Assemblymember Al Stirpe (D-Cicero) announced that he is sponsoring a measure that would prohibit withdrawing of public assistance benefits funds at Automatic Teller Machines (ATM) located in casinos, liquor stores or adult entertainment facilities (A.2386), in an effort to protect millions of taxpayer dollars from gross misuse.

“While many of those who receive public assistance are responsible with the use of their benefits, it is unfortunate that there are a few who are not so responsible and abuse the benefits that they receive,” said Assemblyman Stirpe. “We must crack down on these dishonest few who wrongfully use taxpayer dollars intended to help families stay afloat at places like liquor stores.

Public assistance is designed to help needy families provide care for their children, promote job skills, and achieve self-sufficiency. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families provides additional cash assistance to help pay for housing and energy costs, paper products, school supplies and other expenses, noted Stirpe. Increasingly this form of assistance is disbursed through Electronic Bank Transfer (EBT) cards and can be withdrawn from most ATM locations. Currently, no law in New York State exists that protects these public assistance benefits from being withdrawn from ATMs in liquor stores, casinos or adult entertainment establishments.

“It is our duty to make sure we are not only protecting the taxpayers from fraud and abuse,” Assemblyman Stirpe said. “But it is also important that this much-needed assistance goes to help the families who use these funds responsibly and need it most.”