Florida Senate - 2018                             CS for SB 1232
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; and
       Senator Baxley
       
       
       
       
       586-02342-18                                          20181232c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to public assistance fraud; amending
    3         s. 414.39, F.S.; revising the maximum reward paid to
    4         persons providing certain information leading to the
    5         recovery of certain fraudulent public assistance
    6         payments; revising the funding source for such
    7         rewards; amending s. 414.41, F.S.; directing state
    8         retained shares of recovered public assistance
    9         overpayments to be held in the Federal Grants Trust
   10         Fund; requiring such funds to be reallocated to the
   11         Department of Children and Families; specifying how
   12         such funds may be used by the department; requiring
   13         the department to submit an annual report and to
   14         propose certain projects for legislative
   15         authorization; providing an effective date.
   16          
   17  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   18  
   19         Section 1. Paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection (11) of
   20  section 414.39, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
   21         414.39 Fraud.—
   22         (11)
   23         (b) The reward may not exceed 10 percent of the amount
   24  recovered in full by the department or $500,000, whichever is
   25  less, in a single case.
   26         (c) The reward shall be paid from the state-retained state
   27  share of the recovered overpayments held recovery in the Federal
   28  Grants Trust Fund from moneys collected pursuant to s. 414.41.
   29         Section 2. Subsection (4) is added to section 414.41,
   30  Florida Statutes, to read:
   31         414.41 Recovery of payments made due to mistake or fraud.—
   32         (4) All collected state-retained shares of recovered
   33  overpayments during each fiscal year shall be held in the
   34  Federal Grants Trust Fund to be reallocated to the department
   35  the following fiscal year for use as specified in this
   36  subsection.
   37         (a) Funds held in the Federal Grants Trust Fund pursuant to
   38  this subsection may be used by the department to:
   39         1. Pay public assistance fraud rewards as provided in s.
   40  414.39(11) and to fund public assistance fraud detection; and
   41         2. Fund prevention initiatives that enable the department
   42  to respond to emergent public assistance fraud schemes and
   43  threats pursuant to authorization under paragraph (c).
   44         (b) By October 1 of each year, the department shall submit
   45  a report to the Legislature which includes the following:
   46         1. The actual outcomes and returns on investment associated
   47  with projects approved pursuant to paragraph (c) during the
   48  previous fiscal year.
   49         2. The amount of funds in the Federal Grants Trust Fund
   50  available for expenditure pursuant to this subsection.
   51         3. The number and amount of public assistance fraud rewards
   52  paid during the previous fiscal year and anticipated to be paid
   53  during the next fiscal year.
   54         4. Descriptions of specific proposed projects to be
   55  supported by the expenditure of funds held according to this
   56  subsection, including expected outcomes of the proposed
   57  projects, and the estimated return on investment for the
   58  following fiscal year.
   59         (c) Contingent upon specific authorization in the General
   60  Appropriations Act or similar legislation, and notwithstanding
   61  chapter 216, the department may use funds, pursuant to this
   62  subsection, to pay public assistance fraud rewards and to fund
   63  one or more of the specific projects proposed in the annual
   64  report required under paragraph (b).
   65         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2018.