Source: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/publications/LGR/88/attachments/SF2272.html?layout=false
Timestamp: 2020-08-08 01:07:36
Document Index: 502629612

Matched Legal Cases: ['§2014', '§1681', '§273', 'arty 19', '§1681', '§1681', '§1681', 'arty 3']

Senate File 2272 - Reprinted SENATE FILE 2272 BY COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND BUSINESS RELATIONS (SUCCESSOR TO SSB 3068) (As Amended and Passed by the Senate February 26, 2020 ) A BILL FOR An Act relating to public assistance program oversight, and 1 including effective date provisions. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 SF 2272 (3) 88 pf/rh/mb
S.F. 2272 DIVISION I 1 DATA MATCHING —— PREVENTION OF MULTIPLE ISSUANCES OF 2 SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (SNAP) BENEFITS 3 Section 1. DATA MATCHING —— PREVENTION OF MULTIPLE 4 ISSUANCES OF SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (SNAP) 5 BENEFITS. By October 1, 2020, the department of human services 6 shall request any federal waiver or approval necessary from the 7 food and nutrition service of the United States department of 8 agriculture in order to comply with section 4011 of the federal 9 Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, Pub. L. No. 115-334, and 10 the regulations adopted under the Act. Upon receipt of any 11 necessary federal waiver or approval, the department shall 12 contract with a third-party vendor to conduct national accuracy 13 clearinghouse matches and corresponding actions in accordance 14 with the federal law and regulations to provide real-time 15 prevention of duplicate participation upon a potential 16 beneficiary’s application for SNAP benefits. 17 Sec. 2. EFFECTIVE DATE. This division of this Act, being 18 deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment. 19 DIVISION II 20 INCOME AND IDENTITY VERIFICATION —— PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS 21 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION . 239.1 Definitions. 22 As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise 23 requires: 24 1. “Applicant” means an individual who is applying for 25 public assistance benefits in the state. 26 2. “Asset” or “asset test” means all assets of the members 27 of the applicant’s household, including all of the following: 28 a. All bank accounts, excluding retirement accounts of 29 members of the household. 30 b. All cash, excluding the first two thousand dollars of 31 members of the household. 32 c. All lottery and gambling income of the household whether 33 received as a lump sum or installment payments. 34 d. All real estate, excluding the primary household 35 -1- SF 2272 (3) 88 pf/rh/mb 1/ 12
S.F. 2272 residence and surrounding lot. 1 e. All other personal property excluding personal 2 belongings, household goods, and one vehicle. 3 3. “Department” means the department of human services. 4 4. “Public assistance” means SNAP (the supplemental 5 nutrition assistance program), the Medicaid program, FIP (the 6 family investment program), and CHIP (the children’s health 7 insurance program). 8 5. “Real-time system” means real-time electronic access 9 to a system that allows verification of all applicable public 10 assistance program eligibility information based on the 11 most recent information available to the department through 12 nonmodeled earned and unearned income, such as commercially 13 available wage data. 14 6. “Recipient” means an individual who is receiving public 15 assistance benefits in the state. 16 Sec. 4. NEW SECTION . 239.2 Asset test for supplemental 17 nutrition assistance program. 18 1. For the purposes of determining eligibility for receipt 19 of SNAP benefits, the department shall conduct an asset test 20 on all members of the applicant’s household. The allowable 21 financial resources to be included in or excluded from a 22 determination of eligibility for SNAP shall be those specified 23 in 7 U.S.C. §2014(g)(1). 24 2. Prior to determining eligibility for SNAP benefits, 25 the department shall access, at a minimum, for every member 26 of the applicant’s household, the following information from 27 the following federal, state, and miscellaneous sources, or 28 successor sources: 29 a. Federal sources and information: 30 (1) Earned and unearned income information maintained by 31 the internal revenue service. 32 (2) The following sources and information maintained by the 33 United States social security administration: 34 (a) Earned income information. 35 -2- SF 2272 (3) 88 pf/rh/mb 2/ 12
S.F. 2272 (b) Death register information. 1 (c) Prisoner or incarceration status information. 2 (d) Supplemental security income information maintained in 3 the state data exchange database. 4 (e) Beneficiary records and earnings information maintained 5 in the beneficiary and earnings data exchange database. 6 (f) Earnings and pension information maintained in the 7 beneficiary earnings exchange record system database. 8 (3) The following sources and information maintained by the 9 United States department of health and human services: 10 (a) Income and employment information maintained in the 11 national directory of new hires database by the office of child 12 support enforcement of the administration for children and 13 families. 14 (b) Other federal data sources maintained by the office of 15 child support enforcement of the administration for children 16 and families. 17 b. State sources and information: 18 (1) The department’s sources and information including but 19 not limited to all of the following: 20 (a) Income and employment information maintained by the 21 child support recovery unit. 22 (b) Child care assistance information maintained by the 23 division of child and family services. 24 (c) Enrollment status in other public assistance programs. 25 (2) The department of workforce development sources and 26 information including all of the following: 27 (a) Employment information. 28 (b) Employer weekly, monthly, and quarterly reports of 29 income and unemployment insurance payments. 30 (3) The Iowa public employees’ retirement system for 31 earnings and pension information. 32 c. Miscellaneous sources: 33 (1) Any existing real-time database of persons currently 34 receiving benefits in other states, such as the national 35 -3- SF 2272 (3) 88 pf/rh/mb 3/ 12
