Bill Text: NJ S2972 | 2012-2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires any State entity administering State or federal public benefit programs to verify recipient's personal information against death records to prevent payment to deceased individual.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 2-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-09-12 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee [S2972 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2012-S2972-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator JEFF VAN DREW
District 1 (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland)
Senator STEVEN V. OROHO
District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)
SYNOPSIS
Requires any State entity administering State or federal public benefit programs to verify recipient's personal information against death records to prevent payment to deceased individual.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the prevention of public benefit program payments to deceased individuals and supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Any State entity, including any agency, department, office, board, bureau, commission, independent authority, or other instrumentality of the State, responsible for administering any State or federal public benefit program, shall periodically verify a benefit recipient's personal information, including the name, Social Security number, and last known address of the recipient, against the New Jersey Electronic Death Registration System (NJ-EDRS) and the information provided by the State registrar to each governmental agency pursuant to subsection b. of section 16 of P.L.2003, c.221 (C.26:8-24.1), in order to prevent the payment of benefits to a deceased individual.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill requires any State entity responsible for administering any State or federal public benefit program to periodically verify a benefit recipient's personal information, including that person's name, Social Security number, and last known address, against the New Jersey Electronic Death Registration System (NJ-EDRS) and the information provided by the State registrar to governmental agencies concerning recent deaths in the State. This periodic verification is intended to prevent the payment of public benefits to a deceased individual and to thereby safeguard public benefit programs and diminish the criminal use of a decedent's name and other identifying information. This bill would require death verification of benefit recipients under State or federal benefit programs including, but not limited to, the New Jersey Medical Assistance and Health Services Program (Medicaid), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Work First New Jersey program, and pension payments to retired public employees.
