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SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1741 FILED ON: 1/16/2025
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 147
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PRESENTED BY:
Robyn K. Kennedy
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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act to replace stolen benefits.
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PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Robyn K. KennedyFirst Worcester 1 of 1
SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1741 FILED ON: 1/16/2025
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 147
By Ms. Kennedy, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 147) of Robyn K. Kennedy for
legislation to replace stolen benefits relative to electronic benefit transfer fraud. Children,
Families and Persons with Disabilities.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)
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An Act to replace stolen benefits.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 Subsection (B) of Section 2 of chapter 18 of the General Laws, as so appearing in the
22022 Official Edition, is hereby amended after line 172 by inserting the following new
3paragraph:-
4 (t). promptly replace the full amount of financial assistance or nutrition benefits stolen
5through electronic benefit transfer card skimming, card cloning or other fraudulent methods,
6including organized identity theft schemes, to the extent the federal government fails to provide
7federal funds to replace stolen benefits, provided that the thefts have been reported to or
8identified by the Department in accordance with procedures for making and verifying
9replacement claims established by the department.