S.F. 2272 accuracy clearinghouse. 1 (2) Any databases maintained by the Iowa lottery 2 commission. 3 (3) Any existing real-time eligibility system that includes 4 employment and income information maintained by a consumer 5 reporting agency, as defined by the federal Fair Credit 6 Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. §1681a, for the purpose of obtaining 7 real-time employment and income information. 8 3. Prior to determining eligibility for SNAP benefits, the 9 department shall access information for every member of the 10 applicant’s household from the following public records: 11 a. A nationwide public records data source of physical asset 12 ownership. The data source may include but is not limited to 13 real property, automobiles, watercraft, aircraft, and luxury 14 vehicles, or any other vehicle owned by the applicant. 15 b. National and state financial institutions in order 16 to locate undisclosed depository accounts or verify account 17 balances of disclosed accounts. 18 4. The department shall enter into a memorandum of 19 understanding with any department, division, bureau, section, 20 unit, or any other subunit of a department to obtain the 21 information specified in this section. 22 5. The provisions of this section shall not apply if every 23 member of the applicant’s household receives supplemental 24 security income. 25 Sec. 5. NEW SECTION . 239.3 Cooperation with child support 26 enforcement —— supplemental nutrition assistance program 27 eligibility. 28 An applicant for SNAP benefits shall be required to 29 cooperate with the child support recovery unit as a condition 30 of eligibility as specified in 7 C.F.R. §273.11(o). 31 Sec. 6. NEW SECTION . 239.4 Verification and authentication 32 systems —— public assistance programs. 33 1. By July 1, 2021, the department shall redesign an 34 existing system; establish a new computerized income, asset, 35 -4- SF 2272 (3) 88 pf/rh/mb 4/ 12
S.F. 2272 and identity eligibility verification system; or contract with 1 a third-party vendor to provide for identity verification, 2 identity authentication, asset verification, and dual 3 enrollment prevention in order to deter waste, fraud, and 4 abuse in each public assistance program administered by the 5 department. 6 2. The department may contract with a third-party vendor 7 to develop or provide a service for a real-time eligibility 8 system that allows the department to verify or authenticate 9 income, assets, and identity eligibility of applicants and 10 recipients to prevent fraud, misrepresentation, and inadequate 11 documentation when determining eligibility for public 12 assistance programs. The system shall be accessed prior to 13 determining eligibility, periodically between eligibility 14 redeterminations, and during eligibility redeterminations 15 and reviews. The department may also contract with a 16 third-party vendor to provide information to facilitate 17 reviews of recipient eligibility conducted by the department. 18 Specifically, the department may contract with a third-party 19 consumer reporting agency, as defined by the federal Fair 20 Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. §1681a, for the purpose of 21 obtaining real-time employment and income information. 22 3. A contract entered into under this section shall provide, 23 at a minimum, for all of the following: 24 a. The establishment of the annual savings amount from 25 utilization of the system or service, and a provision that the 26 contract may be terminated contingent upon the savings not 27 exceeding the total yearly cost to the state for utilization of 28 the system or service. 29 b. That the contract shall not preclude the department 30 from continuing to conduct additional eligibility verification 31 or authentication processes, to receive, review, or verify 32 additional information related to the eligibility of an 33 individual, or from contracting with a third-party vendor to 34 provide additional eligibility authentication or verification 35 -5- SF 2272 (3) 88 pf/rh/mb 5/ 12
S.F. 2272 information. 1 4. The department shall seek federal approval as necessary 2 to implement and administer this section. 3 Sec. 7. NEW SECTION . 239.5 Public assistance programs —— 4 applicant and recipient eligibility verification. 5 1. All applications for initial public assistance 6 program benefits and all determinations of ongoing recipient 7 eligibility shall be processed through a system as specified 8 in this section. Complete initial applications shall be 9 processed within the minimum period required by federal law. 10 Prior to determining initial eligibility of an applicant for, 11 or ongoing eligibility of a recipient of, public assistance, 12 the department shall access information for every applicant or 13 recipient from the following federal, state, and other sources: 14 a. Federal sources and information: 15 (1) Earned and unearned income information maintained by 16 the internal revenue service. 