JBC backs a payment‑accuracy team for SNAP but members split on staffing and county liability

Tom Dermody, JBC staff, presented the Department of Human Services’ prioritized supplemental S1 to stand up a SNAP payment‑accuracy team focused on reducing payment‑error rates and preparing for future federal requirements. The department requested roughly $450,000 total funds (3.6 FTE); staff recommended a prorated $225,000 for the current fiscal year.

Members emphasized urgency — hiring in state government can be slow — and suggested temporary contracting or procurement acceleration as an alternative to meet immediate needs. Representative Brown and others urged the department to plan for rapid deployment, and Dermody said the appropriation could fund either state FTE or contracted work because it would be placed in the SNAP administration line item, which contains both personal‑service and operating funds.

Several members raised a statutory concern: a strict reading of state law could require the State to pass federal monetary sanctions for high payment‑error rates through to counties. Dermody read the statutory language quoted in the write‑up and said statutory change would be required to alter the current cost‑pass‑through approach. That legal reading prompted members to ask staff to examine whether the costs could be absorbed at the state level or whether county impacts could be softened by statute.

After debate over staffing approach, county exposure and whether existing teams could be repurposed, the committee approved staff’s recommendation for the PAT supplement on a 4–2 vote (Senator Kirkmeyer and Representative Taggart objecting). Dermody said staff would continue analysis and present options at figure setting, and members asked for evidence that the PAT approach would reduce error rates and a clearer plan tying resources to known error causes.