Lawmakers press majority leader on $100 million fiscal estimate for centralized benefits application; bill laid over

Representative Majority Leader Lawson presented House Bill 1575 to the House Human Services subcommittee, explaining the bill would direct the Department of Human Services to issue a request for proposals to develop a single application that could determine eligibility across multiple assistance programs — SNAP, TANF, childcare subsidies, LIHEAP, Medicaid, WIC and others — and share data across agencies to reduce duplicate applications.

Lawson said the proposal reflects the child welfare task force’s "no wrong door" recommendation and described the goal as allowing families to fill out one application and have information shared across agencies. He said he received a fiscal-impact statement from DHS that morning showing a projected total cost of $100,000,000, with a state share of $60,000,000, a federal share of $40,000,000 and personnel costs for 30 positions. Lawson said he had not had time to analyze the fiscal note and asked the committee for latitude to gather more information.

Committee members repeatedly pressed for details. Representative Wolley asked the sponsor to break down the fiscal impact; Lawson read the numbers from the DHS fiscal note and said he did not know how DHS arrived at the estimate because he had received it that morning and had not had time to digest it. Lawson said the bill would create an RFP and that implementation timing in the bill contemplates an effective date and subsequent deadlines: he referenced an effective date of July 1, a deadline of January 1, 2026 to put together the RFP and then six months after selection to implement — but he cautioned the exact RFP contents and timetable would depend on responses and agency feedback.

Representatives on both sides of the room urged more transparency and agency follow-up. Members noted previous investments in state systems (Citizen360 and other Department of Human Services modernization efforts) and asked whether those efforts had been effective. Lawson said he has spoken to multiple vendors and lobbyists involved in similar systems and emphasized that the RFP process would allow multiple vendors to respond; he said he was not attempting to secure a sole-source contract for a particular vendor.

Several members expressed concern about timing: Representative Hill and others said the large, round fiscal estimate released the morning of the hearing raised questions. Members discussed options including referring the bill to appropriations, obtaining a more detailed DHS fiscal statement, or laying the bill over. The committee agreed to lay the bill over until next week and limit next week's discussion to the fiscal explanation and funding sources. Lawson and the committee chair said they would work with the appropriations subcommittee and DHS to obtain a more detailed breakdown before the next hearing. The bill was not voted on during the hearing.