Proposed bill could help counties investigate welfare fraud
BY ANDREW LACOMBE, FOX 11 NEWS MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2ND 2015
BELLEVUE — Some state lawmakers want to give county governments an incentive to crack down on welfare fraud.
"We are only hitting the tip of the iceberg in terms of the fraud that occurs," said State Rep. Andre Jacque, R-De Pere, at a press conference Monday morning.
A proposed bipartisan bill would let counties keep more money saved by stopping fraud through medical and FoodShare assistance programs.
Jacque and State Sen. Rob Cowles, R-Allouez, began circulating the proposal Monday morning. They're hoping for more support in the Legislature after the Senate didn't take up a similar bill last session.
Some major cases of welfare fraud in Brown County have made headlines in the past three years - including separate investigations at Beach Road Liquor and Billy Goats Pub in Green Bay.
Between cases large and small, Brown County leaders say they recover about a million dollars a year. But they say the investigations are costing county taxpayers.
"We were not necessarily seeing the net benefit," said county executive Troy Streckenbach. "The federal government and the state of Wisconsin were."
A proposed bill would let counties and Indian tribes keep some money from each case: 20 percent of what would have been stolen over a year.
In Brown County, it could cover the salaries and benefits of two welfare fraud investigators. County leaders say if the plan becomes law, they could look to add another assistant district attorney to prosecute the cases.
"That's been our goal all along, is to try to make sure that the taxpayers of Brown County aren't paying for this," said Sheriff John Gossage.
"Brown County has been a model, has been a leader, and for other counties to take that lead we have to provide that incentive. We have to show that the state is willing to be a partner in that effort," said Jacque. "I think it's important that we should not just try to crack down on fraud, but take a look at whether or not we are adequately committing the resources we need to investigate fraud."
Gossage says there have been around 200 investigations a year for the past five years, including 160 so far this year.
"I still think it's the tip of the iceberg, because what we're looking at is the amount of cases that come in after talking to the investigators, they say every time we come back into work is there are four or five cases that are sitting there," he said.
The full Assembly passed a similar measure last session, but it stalled in the Senate.
A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald told FOX 11 that Fitzgerald will review the proposal, but it won't come up in the fall session.
An estimate shows the state could lose $1.2 million of revenue if the plan becomes law, but Jacque expects the incentive for counties would increase the amount of money recovered from people abusing the welfare system.
On the Senate side, the bill has bipartisan support - including Republican Frank Lasee of De Pere and Democrat Dave Hansen of Green Bay.