AUGUSTA, Maine - The state of Maine is being asked to clarify its new Electronic Benefits Cards policy or risk losing funding from the federal government. At issue is a state policy designed to get food stamp applicants to have their photos taken for their EBT cards. But the federal government is now warning that the policy raises "significant civil rights" and other concerns.
Since July, the state Department of Health and Human Services has been trying to encourage EBT users to get their photos taken as a way to eliminate fraud and abuse in the state's food stamp program. DHHS Commissioner Mary Mayhew stands by the policy, even though data suggest that fraud and abuse involves a small percentage of cases: less than 1/100th of 1 percent of them.
"We know - law enforcement here in Maine know - that these cards are being trafficked for drugs and for cash," Mayhew says, "and this is a common-sense reform to discourage illegal trafficking in these cards."
Mayhew describes the new photo policy as "optional" for food stamp applicants. But that's not what staff from the federal Food and Nutrition Service found when they met with stakeholders in the program in August. In a letter to Mayhew this week, Regional Administrator Kurt Messner said a review of state materials suggests that photos are "required" and that those who refuse then have their names and case numbers referred to the central office.
Messner warns that there are "significant civil rights concerns about the State's practice of taking photos of all non-applicant heads of households" and that it may violate the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
"We are more than willing to look at any improvements that are necessary," Mayhew says, "but committed to moving forward with photos on EBT cards."
Administrator Messner says that any individual who applies for Supplemental and Nutrition Benefits known as SNAP must be able to access the program without fear. He says his agency has previously advised the state about the potential chilling effect its policy could have on those applying for benefits.
But Commissioner Mayhew says she does not believe putting photos on EBT cards has any more chilling effect on their appropriate use than photos on drivers' licenses have on driving.
"I mean, you'd think when you put a picture on the card, that it's supposed to mean something," says Chris Hastedt. Hastedt is with the low-income advocacy group Maine Equal Justice Partners which has concerns about the state's policy. She says the federal government discourages photos on EBT cards because it creates an unfair distinction between those who have them and those who don't - such as people using regular bank debit cards to make purchases or who have family members borrow their cards to make purchases for them.
"Retailers can't discriminate against people using these cards by asking them to examine their cards when they're not asking you and I to have our cards examined," Hastedt says, "or by saying, 'Gee, because your picture isn't on it, or you're not the person whose picture is on it, we can't allow you to use the card." Hastedt says Maine's policy also creates confusion for retailers who may mistakenly believe that only EBT cards with photos are legitimate.
Commissioner Mayhew says both Massachusetts and New York have implemented similar policies. And she says since July 21,000 EBT users in Maine have elected to include their photos on their new cards, while only 100 have declined.
Zach Heiden of the ACLU of Maine says he has concerns about the legality of the policy, but he also objects for other reasons. "Requiring photos to be included on the EBT cards is very expensive, and that additional expense doesn't buy you anything, it's not effective at fighting fraud," he says, "so there's really no good reason to go down this road."
The federal government is asking the state to clarify its policy and take corrective action in the next 45 days or risk losing federal financial participation in the program, which serves 218,000 Maine individuals and costs about $360 million per year. It's unclear how much of that funding, which comes entirely from the federal government, could be at risk.
