State Would Take Back Funds From High-Balance FoodShare Accounts Under GOP Bill

A bill targeting high balances on Wisconsin food stamp accounts passed a state Senate committee on a party line vote Wednesday.

Under the plan, FoodShare accounts that go untouched for six months would be wiped clean of all benefits. To regain access to benefits, participants would be allowed to request reactivation of their account or reapply for the program.

The bill also allows the state to take away all benefits that are more than a year old, even if an account is still in use.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Andre Jacque, R-De Pere, cited an investigative report from a Green Bay television station as the impetus for the legislation. The report found that some FoodShare recipients have balances as high as $14,000.

Jacque has said the bill removes “temptation to fraud” and ensures that benefits don’t go unused.

Vicky Selkowe, legislative director at Legal Action of Wisconsin, said the bill will do nothing to prevent fraud.

Instead, she argued it would hurt benefit recipients attempting to save FoodShare dollars for special occasions, holidays or opportunities to buy items in bulk.

“This bill spends a lot of money to take away really small amounts from people who are trying desperately to afford food in Wisconsin,” Selkowe said.

According to a fiscal estimate prepared by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, the plan would cost about $1.3 million to implement.

The bill was one of three FoodShare-related bills to pass the Assembly in November. The other bills implement printing of FoodShare recipient’s photos on the program’s debit cards and require an investigation of program users who request five replacement cards in one year.

The proposal now moves to the full Senate, which is scheduled to return to Madison for its final votes of the year on March 15.