Politics & Government

Mike Carrell-Sponsored Fraud Bill Goes to Governor's Office

Senate Bill 6386 would give the state Department of Social and Health Services' Office of Fraud and Accountability more tools to use when investigating reports of abuse within certain government programs.

(Editor's note: I just got this from state Sen. Mike Carrell's office today)

Members of the Washington State Senate voted today to concur with amendments made by the House of Representatives regarding a bill which would help improve the prevention, detection and prosecution of fraudulent activity. Senate Bill 6386, sponsored by Sen. Mike Carrell, R-Lakewood, would give the state Department of Social and Health Services’ Office of Fraud and Accountability more tools to use when investigating reports of abuse within certain government programs.

“Our state continues to face a financial crisis, and I believe it is our responsibility as lawmakers to ensure that our constituents’ hard-earned tax dollars are being used effectively,” Carrell said. “Allowing fraud and abuse in state government agencies to go unchecked is the same as condoning the illegal behavior, and it’s time for the state to step up to the plate and send a message that these actions will no longer be tolerated.”

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SB 6386 would encourage OFA to coordinate with the Office of the State Auditor and the Department of Early Learning to root out the misuse of government funding in public-assistance programs. Some of the bill’s provisions include limiting the number of family members who can use a public-assistance recipient's Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card. The family member must be an eligible member of the household, the recipient's authorized family member, an alternative cardholder, or have been assigned as a protective payee.

“I also believe it’s just plain common sense to not print the personal identification numbers of the cards on the face of the cards themselves,” Carrell said. “Under my bill, DSHS must not use a sequence of numbers for a PIN that matches any sequence of numbers appearing on the front of the card.”
 
SB 6386 would also grant OFA investigators access to all original child-care records maintained by licensed and unlicensed child-care providers if the provider consents, a court has ordered such access, or the investigator has a valid search warrant. Additionally, applicants for or recipients of subsidized child care will no longer be required to seek child support enforcement services from the Division of Child Support.

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“Time and time again, people contact my office wanting to know why the state is cutting back on programs and services when there is so much waste, fraud and abuse going on,” Carrell said. “It was my proposal last year that formed the Office of Fraud and Accountability, and SB 6386 will take that fraud-fighting effort to the next level.”

SB 6386 will now go to the governor to be signed into law.


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