SB 174

Generally, this bill requires the creation of optional incentive programs for

counties and tribes to receive reward payments for identifying fraudulent activity in

certain public assistance programs; the removal and offline storage of benefits from

certain inactive FoodShare accounts; and the expungement of FoodShare benefits

that have been unused for over one year. The bill also requires the Department of

Health Services to request a waiver to limit the number of replacement electronic

benefit cards a FoodShare recipient may receive. FoodShare is also known as the

food stamp program and the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

and provides benefits to eligible low-income households for the purchase of food.

DHS administers FoodShare. The federal government pays the benefits for

FoodShare while the state and federal governments share the cost of administration.

Incentive programs

Under the bill, DHS is required to establish an optional incentive program, by

rule, under which a county with a population of less than 750,000 or tribe receives

a reward payment if an employee or officer of the county or tribe identifies fraudulent

activity in Medical Assistance or FoodShare. Under the bill, the amount of the

reward payment under the program is 20 percent of the amount that DHS

determines will be saved in the program over a 12-month period as the result of

eliminating the identified fraudulent activity. Under the bill, the Department of

Children and Families is required to establish a similar incentive program, by rule,

that applies to fraudulent activity in Wisconsin Works that is identified by an

employee or officer of a county or tribe.

Under current law, a county or tribe may retain a portion of incorrect

overpayments in public assistance programs administered by DHS, including

Medical Assistance and FoodShare, that are recovered as the result of the efforts of

an employee or officer of the county or tribe. Currently, DHS establishes by rule the

portion of FoodShare overpayment recoveries that a county or tribe may retain.

Under the bill, a county or tribe may retain the full amount of FoodShare

overpayment recoveries that the state is permitted to retain under federal law. The

bill also provides that, if a county or tribe receives a reward payment under the

optional incentive program, the county or tribe may not retain overpayments that

are recovered as the result of the identified fraudulent activity. Current law also

allows a county or tribe to retain a portion of incorrect overpayments that are

recovered in the Wisconsin Works program as the result of the efforts of an employee

or officer of the county or tribe. Under current law, Milwaukee County may not retain

a portion of incorrect payments that are recovered as a result of the efforts of an

employee or officer of the county.

FoodShare changes

The bill requires DHS to remove and store offline all FoodShare benefits posted

to a recipient's benefit account if the account has not been accessed in six months or