Florida will become the first state in the nation to amend its Temporary Assistance for Needy Families State Plan to restrict Temporary Cash Assistance benefits from being used to directly purchase certain luxury, entertainment and other nonessential goods and services, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Monday.
Under the amended plan, TCA benefits will be prohibited from directly purchasing tobacco, nicotine and vaping products; drugs and intoxicants; pornography; video games; entertainment tickets, theme park admission and entertainment subscriptions; tattoos, spa services and tanning; and psychic and fortune-telling services.
TCA benefits are distributed through EBT cards and are intended to help eligible families pay for ongoing basic needs such as food, clothing, housing, utilities, household goods and personal care. The average household receiving the assistance gets approximately $250 per month, according to the governor’s office.
“Florida has become the first in the nation to set guardrails on our TANF State Plan to stop these taxpayer-funded benefits from being used to purchase inappropriate, luxury, and non-essential goods and services. Taxpayer-funded assistance should help families put food on the table, keep the lights on, purchase clothing, provide for their children and overcome barriers on the path toward independence,” said Gov. DeSantis. “We will continue supporting Floridians who genuinely need assistance, while working to improve accountability and transparency so that these programs operate as intended.”
Florida already prohibits EBT card use for alcohol purchases and transactions at adult entertainment establishments, pari-mutuel wagering facilities, slot machine facilities, commercial bingo establishments and casinos or other gaming facilities.
The new policy expands those restrictions to additional products and services at otherwise eligible retailers. The state said implementation will occur in phases, beginning with SNAP-authorized retailers before expanding transaction-level controls to other prohibited purchases.
Florida also uses TANF funding for the Relative Caregiver Program, which currently provides assistance to relatives caring for more than 4,000 children statewide.
The administration said the changes are intended to strengthen oversight of the program while maintaining assistance for families’ basic needs.
