes, spending should be monitored; but, can we do this without causing those who have suffered great loss and swallowed their pride to feel punished when they reach out for help?"

EMAIL: estuart@desnews.com; TWITTER: elizMstuart

http://www.deseretnews.com/m/article/865558750

We already ban welfare spending in casinos....

Businesses: We already ban welfare spending in casinos, bars, strip clubs
By Stephanie Snyder
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Rod Aranki sees it “a couple times a week” – people coming into his Phoenix store, the Liquor Wheel, and trying to buy alcohol with their welfare benefits.

“People do try,” said Aranki, who turns away the people who try to buy alcohol with their Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards, the debit cards that access their Cash Assistance benefits from the state.

“Nobody really asks because they know I won’t let them,” Aranki said. “Given the opportunity, I’m sure they probably would.”

Now, a new federal proposal aims to take even the opportunity away from welfare recipients by forcing states to prohibit the use of EBT cards in liquor stores, casinos or strip clubs.

The “welfare integrity” bill, which passed the House 395-27 this month, would give states two years to get such restrictions in place. States that don’t do so would see their federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families grant cut by 5 percent a year until they meet the requirements.
But state officials and business owners in Arizona say the state is already dealing with the issue, either informally like Aranki or formally like Mark Brnovich.

Brnovich, the director of the Arizona Department of Gaming, said Arizona has been working to keep welfare dollars out of the state’s casinos for years. State law bars EBT cards from being used at tribal gaming facilities and ATMs at casinos, he said.

“It’s not really an issue here in Arizona because we are so vigilant to make sure it doesn’t happen,” Brnovich said. “We test every single ATM prior to going live in gaming casinos and make sure we test them on a regular basis to ensure they do not accept EBT cards or any other cards designed to help needy families and children.

“It’s important any time a government entity or agency, whether federal or state, is providing services to needy individuals or families that … they ensure those funds are being used for what they were intended to be used for,” Brnovich said.

He said the state became aware of the issue after news reports showed other jurisdictions, like California, reporting high numbers of welfare dollars being withdrawn at casinos.

A national organization representing strip clubs said it also learned about the issue through news reports and legislative proposals.

“We thought it was atrocious,” said Angelina Spencer, executive director of the Association of Club Executives. Welfare money is “meant for children,” she said, and no legitimate operators would want to see that money spent in their businesses.

At several Phoenix-area strip clubs, employees said they had never heard of a patron trying to use an EBT card in the business. But that doesn’t mean there’s not a need for legislation preventing it, said an employee at Bourbon Street who identified himself as a manager, but declined to give his name.

“I can’t imagine someone saying that’s not a good idea – other than the strippers,” he said.
But at least 27 members of Congress do think it’s a bad idea, including Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Tucson. He was the only Arizona lawmaker to vote against the bill.

A spokesman for Grijalva said that while the bill seems like a “really great piece of legislation,” it won’t actually stop people from spending money in the targeted businesses. Adam Sarvana notes that the bill would only control where people use their EBT card or where they withdraw cash from their welfare accounts – not where they spend it once the cash is in their hands.

“As far as how that would be done, I have no idea,” Sarvana said of the problems of tracking cash spending.

Besides, he said, for many welfare recipients the closest ATM may be in a liquor store or casino.
“You’re kind of hitting the poorest of the poor with a bill like that,” he said. “It sounds ridiculous to us.”

The state provided 18,750 families with funding last year under the Cash Assistance program, which is designed to help families meet basic needs of food, housing and the like. To qualify, families cannot earn more than the federal poverty level – $1,838 for a family of four – unless the head of household is not a parent, according to the Department of Economic Security website. Monthly benefits range from as little as $10 up to $791, depending on rent, family size and other factors.

The Arizona Department of Economic Security does not currently track where people use their EBT cards in the Cash Assistance program, spokeswoman Tasya Peterson said in an email. And state law does not restrict the use of EBT cards in liquor stores, said a spokeswoman for the Arizona Department of Liquor Licensing and Control.