17 (2) The following sources and information maintained by the 18 United States social security administration: 19 (a) Earned income information. 20 (b) Death register information. 21 (c) Prisoner or incarceration status information. 22 (d) Supplemental security income information maintained in 23 the state data exchange database. 24 (e) Beneficiary records and earnings information maintained 25 in the beneficiary and earnings data exchange database. 26 (f) Earnings and pension information maintained in the 27 beneficiary earnings exchange record system database. 28 (3) The following sources and information maintained by the 29 United States department of health and human services: 30 (a) Income and employment information maintained in the 31 national directory of new hires database by the office of child 32 support enforcement of the administration for children and 33 families. 34 (b) Other federal data sources maintained by the office of 35 -6- SF 2272 (3) 88 pf/rh/mb 6/ 12
S.F. 2272 child support enforcement of the administration for children 1 and families. 2 (4) Information maintained by the United States citizenship 3 and immigration services of the United States department of 4 homeland security. 5 (5) Payment information for public housing and section 8 6 housing assistance guidelines maintained by the United States 7 department of housing and urban development. 8 (6) National fleeing felon information maintained by the 9 United States federal bureau of investigation. 10 b. State sources and information: 11 (1) The department’s sources and information including but 12 not limited to all of the following: 13 (a) Income and employment information maintained by the 14 child support recovery unit. 15 (b) Child care assistance information maintained by the 16 division of child and family services. 17 (c) Enrollment status in other public assistance programs. 18 (2) The department of workforce development sources and 19 information including all of the following: 20 (a) Employment information. 21 (b) Employer weekly, monthly, and quarterly reports of 22 income and unemployment insurance payments. 23 (3) The Iowa public employees’ retirement system for 24 earnings and pension information. 25 c. Other sources including all of the following: 26 (1) Any existing real-time database of persons currently 27 receiving benefits in other states, such as the national 28 accuracy clearinghouse. 29 (2) An available database of persons who currently hold a 30 license, permit, or certificate from any state agency, the cost 31 of which exceeds five hundred dollars. 32 (3) Wage reporting and similar information maintained by 33 states contiguous to Iowa. 34 (4) A third-party consumer reporting agency, as defined 35 -7- SF 2272 (3) 88 pf/rh/mb 7/ 12
S.F. 2272 by the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. §1681a, 1 for the purpose of obtaining real-time employment and income 2 information. 3 2. Prior to determining the initial eligibility of an 4 applicant for, or the ongoing eligibility of a recipient 5 of, public assistance benefits, the department shall access 6 information for every applicant or recipient from, at a 7 minimum, the following public records: 8 a. A nationwide public records data source of physical asset 9 ownership. The data source may include but is not limited to 10 real property, automobiles, watercraft, aircraft, and luxury 11 vehicles, or any other vehicle owned by the applicant for or 12 recipient of assistance. 13 b. A nationwide public records data source of incarcerated 14 individuals. 15 c. A nationwide best address and driver’s license data 16 source to verify that individuals are residents of the state. 17 d. A comprehensive public records database from which the 18 department may identify potential identity fraud or identity 19 theft that is capable of closely associating name, social 20 security number, date of birth, phone, and address information. 21 e. National and local financial institutions in order 22 to locate undisclosed depository accounts or verify account 23 balances of disclosed accounts. 24 f. Outstanding default or arrest warrant information. 25 3. The state may contract with a third-party consumer 26 reporting agency, as defined by the federal Fair Credit 27 Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. §1681a, for the purpose of obtaining 28 real-time employment and income information under this section. 29 Sec. 8. NEW SECTION . 239.6 Identity authentication. 30 Unless otherwise prohibited by federal law or regulation, 31 prior to the department awarding public assistance benefits, an 32 applicant shall complete a computerized identity authentication 33 process to confirm the identity of the applicant. Identity 34 authentication shall be accomplished through a knowledge-based 35 -8- SF 2272 (3) 88 pf/rh/mb 8/ 12
