SB 523

Under current law, the Department of Health Services administers the

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the food

stamp program and currently known in Wisconsin as FoodShare, under which

eligible low-income individuals and families receive cash assistance to purchase

food. Current law provides penalties for various offenses related to SNAP. For

example, under current law, a person who makes a misleading or fraudulent

statement on a SNAP application is subject to a penalty that is based on the value

of the SNAP benefits involved in the offense and the number of SNAP offenses that

the person has previously committed. Other SNAP offenses subject to penalty

include: failing to report changes in income or assets as required by federal law,

transferring SNAP benefits for a purpose other than purchasing food, and issuing

SNAP benefits to a person who is not eligible to receive the benefits.

This bill adds trafficking SNAP benefits to the list of SNAP offenses that are

subject to penalties under current law. Under the bill, a person traffics SNAP

benefits if the person does any of the following:

1. Buys, sells, steals, or otherwise exchanges SNAP benefits issued and

accessed through the electronic benefit transfer program, or manually, for cash or

other consideration.

2. Exchanges firearms, ammunition, explosives, or controlled substances for

SNAP benefits.

3. Uses SNAP benefits to purchase food that has a container deposit for the sole

purpose of returning the container for a cash refund.

4. Resells food purchased with SNAP benefits for cash or other consideration.

5. Purchases, for cash or other consideration, food that was previously

purchased from a supplier using SNAP benefits.

Because this bill creates a new crime or revises a penalty for an existing crime,

the Joint Review Committee on Criminal Penalties may be requested to prepare a

report concerning the proposed penalty and the costs or savings that are likely to

result if the bill is enacted.