Lee Hill said state liquor law is “silent on the topic of what can be accepted” at liquor stores, and that monitoring where welfare assistance is spent is not under the regulatory authority of the department.

“I’m not aware that that’s elevated to a level of concern at this point,” Hill said.

“Only reason it would be on our radar would be if we … saw a trend that is negatively impacting the citizens of Arizona,” she said. “Certainly that would become an issue with us.”
But so far it “hasn’t been a topic of conversation,” she said.

While Hill said she has not heard of a problem with people trying to use welfare dollars for alcohol, Aranki said that having a federal law on the books to prohibit the practice couldn’t hurt.

“If people follow the rules, it shouldn’t be a problem, but you never know what’s going on,” he said.

Facts about Arizona's Cash Assistance Program

• Arizona's welfare program, Cash Assistance, provides needy families with a temporary monthly stipend to use for basic needs expenses to help them become self-sufficient.
• The state has a two-year limit on receiving benefits for the head of household and spouse. Families receive benefits for an average of 10.4 months.
• Monthly benefits can range from $10 to $791 depending on rent or mortgage payments, the number of qualified family members and the head of household's relationship to the dependent children.
• For example, a family of four that pays rent could receive as much as $335 per month.
• Adult recipients must sign a Personal Responsibility Agreement indicating their agreement to work toward a job and, if applicable, comply with child support payments.

Source: Arizona Department of Economic Security

No more lap dances or slot machines, House tells welfare recipients

If employed Casino Workers are receiving welfare [as indicated in the quote below], is Congressional action to entire solution?

Some state officials also question the provision. Miki Allard, a spokeswoman for the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, said: “It may be very appropriate for our public assistance recipients to access benefits from casino machines. A large proportion of our clients work in casinos. They are not there to gamble. They are there to work.”

From:
Casino Workers on Welfare



No more lap dances or slot machines, House tells welfare recipients
By Steve Tetreault
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON -- A House vote Wednesday could make it more difficult for people on welfare to get a lap dance or pull levers at the slot machines.

By a 395-27 vote, lawmakers passed a bill that would require states to block welfare debit cards from being used at casinos, strip clubs and liquor stores.

The bill aims to close what sponsors called a "strip club loophole" in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.

A series of news investigations uncovered the problem, said Rep. Charles Boustany, R-La.

■ In Washington state, 13,000 people withdrew an estimated $2 million in welfare cash at casinos, a Seattle TV station reported early last year.

■ In 2010, California welfare recipients withdrew $1.8 billion from casino ATMs using their cards, state officials acknowledged to the Los Angeles Times.

Maybe the problem is the Gambling Industry targeting the poor?

"If someone is in need of assistance, what on earth are they doing getting cash in a casino?" said Rep. Geoff Davis, R-Ky. "It is an inappropriate use of taxpayer dollars and the taxpayers' trust."

The provision was put into a separate payroll tax bill in December, but that bill has been stalled. It was brought up separately on Wednesday for an election-year vote that drew broad bipartisan support.

All three Nevada House lawmakers voted for it over the objections of the state's gaming industry, which is vigilant for all legislation that affects casinos.

"While I am wary of placing additional burdens on the gaming industry -- the lifeblood of our economy -- we cannot tolerate taxpayer dollars being spent at strip clubs or liquor stores," said Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev.

Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., said the bill was "common sense."

"We certainly do not want TANF welfare funds to be 'gambled,' and many of our member companies voluntarily work with state regulators to prevent this activity from happening," the American Gaming Association said in a statement.

"We are concerned, however, that the characterization of our industry in this bill potentially creates a dangerous precedent of trying to carve out one type of resort (casinos) from all other types of resorts."

The casinos also objected to being lumped with strip clubs and liquor stores. Those establishments "have a much more narrow scope of business," the gaming association said.

The bill would order states to comply within two years or risk losing 5 percent of their federal welfare grants.

Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., said that while he had reservations about how the bill would be carried out, "I think Nevada can do its part to help ensure that this assistance is used as it was intended."

"It should be noted that casinos offer many forms of entertainment beyond gaming, but I think that we can all agree that the TANF program should not be used to pay for entertainment," Amodei said.

