Committee advances bill expanding inspector general’s authority over cash, food and health assistance programs

The Senate Committee on Public Health and Welfare voted to advance House Bill 2217, a proposal that would expand the Office of Inspector General’s authority to investigate and audit state cash, food and health assistance programs, and that would explicitly grant investigators the ability to issue subpoenas, take oaths, compel testimony and execute search warrants.

Jenna, committee staff, summarized the bill at the start of the hearing, saying the measure “expands the power of the Inspector General to investigate and audit all state cash, food, and health assistance programs,” and noting the bill’s definitions and structural changes. The committee adopted an amendment excluding the state employee health benefits program from the bill’s definition of health assistance.

Supporters said the change would strengthen oversight and help recover public funds. Steve Anderson, representing the Office of Inspector General, told the committee the OIG’s “core mission ... is to identify fraud, waste and abuse and illegal acts in the various programs” and that expanding explicit investigative authority would let the office perform audits, internal staff investigations and more complex criminal inquiries. Anderson said the OIG has identified more than $330 million in fraud, waste and savings in prior work and noted the office has begun criminal referrals and civil actions: “We’ve opened 7 cases ... [and] we handled almost 1,500 complaints of eligibility fraud” in recent work, he said, adding that limited investigative staff constrained the office’s workload.

Opponents said the bill risks duplication and confusion about which office has priority to investigate alleged fraud. Mark Altenburnt, general counsel for the Department for Children and Families, told the committee DCF already conducts audits and fraud investigations and said federal law requires the administering agency to maintain an investigative arm. “We are opponents of the legislation ... the primary reason we are opposed ... is because we already investigate them,” he testified, warning the bill’s provision granting the inspector general “original jurisdiction” would create uncertainty about which office should handle allegations.

Lawmakers pressed both sides on practical effects. Several senators asked whether search-warrant and subpoena authority is newly created or merely restated in statute; staff and the OIG representative said many of the powers are being clarified in statute though some practices existed under the Attorney General’s umbrella. Committee staff said the House committee had previously amended the bill to exclude the state employee health benefits program so that program would not fall under the inspector general’s oversight. Jenna also told the committee the bill, as amended, would take effect on July 1, 2025, after publication in the statute book.

The bill cites statutes related to public-assistance fraud and record access, including references to the Medicaid fraud control provisions (chapter 21, article 59), K.S.A. 39-7-09 and K.S.A. 39-7-20 (program-related fraud statutes), and K.S.A. 75-7-26 (access to records by the Attorney General). Committee staff said the cited statutes explain the kinds of crimes and records access the bill is intended to address.

During questioning lawmakers repeatedly raised two themes: whether the OIG would duplicate DCF’s federally funded investigators and whether granting “original jurisdiction” to the inspector general could delay or complicate referrals to local prosecutors or the Attorney General. Anderson said OIG investigations are typically referred to prosecutors when appropriate and that having clearer statutory authority reduces uncertainty; DCF counsel said the added state-funded investigative arm would be redundant and could cost state dollars that currently come from federal funding for DCF’s fraud investigations.

After the hearing and debate, Senator Erickson moved to pass House Bill 2217 favorably out of committee and Senator Thompson seconded; the motion carried and the bill passed out of committee. The committee record does not include a roll-call tally in the transcript; the chair announced the bill “has passed out of committee.”

The measure will proceed toward the next stages of the legislative process. Because the committee adopted the amendment excluding the state employee health benefits program, that portion will not be subject to the inspector general’s oversight under the amended bill.

Votes at a glance from the hearing: House Bill 2217 — motion to pass favorably by Senator Erickson; second by Senator Thompson; outcome: passed out of committee.