Tex. Human Resources Code § 31.0355
This is the official text of Tex. Human Resources Code § 31.0355, part of Texas’s Human Resources Code — governs state social services and welfare programs.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
§ 31.0355. USE OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.
Official statutory text
(a) Financial assistance granted to a person under this chapter may be used only to purchase goods and services that are considered essential and necessary for the welfare of the family, including food, clothing, housing, utilities, child care, and incidentals such as transportation and medicine or medical supplies or equipment not covered by Medicaid. The executive commissioner by rule shall define what constitutes essential and necessary goods and services for purposes of this subsection.
(b) If a recipient of financial assistance who receives the assistance by electronic benefits transfer to an account is authorized to make a cash withdrawal from the account through a provider of the goods or services described by Subsection (a), the recipient may make the cash withdrawal only at the customer service department of the provider and not at the provider's point-of-sale terminal.
(c) The commission shall encourage housing authorities, utility companies, public transportation companies, and other nonfood retailers to accept payment for goods and services described by Subsection (a) through the state's electronic benefits transfer (EBT) system.
(d) Repealed by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1, Sec. 4.465(a)(34), eff. April 2, 2015.
(e) Repealed by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1, Sec. 4.465(a)(34), eff. April 2, 2015.
(f) Repealed by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1, Sec. 4.465(a)(34), eff. April 2, 2015.
(b) If a recipient of financial assistance who receives the assistance by electronic benefits transfer to an account is authorized to make a cash withdrawal from the account through a provider of the goods or services described by Subsection (a), the recipient may make the cash withdrawal only at the customer service department of the provider and not at the provider's point-of-sale terminal.
(c) The commission shall encourage housing authorities, utility companies, public transportation companies, and other nonfood retailers to accept payment for goods and services described by Subsection (a) through the state's electronic benefits transfer (EBT) system.
(d) Repealed by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1, Sec. 4.465(a)(34), eff. April 2, 2015.
(e) Repealed by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1, Sec. 4.465(a)(34), eff. April 2, 2015.
(f) Repealed by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1, Sec. 4.465(a)(34), eff. April 2, 2015.
Status: repealed · Read it on the official government site
Need a lawyer in Texas?
Find a Texas lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.