OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma House committee has advanced a bill to make it a felony to share food stamps with people who aren't authorized to receive them.
The Human Services Committee voted 6-3 for the bill Monday with all three Democrats on the panel voting no. The bill has already passed the Senate and now goes to the full House for consideration.
The proposal says unauthorized sharing of food stamps is fraud and potentially a felony. The bill allows prosecutors to ask the people who admit to fraud to give up their food stamp benefits in exchange for a lighter prison sentence.
Sen. David Holt authored the bill and says it's meant to correct a quirk of current fraud penalties that allows some convicts with deferred sentences to keep their benefits.