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A new bill filed in the Alabama Legislature would require the state to reimburse residents for stolen Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, also known as food stamps, as benefit theft continues to rise across the state.
Sen. Vivian Figures, D-Mobile, has sponsored SB320 with seven other Democratic cosponsors. If passed, the legislation would make Alabama responsible for replacing lost benefits. It cites a lack of security measures to protect electronic benefit transfer cards used by SNAP recipients.
The bill comes after the federal government halted reimbursements for stolen SNAP benefits in December 2024. Before the policy change, individuals who could prove their EBT accounts had been compromised through skimming, cloning or similar fraud were eligible for reimbursement.
During the 2024 fiscal year, 15 percent of Alabama’s population received SNAP benefits. Food insecurity has also risen significantly, with about 13 percent of U.S. households struggling to access enough food, the highest rate since 2014.
Households with lower incomes receive more SNAP benefits than households closer to the poverty line because they need more assistance affording adequate food. According to a report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, SNAP participants in Alabama received $1.73 billion in benefits in 2024.
Alabama has seen a dramatic increase in SNAP benefit theft. To combat the problem, the Alabama Legislature’s Contract Review Committee approved a $6 million fraud prevention initiative in December 2024. The initiative, funded equally by state and federal sources, will introduce chip-enabled EBT cards and allow users to deactivate cards remotely.
While these measures will improve security, they do not provide immediate relief to victims who have already lost their benefits. The new bill seeks to fill that gap by mandating that Alabama cover the cost of stolen benefits.
If passed, the legislation would take effect immediately, ensuring that stolen benefits are reimbursed in full. The bill was read for the first time in the Senate last week and will now go before the Senate Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry Committee.
