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Kansas legislature caps TANF daily ATM cash withdrawals at $25

Apparently, legislators forgot that most ATMs dispense banknotes in multiples of 20 or 10, making the effective limit for most needy families $20.

April 8, 2015

A bill awaiting the signature of Kansas Governor Sam Brownback would limit ATM transactions to no more than $25 per day for residents receiving EBT funds through the state's Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program.

The final amended bill specifies that:

TANF cash assistance transactions for cash withdrawals from automated teller machines shall be limited to ... {$25}, per transaction and to one transaction per day.

The original bill provided for ATM cash withdrawals of "$60, as adjusted by the consumer price index," however this amount was reduced by the Republican-run senate to less than half of this amount, and the CPI adjustment language was removed.

For most cardholders, the effective withdrawal amount will be only $20, since few ATMs dispense cash in multiples of $5. And each withdrawal will carry with it a surcharge of $1 — or 5 percent of the whole — out of a maximum monthly allowance of $497.

"We're trying to make sure those benefits are used the way they were intended," State Sen. Michael O'Donnell, R-Wichita, told the Topeka Capital-Journal. "This is about prosperity. This is about having a great life."