Casino Workers on Welfare

Massachusetts lawmakers swallowed the low wage jobs propaganda of the Gambling Lobbyists, yet the New York Times article at the bottom contains this curious comment:

Congress extended the program for two months, but its future beyond that is up in the air. If Congress provides additional welfare money, it is likely to come with new conditions.

Many states deliver cash assistance using electronic benefit transfer cards. The House has voted twice this month to forbid use of the cards at any liquor store, casino or strip club — any “retail establishment which provides adult-oriented entertainment in which performers disrobe or perform in an unclothed state for entertainment.”

Several states have been embarrassed by the disclosure that welfare recipients were claiming benefits at such places.

Representative Gwen Moore, Democrat of Wisconsin, opposed the restriction, saying it would “humiliate and marginalize” poor people.

“In many neighborhoods,” she said, “the closest A.T.M. is located in a nearby liquor store.”

Some state officials also question the provision. Miki Allard, a spokeswoman for the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, said: “It may be very appropriate for our public assistance recipients to access benefits from casino machines. A large proportion of our clients work in casinos. They are not there to gamble. They are there to work.”

American taxpayers are subsidizing wealthy casino owners because they pay their workers so poorly, they qualify for welfare.

Political Struggle in Congress Delayed, Not Resolved
By ROBERT PEAR

WASHINGTON — When Congress handily passed a bill to set payroll tax rates, jobless benefits and Medicare doctors’ fees for the next two months, it seemed to end an epic political struggle between President Obama and Republicans on Capitol Hill. In fact, that was just the beginning.

Every issue in dispute remains unresolved, waiting to be addressed when Congress returns next month for an election-year session in which agreements could be even more elusive.

Basically, the new law, signed on Friday by Mr. Obama, preserves the status quo through February, so House and Senate negotiators can try to reach longer-term agreements on the Social Security payroll tax, unemployment insurance, Medicare and a few other issues, like the shape of the welfare program that provides cash assistance to more than 4.6 million poor people.

The law says that Mr. Obama shall grant a permit within 60 days for construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, from Canada to the Gulf Coast, unless he finds that the project “would not serve the national interest.” Republicans in Congress are already looking for additional ways to put pressure on Mr. Obama if he blocks the pipeline or delays a decision.

Under growing political pressure, House Republican leaders accepted the two-month extension of payroll tax relief. But many rank-and-file members of the House Republican caucus said they doubted that the tax break would do much to stimulate the economy and saw no urgent need to continue it for 10 more months. By contrast, Mr. Obama and Congressional Democrats say the payroll tax cut is needed to bolster the economy.

An extension of the tax cut and jobless benefits “should be a formality,” Mr. Obama said. But he added, “We have a lot more work to do,” and said he expected “some tough fights.”

Even if Democrats and Republicans could agree on extending the payroll tax cut, they fundamentally disagree about how to offset the additional cost, $100 billion for the last 10 months of 2012.

The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, made clear on Friday that Democrats would keep pressing for a tax surcharge on individual income over $1 million — a demand dropped by Democrats in talks that led to the two-month compromise.

“There should be a fair tax on rich people,” Mr. Reid said.

With a few exceptions, Republicans in Congress have opposed a “millionaires’ tax,” saying it would hurt the economy and people who create jobs.

House Republicans would pay for the legislation, in part, by freezing the pay of federal employees through September 2013.

Democrats generally oppose that idea.

A 20-member conference committee will try to work out differences between the House and the Senate on a yearlong bill. Mr. Reid said he had appointed Senator Benjamin L. Cardin of Maryland to the panel because he knew that Mr. Cardin would guard the interests of federal employees. More than 275,000 federal workers live in Maryland.

The fate of the main federal-state welfare program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, was largely overlooked in the fight over payroll taxes. Money and the legal authority for the welfare program were due to run out on Dec. 31.

Jennifer Hrycyna Wagner, the welfare director in Illinois, said state officials around the country feared a possible interruption in benefits and services for “our most vulnerable residents.”