S.F. 2272 questionnaire consisting of financial and personal questions. 1 The questionnaire shall contain questions tailored to assist 2 persons without a bank account or those who have poor access 3 to financial and banking services or who do not have an 4 established credit history. The questionnaire may be submitted 5 by the applicant online, in person, or via telephone. 6 Sec. 9. NEW SECTION . 239.7 Case review of applicant and 7 recipient information. 8 1. If the information obtained from a review of an 9 applicant’s or recipient’s information under this chapter does 10 not result in the department finding a discrepancy or change 11 in an individual’s circumstances affecting eligibility, the 12 department shall take no further action. 13 2. If the information obtained from a review of the 14 applicant’s or recipient’s information under this chapter 15 results in the department finding a discrepancy or change in 16 the individual’s circumstances affecting eligibility, the 17 department shall respond in accordance with the provisions of 18 section 239.8. 19 Sec. 10. NEW SECTION . 239.8 Notice and right to be heard. 20 1. An applicant for, or recipient of, public assistance 21 shall be provided written notice and the opportunity to explain 22 any issues identified in a review performed under this chapter 23 for initial eligibility or redetermination of eligibility. 24 Unless otherwise prohibited by federal law or regulation, 25 a self-declaration by an applicant or recipient shall not 26 be accepted as verification of categorical and financial 27 eligibility during such review. 28 2. The notice provided to the applicant or recipient shall 29 describe in sufficient detail the circumstances of the issue 30 identified, the manner in which the applicant or recipient 31 may respond, and the consequences of failing to respond to 32 the notice or resolve the issue identified. The applicant or 33 recipient shall be provided ten days to respond to the notice. 34 The department may request additional information as necessary 35 -9- SF 2272 (3) 88 pf/rh/mb 9/ 12
S.F. 2272 to reach a decision. 1 3. An applicant or recipient may respond to the notice as 2 follows: 3 a. By disagreeing with the findings of the department. If 4 the applicant or recipient responds in a timely manner and 5 disagrees with the findings of the department, the department 6 shall reevaluate the circumstances to determine if the 7 applicant’s or recipient’s position is valid. If, through 8 reevaluation, the department finds that the department is in 9 error, the department shall take immediate action to correct 10 the error. If, through reevaluation, the department affirms 11 that the applicant’s or recipient’s position is invalid, the 12 department shall determine the effect on the applicant’s or 13 recipient’s eligibility and take appropriate action. Written 14 notice of the department’s determination and the actions taken 15 shall be provided to the applicant or recipient. 16 b. By agreeing with the findings of the department. If 17 the applicant or recipient responds in a timely manner and 18 agrees with the findings of the department, the department 19 shall determine the effect on the applicant’s or recipient’s 20 eligibility and take appropriate action. Written notice of the 21 department’s determination and actions taken shall be provided 22 to the applicant or recipient. 23 4. If the applicant or recipient fails to respond to the 24 notice in a timely manner, the department shall provide notice 25 to terminate the applicant’s application or to discontinue 26 the recipient’s enrollment for failure to cooperate, and 27 shall terminate the applicant’s application or discontinue 28 the recipient’s enrollment. The applicant’s or recipient’s 29 eligibility for such public assistance shall not be established 30 or reestablished until the issue has been resolved. 31 Sec. 11. NEW SECTION . 239.9 Referrals for fraud, 32 misrepresentation, or inadequate documentation. 33 1. Following a review of an applicant’s or recipient’s 34 eligibility under this chapter, the department may refer cases 35 -10- SF 2272 (3) 88 pf/rh/mb 10/ 12
S.F. 2272 of suspected fraud along with any supportive information to the 1 department of inspections and appeals for review. 2 2. In cases of substantiated fraud, upon conviction, the 3 state shall review all appropriate legal options including 4 but not limited to removal of a recipient from other public 5 assistance programs and garnishment of wages or state income 6 tax refunds until the department recovers an equal amount of 7 benefits fraudulently claimed. 8 3. The department may refer suspected cases of fraud, 9 misrepresentation, or inadequate documentation relating to 10 initial or continued eligibility to appropriate state agencies, 11 divisions, or departments for review of eligibility issues in 12 programs providing public benefits other than those as defined 13 in this chapter. 14 Sec. 12. NEW SECTION . 239.10 Administration —— rules —— 15 reporting. 16 1. The department of human services shall adopt rules 17 pursuant to chapter 17A to administer this chapter. 18 2. The department shall submit a report to the governor 19 and the general assembly by January 15, 2022, and by January 20 15 annually thereafter through January 15, 2027, detailing the 21 impact of the verification and authentication measures taken 22 under this chapter. The report shall include data for all 23 affected public assistance programs including the number of 24 cases reviewed, the number of cases closed, the number of fraud 25 investigation referrals made, and the amount of savings and 26 cost avoidance realized from the provisions of this chapter. 27 Sec. 13. IMPLEMENTATION. 28 1. The department of human services shall request federal 29 approval including for any state plan amendment or waiver 30 necessary to administer this division of this Act. 31 2. The provisions of this division of this Act requiring 32 federal approval shall be implemented upon receipt of such 33 federal approval. 34 3. The provisions of this division of this Act not requiring 35 -11- SF 2272 (3) 88 pf/rh/mb 11/ 12
S.F. 2272 federal approval shall be implemented as specified in this Act, 1 or if not specified in this Act, no later than July 1, 2021. 2 4. The department may contract with multiple third-party 3 vendors to administer this division of this Act. 4 -12- SF 2272 (3) 88 pf/rh/mb 12/ 12