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Kansas committee hears bill to tighten public‑assistance eligibility; supporters cite fraud controls, state officials warn of major costs
Summary
Senate Bill 363 would require frequent data matches, bar broad self‑attestation and narrow agency waiver authority for public‑assistance programs. Supporters say the changes protect the safety net; state health and human services officials said the changes could add hundreds of staff hours and raise error‑rate risks and costs.
The Kansas Senate committee heard testimony on Senate Bill 363, a proposal to require state agencies to verify eligibility for public‑assistance programs — including SNAP and Medicaid — through routine data matching and to curb broad self‑attestation and agency waiver authority.
David Wees, the reviser who summarized the bill, said it would create several new statutory sections requiring data‑matching agreements for monthly or quarterly checks with state vital records, the Department of Revenue, the Department of Corrections, the Department of Labor, and the Kansas Lottery and Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission to identify changes that affect eligibility. The bill would lower the reporting trigger for lottery winnings from $5,000 to $3,000 and prohibit agencies from granting optional geographic or work‑requirement waivers without explicit legislative approval. Most of the bill would take…
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