Food stamp fingerprinting to end

From WNYC:

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday that food stamp recipients will no longer be fingerprinted. It was a controversial policy that Mayor Michael Bloomberg has staunchly defended for years.

The city had been allowed to fingerprint food stamp recipients, while other cities chose to opt out receiving a waiver from the state. Cuomo’s rule change does away with the need for a waiver, and instead will do away with the fingerprinting requirement altogether. This will go into effect in July.

Mayor Bloomberg has long maintained that fingerprinting food stamp recipients deters fraud. The city's Human Resources Administration oversees the food stamp program. In a written statement, Commissioner Robert Doar defended the policy, saying it saved the city $35 million in duplicate payments over a decade.