Late last week, the Department of Labor and Industry (L&I) owned up to a decades-long error it made and has yet to rectify five years after it was discovered. It might be laughable if it wasn’t so irresponsible and disrespectful to Pennsylvania’s taxpayers and workers.

In case you missed it, between 2006 and 2016, the agency overcharged interest on money owed to it by people who received “fault overpayments.” These are payments that occurred as a result of the filer withholding or providing incorrect information that led to them receiving benefits for which they were not eligible. Bottom line: The department unknowingly made improper payments and then when the error was discovered, it overcharged interest on repayments. And though officials have known about it for five years, the department has yet to make it right with the people who were overcharged.

It’s really inexcusable for a state agency to behave this way. But making improper payments is not an isolated occurrence in state government. And that’s why we have been working on a package of bills to protect taxpayers and prevent improper payments from occurring in the first place.

House Bill 104 would require state agencies to review their programs and expenditures, assess how susceptible they may be to improper payment, and address any risks to ultimately prevent such payments. The Office of the Budget would then be required to maintain this information on a publicly accessible website.
 

House Bill 108 would create a “do-not-pay” initiative to monitor improper payments across Commonwealth agencies. Specifically, any agency that makes payments by expending federal funds would be required to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the United States Treasury Department to join the federal do-not-pay program. Other states participating in do-not-pay initiatives have enjoyed significant savings. For example, Oregon saved $286 for every $1 it spent after enacting its do-not-pay law.