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prohibited business location shall be subject to the following penalties:
• Reimburse the department for the amount withdrawn and used subject to any prohibition in federal law. • Upon a third or subsequent violation, if permitted by federal law, the person shall be permanently disqualified from receiving public assistance benefits by means of direct cash payment or an electronic benefit transfer access card.
A person or entity subject to a penalty or sanction under this section shall have the right to a hearing pursuant to the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5.
TDHS shall designate a protective payee to administer the temporary public assistance grant for the benefit of the assistance unit in the event a customer or caretaker is disqualified from receipt of public assistance benefits by means of direct cash payment or an EBT card under this Chapter. Any person or business entity who allows another to use the customer's EBT card in an EBT transaction at an ATM machine or POS device in any prohibited business location shall be subject to the following penalties: (A) One thousand dollars ($1,000) for the first violation; (B) Two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) for the second violation within five (5) years; (C) Five thousand dollars ($5,000) for a third or a subsequent violation within five (5) years.
The district attorney general may bring an action to suspend the business licenses and permits of the person or business entity for one (1) year for any violation of this subsection (c). The department is authorized to bring an action to enforce any civil penalty under this subsection (c) in a complaint filed in the chancery court of the county where the merchant is located. TDHS’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) contacts the Tennessee Alcohol Beverage Commission and obtains a list of the names, physical, and mailing address of licensed liquor stores across the state on a quarterly basis. To obtain the addresses for adult entertainment businesses that meet the definition of Public Law 112-96, OIG initially contacted each County Sheriff Department across the state to identify the name and location of any adult cabaret business known in that county. OIG maintains this list by performing web searches on a quarterly basis to identify new “adult cabaret” business and/or changes to the established list. Under Tennessee Code Annotated 39-17-501, casinos, gambling casinos, or gaming businesses as defined by Public Law 112-96 are prohibited. Tennessee borders multiple states that have legalized gambling and gaming businesses (i.e., Kentucky, Mississippi, etc.). TDHS’ OIG is using recipient EBT transaction data and queries on known businesses and keyword(s) (i.e., casino, gaming, etc.) to identify recipients who have used their EBT card in an out of state restricted business. Under Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 71-3-126, a recipient cannot use their benefits at a retail store that derives its largest category of sales from loose tobacco, cigars, cigarettes, pipes, and other smoking accessories. This is monitored via EBT transaction data and queries. Additionally, TDHS uses a series of monthly reports based on queries on keywords in the EBT store name and the list of established businesses to obtain the name and address of new businesses discovered through the monitoring process. Owner(s) of any new restricted establishments that are