Session: 2023-2024
ACLU-PA Position: Supports
HB 1806 (PN 2238) would amend the PA Human Services Code to restore the grading thresholds for welfare fraud to prior levels, after having been recently increased by the legislature. By increasing the grading for all welfare fraud over $1,000 to a third-degree felony, magisterial district judges (MDJs) could no longer hear cases they were previously able to resolve. This has created a backlog of welfare fraud cases in common pleas courts.
By reverting to the previous statutory scheme, the Office of State Inspector General (OSIG) will be able to pursue a greater number of cases at the MDJ level, thereby increasing OSIG’s efficiency and the likelihood that stolen public assistance funds will be recovered for use by qualified recipients.
Check the bill's status here.
