Tax Commission given $100,000 pilot to trial fraud‑prevention software; chair and staff say procurement structure allowed

The General Government Appropriations Subcommittee approved a one‑time $100,000 allocation for the Tax Commission to trial fraud‑prevention software and to negotiate a vendor contract intended to be based on additional revenue collected.

Chair introduced the item as part of the intent language and staff explained the initial $100,000 would come from the transportation fund; the additional revenue generated by improved sales‑tax compliance would be general fund revenue. Senator Brammer said the procurement could be structured as a "bounty type contract," where a vendor would receive a portion of increased collections if the pilot produced new revenue.

Staff told the committee they had verified with legislative research and the purchasing department that the type of performance‑linked contract described would be permitted. The transcript does not include final contract language, procurement specifics, performance metrics, or which vendor (if any) will be selected; those details remain to be developed through the procurement process.

Next steps noted in the hearing: the Tax Commission may proceed with procurement consistent with state purchasing rules, and any resulting contract would need to reflect the legality and purchasing‑department guidance staff referenced. The committee approved the non‑state/state funding items that included this pilot and forwarded its materials to Executive Appropriations.