Not unlike the effective 2014 bill mandating drug testing for welfare recipients, a bill introduced in the Tennessee General Assembly could reduce fraud among those who receive assistance.
The "Act to Restore Hope, Opportunity and Prosperity for Everyone," sponsored in the House by state Rep. Dan Howell, R-Cleveland, is not intended to limit those who legitimately would qualify for assistance but to verify that those who are receiving help should be getting it and that, where there are regulations, money is being spent in the way it is supposed to be spent.
Though Howell couldn't put a dollar amount on what might be saved or the number of people defrauding the system, he said other states, including Illinois and Massachusetts, have seen savings through the implementation of a similar law.
"We see this as a moral issue in Tennessee," he said. "Taxpayers should know where their hard-earned dollars are going."
The bill has three parts. The first would verify assets of recipients. The second would monitor purchasing to be sure recipients using EBT cards are not using them for items that are prohibited. The third would create the ability for recipients who defrauded the system to be punished.
While it's important for taxpayer money to be spent wisely, the cost of the legislation might be the key to its moving forward.
That's because, according to co-sponsor Sen. Kerry Roberts, R-Springfield, a third-party company would have to be hired to both verify assets and monitor spending. However, the third party would be paid only if fraud is found, according to Howell.
The legislation, for instance, seeks to make sure state residents are not spending the majority of their money in other states and that benefits could not be used in places such as movie theaters, massage parlors, theme parks, lingerie shops, video arcades, tattoo parlors, cruise ships and "sexually oriented businesses."
"There is no desire whatsoever to take benefits away from people who are entitled," Roberts said. "Rather there is just an indignation that there are people out there that would cheat the system and keep people who truly need this money from having access to it."
Once a cost is associated with the bill, legislators will have a better idea if it is doable. If the cost far outstrips the money that would be saved, it's not the right solution. That doesn't mean legislators shouldn't double down on efforts to halt welfare cheats. It just means this particular legislation is not the right answer.
The bill has yet to be added to the calendars of either body's committee.