Committee advances bill allowing Health and Welfare to seek tax data to investigate non‑Medicaid benefits fraud

House Bill 62, which would authorize the Department of Health and Welfare to enter a memorandum of understanding with the Idaho State Tax Commission to obtain tax‑return information for benefit‑fraud investigations, was advanced to the Senate floor with a due‑pass recommendation.

The bill, presented June 1 by Jared Larson, Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Chief at the Department of Health and Welfare, would give the department statutory authority to obtain adjusted gross income from the tax commission when investigators have a suspicion that someone is unlawfully receiving benefits such as TANF. "This bill is, relatively simple in that it authorizes the department to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the tax commission," Larson said. He emphasized the change does not target Medicaid fraud, noting that "Medicaid fraud is handled by the Medicaid fraud unit in a different statutory section."

Supporters told the committee the measure would make fraud investigations less time‑consuming and less intrusive. Larson said investigators currently rely on subpoenas to banks or piecing together bank‑account transfers to establish households’ income when they cannot access tax records directly. "It is far less intrusive in people's lives ... to go to the tax commission where we can get the straightforward information rather than cobble it together with more private information," he said. Larson told the committee the department had worked with the tax commission on the bill language and that the tax commission "had no concerns about it"; he also said the commission has about 60 memoranda of understanding with other public entities for similar information.

Committee members asked about cost and scope. Larson told Senator Wintrow the bill has "no fiscal impact" and would reduce investigative burden by allowing staff to obtain adjusted gross income from tax returns held by the state rather than reconstructing income from bank records. In response to a question from Senator Harris, Larson said preliminary discussions with the tax commission indicated the agency did not expect an added burden.

The committee motion to send House Bill 62 to the floor with a due‑pass recommendation was made by Senator Kaiser and seconded by Senator Ziderfeld. The committee chair called for the ayes; the motion passed. Senator Wintrow thanked Larson, saying the measure helps ensure taxpayer dollars are spent wisely and that accountability mechanisms are appropriate.

The committee record does not include a roll‑call tally in the transcript; the motion was advanced by voice vote and recorded as passing.