Congress extended the program for two months, but its future beyond that is up in the air. If Congress provides additional welfare money, it is likely to come with new conditions.

Many states deliver cash assistance using electronic benefit transfer cards. The House has voted twice this month to forbid use of the cards at any liquor store, casino or strip club — any “retail establishment which provides adult-oriented entertainment in which performers disrobe or perform in an unclothed state for entertainment.”

Several states have been embarrassed by the disclosure that welfare recipients were claiming benefits at such places.

Representative Gwen Moore, Democrat of Wisconsin, opposed the restriction, saying it would “humiliate and marginalize” poor people.

“In many neighborhoods,” she said, “the closest A.T.M. is located in a nearby liquor store.”

Some state officials also question the provision. Miki Allard, a spokeswoman for the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, said: “It may be very appropriate for our public assistance recipients to access benefits from casino machines. A large proportion of our clients work in casinos. They are not there to gamble. They are there to work.”

A bigger fight looms over unemployment insurance. House Republicans want to reduce the maximum duration of benefits to 59 weeks, from 99. They would allow states to require drug testing. And they would require most recipients of jobless benefits to search for work and to enroll in G.E.D. programs if they had not completed high school. Republicans also want to allow waivers of federal law so some states could divert money from the payment of benefits to the retraining of workers. Democrats oppose most of those ideas, saying they would cut a lifeline for millions of people who have been out of work for a year or more.

Senator Jack Reed, Democrat of Rhode Island, will be a member of the House-Senate conference committee. In picking him, Mr. Reid noted that Rhode Island had high unemployment and said “no one in the Senate has been more protective of the unemployed.”

The negotiators will also try to find a new way to pay doctors treating Medicare patients, to avoid the continual threat of deep cuts in fees.

Unless Congress steps in, doctors will see a 27 percent reduction in Medicare reimbursements in March. As a result of such cuts, lawmakers say, many older Americans could lose access to their doctors, because doctors would be less willing to take Medicare patients.

One of the five House Democrats named to the conference committee, Representative Allyson Y. Schwartz of Pennsylvania, is drafting legislation to scrap the current payment formula, which penalizes doctors if Medicare spending on physician services exceeds annual goals linked to growth of the nation’s economy.

Delegates seek to ban welfare cards at casinos

Much like the legislation crammed through on Beacon Hill, this effort is too little, too late.

Delegates seek to ban welfare cards at casinos
By LIAM FARRELL, Staff Writer

Two Anne Arundel County delegates want to prohibit the use of welfare cards at slot machine casinos, the latest attempt at limiting the social fallout from Maryland's foray into gambling.

The legislation, sponsored by Dels. Nic Kipke, R-Pasadena, and Bob Costa, R-Deale, would prevent the use of Maryland's "Independence" debit cards at ATMs in state casinos.

"Part of the responsibility of the state is to provide a safety-net benefit," Kipke said. "We still have a responsibility to set high standards."

Two of Maryland's five planned casinos have opened, with facilities running in Cecil and Worcester counties.

The largest slots venue is slated for Anne Arundel County, with The Cordish Cos. working on its Arundel Mills mall site in Hanover. Officials broke ground for the casino Thursday, but residents near the mall have filed an appeal challenging the adequacy of plans for local roads.

Maryland already prohibits the direct use of credit and debit cards in slot machines. Check-cashing is banned as well.

Some slots proceeds are earmarked for gambling addiction programs.

Kipke said he became aware of the welfare card issue after reports in California last year that nearly $2 million of taxpayer money had been withdrawn from casinos.

The delegate said the change would cost little or nothing.

"All of the facilities we have are new," Kipke said.

The state Department of Human Resources, which is in charge of welfare benefits, is still reviewing the bill and has not finalized its position, spokeswoman Nancy Lineman said.

Costa acknowledged that welfare recipients could use other ATMs to get cash before heading to a casino. But he said the bill is a way to stop gambling addicts from impulsively using welfare cards if an ATM is readily available near slots.

"It is basically a family protection bill," he said.

A hearing on the bill is scheduled in the House Ways and Means Committee next month.