Date: 02/15/2006

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB06-1266

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Adopt L.001 (Attachment A). The motion passed wit
Refer the bill, as amended, to the Committee on Ap		Pass Without Objection
PASS


10:53 AM -- House Bill 06-1266

Representative Larson, sponsor, presented the bill regarding the recovery of fraudulently obtained public assistance. The bill specifically targets payments for which a judgment has been issued. Representative Larson distributed and discussed amendment L.001 (Attachment A). He stated portions of the bill will bring state law into compliance with federal requirements. He answered questions about payments mistakenly made due to problems with CBMS (Colorado Benefits Management System). He discussed the bill's fiscal note and stated CBMS will be affected by the bill.

The following persons testified.

11:02 AM -- Charissa Hammer, Colorado Welfare Fraud Council, discussed the work of the council. She answered questions about recovery of tax returns and felony welfare fraud.

11:06 AM -- Gerald Garcia, Colorado Welfare Fraud Council, stated the bill will facilitate the recovery of wrongly-paid public assistance. He answered questions about the population targeted by the bill, penalties against persons who receive overpayments of cash benefits, how much public assistance is fraudulently obtained, and recourse available against persons who have moved out of state. He described how overpayment cases are handled when the payment is due to a technician mistake or CBMS problem.

11:16 AM -- Jennifer Stanley, Colorado Welfare Fraud Council, described a particular welfare fraud case.

11:17 AM -- Patricia Ayon, Colorado Welfare Fraud Council, described a particular welfare fraud case. She answered questions about the use of workers' compensation by persons who have fraudulently received public assistance. She stated federal tax return intercepts are available for food assistance fraud only. State tax return intercepts are available for other public benefit programs. Ms. Ayon stated persons who have fraudulently received cash benefits typically move around frequently from county to county.

11:26 AM -- Ms. Hammer returned to the table to answer members' questions. She stated counties have a number of methods for determining if a client is no longer eligible for public benefits. She discussed potential recoveries under the bill and answered questions about worker's compensation. Representative Green discussed concerns with how cases are handled when overpaid cash benefits are due to human error or computer problems.

11:35 AM -- Michele Hanigsberg, Office of Legislative Legal Services, answered questions about current law regarding client self-reporting of income or asset changes. She stated the law reflects a federal requirement and is not meant to limit the tools counties may use to determine eligibility for cash assistance. Committee members discussed judgments in cases of overpayments.

11:44 AM -- Mr. Garcia returned to the table to answer members' questions. He stated when a judgment is made, fraud has been committed. He described factors considered before the council seeks recovery of overpayments.


11:50 AM

Representative Larson described the provisions of L.001.
BILL:HB06-1266
TIME: 11:51:30 AM
MOVED:Boyd
MOTION:Adopt L.001 (Attachment A). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:Weissmann
VOTE
Berens
Cloer
Green
Kerr
Lundberg
McGihon
Riesberg
Soper
Stafford
Sullivan
Weissmann
Frangas
Boyd
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


11:53 AM

Committee members commented on the bill.
BILL:HB06-1266
TIME: 11:57:42 AM
MOVED:Cloer
MOTION:Refer the bill, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed 13-0.
SECONDED:Frangas
VOTE
Berens
Yes
Cloer
Yes
Green
Yes
Kerr
Yes
Lundberg
Yes
McGihon
Yes
Riesberg
Yes
Soper
Yes
Stafford
Yes
Sullivan
Yes
Weissmann
Yes
Frangas
Yes
Boyd
Yes
Final YES: 13 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS