Ohio will become only the second state to issue electronic benefits cards to SNAP or food stamp recipients with computer chips in them, after Gov. Mike DeWine signed a law requiring that this week. And it’s something advocates for low-income Ohioans have long pushed for.
Senate Bill 315, known as the Enhanced Cybersecurity for SNAP Act, passed unanimously in the Senate and eight Democrats and two Republicans in the House voting against it.
SNAP cards have been susceptible to skimming devices installed at food retailers by criminals trying to steal benefits, said Ohio Association of Food Banks Executive Director Joree Novotny. She said Ohio’s cards are more than a decade behind other payment technology…