Financial institution match system; operation of reporting systems; inter-agency agreements

Section 3. The commissioner shall design, develop and implement a financial institution match system and shall operate the reporting systems:

# (1)

for the purpose of verifying financial eligibility of a participant in a public benefit program of the commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof or their respective agencies, including the secretary of housing and livable communities, a local administering agency and a local housing authority, and including, the executive office of health and human services with respect to payments made from the health safety net trust fund;

# (2)

for purposes of verifying the eligibility of an employee of the commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof or their respective agencies for workers' compensation benefits; and (3) for purposes of administering the tax laws and the child support enforcement program of the commonwealth. The commissioner may, with the approval of the secretary of the executive office of administration and finance, adopt regulations which shall include other programs in said systems; but the commissioner shall submit proposed regulations to the house and senate committees on ways and means not less than 60 days before filing the final regulations with the state secretary. The commissioner is hereby further authorized and directed to enter into such inter-agency agreements with other agencies of the commonwealth as said commissioner deems are necessary to facilitate the implementation and utilization of the reporting systems. Such written agreements shall include provisions requiring such agencies, their subgrantees, or local administering agencies, including local housing authorities, to provide at a date specified by the commissioner a list of persons receiving benefits from such programs. Information in such lists shall include the recipient's name, social security number and other data required to assure positive identification. Such information shall be utilized in the reporting systems as a post audit mechanism for the purpose of verifying eligibility and detecting and preventing fraud, error and abuse in public benefits provided by agencies of the commonwealth. Said agencies, their subgrantees, or local administering agencies, including local housing authorities, are hereby authorized and directed to obtain and provide to the commissioner of revenue the information requested for the purposes of the reporting systems. The provisions of this chapter do not apply to the utilization and dissemination of wage records by the Division of Unemployment Assistance.

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In this chapter (18 sections)

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