House Bill 163 would begin the production of chip-enabled EBT cards, which are used to access Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
SNAP benefits are commonly stolen through skimming devices, which are illegal additions to card-reading machines that steal card information. According to submitted testimony, more than $17 million in SNAP benefits were stolen between 2023 and 2025.
According to submitted testimony by the Cleveland Food Bank, more than $17 million in SNAP benefits were stolen between June 2023 and January 2025.
The addition of a chip in EBT cards would make it more difficult for thieves to steal card information. Half of the chip implementation costs would be covered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service, meaning that Ohio would pay $5.3 million.
“The appropriation pales in comparison to the money we are losing to people stealing,” said bill sponsor Rep. Tristan Rader, a Lakewood Democrat.
Other states including Alabama and California already have implemented chip EBT cards, while others in the process.
“We want to make sure that the people who are entitled to these benefits are getting them and using them,” said Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman, a Lima Republican.
The Enhanced Cybersecurity for SNAP Act of 2026 passed in the House 90-0 and will now require passage in the Senate.
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