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DeSantis Announces New Restrictions On ‘Inappropriate’ Temporary Cash Assistance Purchases
August 25, 2026
Florida is set to become the first state in the nation to restrict how recipients spend state cash welfare benefits, banning the purchase of luxury, entertainment, and non-essential goods and services.
Governor Ron DeSantis announced Monday that the state will amend its Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) State Plan to prohibit Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA) funds from being used directly on items such as tobacco, video games, theme park tickets, and tattoos.
“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,” DeSantis said. “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. We will continue supporting Floridians who genuinely need assistance, while working to improve accountability and transparency so that these programs operate as intended.”
- Under the revised state plan, TCA benefits cannot be used to purchase:
- Tobacco, nicotine, and vaping products
- Drugs and intoxicants
- Pornography
- Video games, entertainment tickets, theme park admissions, and streaming or entertainment subscriptions
- Tattoos, spa services, tanning, and other luxury personal care
- Psychic and fortune-telling services
TCA benefits are distributed via Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards to help low-income families cover basic necessities, including food, housing, utilities, clothing, and household essentials. The average household enrolled in the program receives about $250 per month. Florida also directs TANF funding to its Relative Caregiver Program, which supports caregivers for more than 4,000 children statewide.
“Temporary Cash Assistance is designed to provide families with flexibility during times of need, and these commonsense changes preserve that flexibility while strengthening the integrity of the program,” said Department of Children and Families Interim Secretary Kate Williams. “Under Governor DeSantis’ leadership, Florida continues to ensure government assistance serves as a bridge to greater stability and independence while safeguarding taxpayer resources.”
Florida law already restricts EBT cards from being used for alcohol or processed at casinos, gaming facilities, adult entertainment venues, pari-mutuel betting sites, and bingo halls, with point-of-sale and ATM blocks managed by the state’s EBT vendor. The new policy broadens item- and category-level restrictions at authorized retailers.
State officials noted the policy also aligns with the state’s broader self-sufficiency and public assistance initiatives.
The changes follow recent nutritional restrictions under Florida’s Healthy SNAP initiative, which took effect in April 2026 to ban the use of SNAP benefits for soda, energy drinks, candy, and ultra-processed prepared desserts.
State officials said the new TCA spending restrictions will roll out in phases, starting with SNAP-authorized retailers before expanding item-level transaction controls across additional merchants and service providers.
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