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Committee advances bill allowing Health and Welfare to access tax data for non‑Medicaid benefits investigations
Summary
Jared Larson, legislative and regulatory affairs chief for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, told the Senate Health and Welfare Committee that House Bill 62 would allow the department to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Idaho State Tax Commission to obtain adjusted gross income data to investigate suspected fraud in non‑Medicaid benefits programs.
Jared Larson, legislative and regulatory affairs chief for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, told the Senate Health and Welfare Committee that House Bill 62 authorizes the department to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Idaho State Tax Commission to obtain adjusted gross income information to investigate suspected fraud in non‑Medicaid benefits programs.
"This bill is, relatively simple in that it authorizes the department to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the tax commission," Larson said, adding the change would make investigations less intrusive and more efficient than issuing subpoenas for bank records.
The bill is aimed at benefits such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and other income‑based programs; Larson said Medicaid fraud is handled separately by the Medicaid fraud unit. He told the committee that the tax commission already holds the relevant tax returns and that the tax commission has roughly 60 existing memoranda of understanding with other public entities for similar exchanges.
Committee members asked about costs and burden. Larson said the department expects no fiscal impact and that the arrangement would reduce staff time spent assembling cases from bank records. Senator Harris asked whether the tax commission would be burdened; Larson said the tax commission had indicated no concerns in preliminary discussions.
Senator Kaiser moved and Senator Ziderfeld seconded a motion to send House Bill 62 to the floor with a due‑pass recommendation. The committee approved the motion by voice vote; no roll‑call tally was recorded in the hearing transcript.
Why it matters: Committee members framed the change as an accountability measure for taxpayer‑funded benefit programs and as a tool to determine whether benefit recipients meet eligibility requirements when investigators have reasonable suspicion.
What remains unclear from the hearing: the bill text in the hearing was discussed in general terms; the transcript does not record a roll‑call vote or a detailed implementation plan. The department said it had worked with the tax commission on the language and on preliminary implementation steps.
Next steps: House Bill 62 was reported to the floor with a due‑pass recommendation for further consideration by the full Senate.
