Bill Text: NJ A5481 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires parties to certain State Comptroller settlement agreements to repay full amount of improperly received benefits.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-06-06 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Oversight, Reform and Federal Relations Committee [A5481 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-A5481-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ERIC HOUGHTALING
District 11 (Monmouth)
Assemblywoman JOANN DOWNEY
District 11 (Monmouth)
SYNOPSIS
Requires parties to certain State Comptroller settlement agreements to repay full amount of improperly received benefits.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning settlement agreements reached with the Office of the State Comptroller, supplementing P.L.2010, c.52 (C.52:15C-1 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Notwithstanding any law, rule, regulation, order, or agreement to the contrary, any voluntary disclosure program that is developed, operated, overseen, monitored, or enforced by the Office of the State Comptroller shall comply with the following provision: as a condition of any settlement agreement that is reached, amended, or extended, the Office of the State Comptroller shall require a party to repay the full amount of any unjustly acquired funds received by the party and covered by the settlement agreement.
b. For purposes of this section:
"Unjustly acquired funds" means money or other benefit that is mistakenly or intentionally acquired by an individual or entity pursuant to participation in a federal, State, county, or local program that provides stipends, subsidies, reimbursement, or other pecuniary benefits to participants, and which the individual or entity was not legally entitled to receive. For purposes of this section, unjustly acquired funds shall include, but not be limited to, benefits improperly received pursuant to the "New Jersey Medical Assistance and Health Services Act," P.L.1968, c.413 (C.30:4D-1 et seq.), and the "Family Health Care Coverage Act," P.L.2005, c.156 (C.30:4J-8 et al.).
"Voluntary disclosure program" means a program that permits an individual or entity to enter into a settlement agreement that provides for the repayment by that individual or entity of unjustly acquired funds in exchange for the Office of the Comptroller agreeing to not undertake, advance, or refer the matter for a civil enforcement action or criminal prosecution.
2. This act shall take effect immediately and apply to settlement agreements executed on or after the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill creates a requirement for any Office of the State Comptroller program designed to recover taxpayer money, to mandate, as a condition of any settlement agreement, the person or entity concerned is required to reimburse the full amount of money improperly received.
As an independent State agency that conducts investigations and audits of public benefit programs, the Office of the State Comptroller may implement voluntary disclosure programs. These programs, which are akin to amnesty, permit a person or business to enter into a settlement agreement to repay public benefits that were improperly or illegally acquired. In exchange for compliance with the settlement agreement, the Office of the State Comptroller agrees to not refer the matter for certain criminal prosecutions or take civil enforcement action (depending upon the nature of the fraud, the terms of the settlement agreement, and the authority of the Office of the State Comptroller). While this type of program is not technically amnesty, since among other reasons the person or business may still be exposed to other criminal or civil actions or penalties, these programs afford a means by which improperly acquired taxpayer money can be returned.
This bill creates a requirement that any settlement agreement reached under a voluntary disclosure program, executed on or after the date the bill is enacted into law, must provide for the full reimbursement of all improperly acquired taxpayer money from the party/parties. Following the enactment of this bill into law, any settlement agreement must meet this requirement, and if a party to the agreement fails to comply therewith, the Office of the State Comptroller may take any legally authorized action to enforce the agreement.
The State provides many public welfare programs to its residents, to ensure that those in need have the resources to afford basic services such as health care. Individuals and businesses who improperly acquire these benefits, whether inadvertently or intentionally, illegally enrich themselves at the expense of taxpayers. This bill is intended to ensure that generous settlement programs, which afford some degree of clemency, are not abused by those who themselves take advantage of the State and its taxpayers.
