Human services: food assistance; chip-enabled bridge card; require. Amends 1939 PA 280 (MCL 400.1 - 400.119b) by adding sec. 14n.
Key claim: Michigan enacted HB4746 (PA 46’26) requiring chip-enabled Bridge Cards for food assistance under the Social Welfare Act.
Abstract
(HB4746 · 103rd Legislature) Human services: food assistance; chip-enabled bridge card; require. Amends 1939 PA 280 (MCL 400.1 - 400.119b) by adding sec. 14n. Sponsor: Rep. Jason Woolford ® + 2 co-sponsors Latest vote: Senate Third Reading: Passed Roll Call # 176 — 35-1 (passed, 2026-07-03) Latest action (2026-07-22): Assigned Pa 46’26 With Immediate Effect
Why this matters
Chip-enabled Bridge Cards represent a security upgrade intended to reduce EBT skimming and card cloning fraud, which has been a growing concern for SNAP recipients nationally. As an enacted law, this moves Michigan from a magnetic-stripe-only EBT system to chip technology, affecting how roughly 1.4 million Michiganders access food assistance benefits without changing eligibility.