A staggering 672,483 new EBT cards have been added to the welfare rolls in a little over a year — a tally that’s intensifying calls for an audit of the welfare agency.

The startling 34.6% jump is being reported from July of 2023 to last month by the state Department of Transitional Assistance.

The DTA said late Tuesday that 218,000 of the new EBT cards are from the federally funded Summer Child Nutrition Program. The Herald has sought more details about the thousands of other cards sent out as the state faces budget constraints.

The agency did say the “DTA currently has about 1 million clients” and “the number of active EBT cards is not indicative of the number of individuals receiving benefits, nor whether the card has any money on it.”

State Sen. Ryan Fattman, a Republican calling for an audit of the DTA, said the confusion needs to end, adding “now is the time to look at waste.”

He added the doubt traces back to “what the Democrats did in the supplemental budget,” alluding to the December 2023 battle over $3.1 billion to partially fund the migrant crisis.

A few holdouts, all Republicans, pushed for passage of that tack-on budget in a formal session but ultimately lost with Gov. Maura Healey signing the emergency funding into law just before the holidays.

Now, Fattman adds, the leap in EBT cards makes an audit he has requested — and has not received any update on — even more vital. He is pushing the Legislature to investigate out-of-state spending of welfare dollars following the Herald’s two-part report on EBT expenditures from Hawaii to Alaska.

Fattman has been joined by GOP colleagues Bruce Tarr, Peter Durant and Patrick O’Connor in seeking a probe by the Senate Committee on Post Audit and Oversight into EBT bills.

Inflation could be a factor in the EBT card growth, but the migrant crisis also has people asking if that is a driving factor. The Herald has learned migrants do not qualify for EBT programs.

The latest EBT shocker was triggered by Kelly Dooner, a GOP candidate for an open state Senate seat in her hometown of Taunton, a community that has struggled with a growing migrant population in a hotel shelter.

“This is more about a major oversight by the administration,” Dooner said Tuesday. “It’s taxpayer money. These numbers are too high and yet the Legislature keeps turning its head. Yet, this is all falling on the backs of taxpayers.”

Dooner faces Democrat Joseph Pacheco and and independent James DuPont Nov. 5 for the 3rd Bristol and Plymouth District state Senate seat.

The DTA says its mission is to “empower low-income individuals and families to meet their basic needs, improve their quality of life, and achieve long-term economic self-sufficiency.” A spokesperson added that any “out-of-state usage beyond approved temporary absences can result in an individual no longer receiving assistance due to not meeting Massachusetts residency requirements.”

It’s all part of the $3 billion — $3,050,090,786, to be exact — federal and state dollars given out in Fiscal Year 2024.

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State Senate candidate from Taunton Kelly Dooner. (Contributed.)
A convenience store in Fall River advertises that it accepts EBT cards. The number of state-issued EBT cards has climbed a whopping 34% in the last year, according to recent data. (Photo By Matt Stone/Boston Herald)