Bill > SB362

This bill amends the Human Services Code to strengthen penalties and expand the scope of offenses related to public assistance fraud. Specifically, it introduces new criminal offenses for individuals who knowingly and with intent to defraud use scanning devices or reencoders to access, copy, or replicate a recipient's access device information, such as payment card details, or who possess or use such replicated information. The bill also clarifies the grading of these offenses, making a first offense a felony of the third degree and subsequent offenses a felony of the second degree, and defines what constitutes a prior offense for sentencing purposes. Furthermore, it extends the statute of limitations for these crimes from four to five years and mandates permanent ineligibility for cash assistance for individuals convicted of offenses under the new provisions, while also outlining specific periods of ineligibility for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) for repeat offenders.