House Study Bill 502 - Introduced HOUSE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCES BILL BY CHAIRPERSON MEYER) A BILL FOR An Act relating to verification and authentication systems for 1 public assistance programs. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 5531YC (3) 89 pf/rh

H.F. _____ Section 1. NEW SECTION . 239.1 Definitions. 1 As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise 2 requires: 3 1. “Applicant” means an individual who is applying for 4 public assistance benefits in the state. 5 2. “Asset” means all assets of the members of the 6 applicant’s household, including all of the following: 7 a. All bank accounts, excluding retirement accounts of 8 members of the household. 9 b. All cash, excluding the first two thousand dollars of 10 members of the household. 11 c. All lottery and gambling income of the household whether 12 received as a lump sum or installment payments. 13 d. All real estate, excluding the primary household 14 residence and surrounding lot. 15 e. All other personal property excluding personal 16 belongings, household goods, and one vehicle. 17 3. “Department” means the department of human services. 18 4. “Public assistance” means SNAP (the supplemental 19 nutrition assistance program), the Medicaid program, FIP (the 20 family investment program), and CHIP (the children’s health 21 insurance program). 22 5. “Real-time system” means real-time electronic access 23 to a system that allows verification of all applicable public 24 assistance program eligibility information based on the 25 most recent information available to the department through 26 nonmodeled earned and unearned income, such as commercially 27 available wage data. 28 6. “Recipient” means an individual who is receiving public 29 assistance benefits in the state. 30 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION . 239.2 Verification and authentication 31 systems —— public assistance programs. 32 1. By July 1, 2023, the department shall redesign an 33 existing system; establish a new computerized income, asset, 34 and identity eligibility verification system; or contract with 35 -1- LSB 5531YC (3) 89 pf/rh 1/ 4

H.F. _____ a third-party vendor to provide for identity verification, 1 identity authentication, asset verification, and dual 2 enrollment prevention in order to deter waste, fraud, and 3 abuse in each public assistance program administered by the 4 department. 5 2. The department may contract with a third-party vendor to 6 develop or provide a service for a real-time system that allows 7 the department to verify or authenticate income, assets, and 8 identity eligibility of applicants and recipients to prevent 9 fraud, misrepresentation, and inadequate documentation when 10 determining eligibility for public assistance programs. The 11 system shall be accessed prior to determining eligibility, 12 periodically between eligibility redeterminations, and during 13 eligibility redeterminations and reviews. The department may 14 also contract with a third-party vendor to provide information 15 to facilitate reviews of recipient eligibility conducted by 16 the department. Specifically, the department may contract 17 with a third-party consumer reporting agency, as defined by 18 the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. §1681a, for 19 the purpose of obtaining real-time employment and income 20 information. 21 3. A contract entered into under this section shall provide, 22 at a minimum, for all of the following: 23 a. The establishment of the annual savings amount from 24 utilization of the system or service, and a provision that the 25 contract may be terminated contingent upon the savings not 26 exceeding the total yearly cost to the state for utilization of 27 the system or service. 28 b. That the contract shall not preclude the department 29 from continuing to conduct additional eligibility verification 30 or authentication processes, to receive, review, or verify 31 additional information related to the eligibility of an 32 individual, or from contracting with a third-party vendor to 33 provide additional eligibility authentication or verification 34 information. 35 -2- LSB 5531YC (3) 89 pf/rh 2/ 4

H.F. _____ 4. The department shall seek federal approval as necessary 1 to implement and administer this section. 2 5. The department shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A 3 to administer this chapter. 4 6. The department may contract with multiple third-party 5 vendors to administer this Act. 6 EXPLANATION 7 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 8 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 9 This bill requires that by July 1, 2023, the department 10 of human services (DHS) shall redesign an existing system; 11 establish a new computerized income, asset, and identity 12 eligibility verification system; or contract with a third-party 13 vendor to provide for identity verification, identity 14 authentication, asset verification, and dual enrollment 15 prevention in each public assistance program administered by 16 DHS. DHS may contract with a third-party vendor to develop 17 or provide a real-time system to verify or authenticate 18 income, assets, and identity eligibility of applicants and 19 recipients. The system shall be accessed prior to determining 20 eligibility, periodically between eligibility redeterminations, 21 and during eligibility redeterminations and reviews. DHS may 22 contract with a third-party vendor to provide information to 23 facilitate reviews of recipient eligibility conducted by DHS. 24 A contract entered into to provide a system or service must 25 establish the annual savings amount from utilization of the 26 system or service, and include a provision that the contract 27 may be terminated contingent upon the savings not exceeding 28 the total yearly cost to the state for utilization of the 29 system or service. The contract does not preclude DHS from 30 continuing to conduct additional eligibility verification 31 or authentication processes to receive, review, or verify 32 additional information related to the eligibility of an 33 individual; or from contracting with a third-party vendor to 34 provide additional eligibility authentication or verification 35 -3- LSB 5531YC (3) 89 pf/rh 3/ 4

H.F. _____ information. DHS shall seek federal approval as necessary to 1 implement and administer this provision of the bill. The bill 2 requires DHS to adopt administrative rules to administer the 3 bill and authorizes DHS to contract with multiple third-party 4 vendors to administer the bill. 5 -4- LSB 5531YC (3) 89 pf/rh 4/ 4