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Council adopts amendment to require DHS to restore stolen public benefits
Summary
Councilmember Fruman moved an amendment to the Public Benefit Security Amendment Act of 2025 requiring the Department of Human Services to restore residents' public benefits stolen from DHS‑administered programs, simplify reporting deadlines to a single six‑month window, and grant DHS rulemaking authority; the amendment and bill passed unanimously.
Councilmember Fruman described and moved an amendment to the Public Benefit Security Amendment Act of 2025 (Bill 20‑6367). He said the amendment makes three consensus changes: it simplifies reporting deadlines so theft need only be reported within six months; it clarifies DHS is responsible only for restoring benefits from programs it administers (not programs run by other agencies); and it adds a rulemaking provision so DHS can issue regulations to implement the law.
"This amendment creates a single, easily knowable deadline," Fruman said, adding that DHS and advocates supported the clarification because the prior version's overlapping deadlines had produced application errors. He also noted a typographical error (Section 3 vs. Section 3A) that would be addressed through technical and conforming changes. The amendment passed unanimously on the floor and the bill as amended was adopted unanimously.
