1.GENERAL RULESNAP recipients receive benefits via an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card known as The Pine Tree Card. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) authorized retailer may have a manual voucher system to access the recipients' benefits. The card is used to access benefits from point of sales (POS) devices or online purchasing systems at USDA authorized retailers.
2.BASIC RULESA. Each Assistance Group case head is issued an EBT card to access SNAP benefits. If separate Assistance Groups have the same case head, only one card is issued.B. Each Assistance Group is allowed a maximum of two payees to access SNAP benefits.C. The EBT SNAP account is non-interest bearing.D. An EBT SNAP account balance that is not used by the recipient in the month of issuance is carried forward.E. EBT SNAP account balances include both dollars and cents.F. A recipient cannot use the EBT SNAP account to borrow against future month's benefits.G. Monthly benefits are issued during a five day period each month. Recipient's benefits (excluding supplements) are available on the same date each month once they are on the delivery cycle.3.EBT CARD AND PINSNAP benefit recipients are issued an EBT card along with written instructions for establishing a Personal Identification Number (PIN). Each card holder selects their own PIN to prevent unauthorized individuals from gaining access to benefits if the card is lost or stolen. The PIN is their electronic signature.
Card holders can make purchases from participating retailers by having their card swiped through a POS device or by providing required information for an online purchase. The POS device or online system "reads" a recipient's benefit account balance and, if funds are sufficient, approves the transaction and reduces that balance by the exact amount of purchase..
Some retailers, such as some small grocery stores and farmers markets, and Meals on Wheels participants, use a manual voucher system to access SNAP benefits. Recipients sign vouchers instead of using their PIN.
4.RECIPIENTS ACCOUNT BALANCEEach time a SNAP recipient makes a purchase, their available SNAP balance appears on their receipt.
Recipients can also obtain their SNAP balance by calling a 24-hour toll free Customer Service Line before shopping. The toll free number is printed on the back of the EBT Card.
5.EBT RECIPIENT USER FEESSNAP recipients do not incur user fees.
6.AGING SNAP BENEFITSThe Department shall expunge unused SNAP benefits 365 days from the date they are issued or the last date some are spent, whichever is later. Starting September 1, 2022, the Department shall expunge unused SNAP benefits 274 days from the date they are issued or the last date some are spent, whichever is later. The Department shall provide a notice to the recipient Assistance Group at least 30 days prior to their benefits being expunged. This notice explains that those benefits will be expunged if no benefits have been used prior to the scheduled expungement date.
7.ENTIRE HOUSEHOLD DECEASEDIf the Department has verified that all household members are deceased, it shall-
A. immediately disable access to the SNAP benefits, andB. expunge all remaining SNAP benefits within ten business days of verification, without notice.8.LOST, STOLEN OR DAMAGED EBT CARDCard holders can report lost, stolen or damaged cards to the EBT Customer Service Help Desk by calling the toll free number, 1-800-477-7428.
EBT Help Desk Staff status the card as lost, stolen, or damaged.
After the EBT Help Desk Staff appropriately identifies the household member or card holder, a replacement, not deemed excessive as defined below in Paragraph 9(A), is issued as follows:
A. If the individual lives at the same address known to the eligibility database used by the Office for Family Independence (OFI), the help desk authorizes the replacement card, which will be mailed out within three business days following notice by the household that the card has been lost, stolen, or damaged. The card holder can continue to use the same PIN, or may change the PIN by using the same toll free EBT Help Desk number, or visiting a local OFI office.
B. If the individual's address changed, the EBT Help Desk does not authorize a card replacement. The caller is told to contact OFI to report the new circumstances. After the individual's case record is updated, they may follow procedures explained above in Paragraph 8(A).9.MULTIPLE CARD REPLACEMENTSA.Thresholds for Excessive RequestsEffective April 23, 2020, a fourth request for a replacement card for an Assistance Group within a 12 month period is considered excessive. (See 7 C.F.R. § 274.6(b)(5).)
B.Management of Excessive Requests(1) Upon reaching the fourth (or more) request for a replacement card, the household is sent a Withhold Replacement Card Warning Notice stating that they have reached the threshold of four or more replacement cards, and that the next request for a card replacement will require contact with OFI to provide an explanation before the replacement card will be issued.(2) Once the threshold has been exceeded (at the fifth replacement request), the EBT vendor notifies the household in writing that the threshold has been exceeded and that OFI is denying the card replacement until the household contacts OFI to provide an explanation for the replacement requests.(a) If the household makes contact, the EBT vendor shall put the EBT card in the mail within three business days following the household contact with OFI, regardless of whether an explanation was provided. If an explanation is not provided the household is referred to the Fraud Investigation and Recovery Unity (FIRU) for investigation.(b) If the household provides an explanation which OFI deems appropriate, OFI educates them on the proper use of the card and does not require contact upon subsequent requests, unless the pattern of card activity has changed since the initial contact and indicates possible trafficking activity. In all cases, OFI acts to protect households containing members who- are experiencing homelessness, are elderly, have disabilities, or are victims of crimes and other vulnerable persons who may lose EBT cards but are not committing fraud.(c) If the household does not contact OFI in response to OFI's notice, OFI does not issue a replacement card to the household and the household is referred to FIRU for investigation.(d) If the household contacts OFI but does not explain the card losses or the explanation provided appears to be indicative of trafficking (see Section 999-1 pages 5 and 6), OFI refers the household to FIRU for investigation. OFI shall issue a replacement card to any household that makes the required contact so that the household has access to benefits in their EBT account while the investigation is underway and while awaiting a hearing (7 C.F.R. § 273.16(e)(5)) . If an intentional program violation is found after investigation by FIRU, established disqualification procedures are followed in accordance with Section 777-2. (3) The same process outlined in Paragraph 9(2)(d) is initiated prior to the threshold for excessive requests being reached if OFI has additional evidence indicating a suspected trafficking violation. (See Section 999-1 pages 5 and 6.)10-144 C.M.R. ch. 301, § 700-FS 777-7