Committee debates bill to expand SNAP data matches; Department of Children and Families says many checks already exist

The Committee on Government Efficiency heard from supporters and opponents of Senate Bill 85, which would direct the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) to enter agreements with state agencies and federal sources to continuously compare food assistance (SNAP) enrollment with other data sets and to publish quarterly aggregate findings of noncompliance and fraud investigations.

Steve Green, a visiting fellow testifying for Opportunity Solutions Project, said the proposal aims to reduce improper payments. “In Kansas, we have an improper payment rate of about 12%,” Green told the committee, citing Food and Nutrition Service figures and a 2013–2022 trend. He described improper payments as overpayments or underpayments that occur when reported household income or circumstances are incorrect, and argued that monthly crosschecks against death records, incarceration, lottery winnings and out‑of‑state EBT transactions and quarterly crosschecks against wages and tax records would reduce overpayments and restore benefits to truly eligible households.

Karen Siebert, advocacy and public policy advisor…