TN 1 (12-18)
GN 03312.110 Law Enforcement Requests from Federal, State, and Local Agencies Involving Non-Violent
Crimes
We may disclose program records to law enforcement agencies for non-violent crimes
under20 C.F.R. § 401.155(c). Disclosures to Federal, State and local agencies for non-violent crimes are generally
limited to cases involving the investigation or prosecution of fraud and abuse in
health or income maintenance programs if the information concerns eligibility, benefit
amounts, or other matters of benefit status in a social security program and is relevant
to determining the same matters in the other program. A request must meet the requirements
for a valid request, as discussed in GN 03312.105.
Examples of Federal, State and local health and income maintenance programs include:
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Railroad Retirement Board pension and unemployment compensation programs;
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Department of Veterans Affairs’ compensation and benefit programs;
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Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program (SNAP);
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Title IV, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF);
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Title III, unemployment compensation;
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government pension programs; and
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Section 1616(a) State supplementation.
IMPORTANT: The Federal Bureau of Investigation has jurisdiction over the investigation and prosecution
of welfare fraud on Native American territories. Do not release any information to
state agencies in these instances, as they do not have jurisdiction over the case.
Special procedures apply to requests for testimony and requests for information made
under the agency’s Touhy regulations at 20
C.F.R. Part 403. In addition, special procedures apply to requests from the Department of Justice
when it requests information or testimony in civil or criminal matters and requests
from the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) when
OIG requests agency testimony. Direct these requests to the appropriate Office of
the General Counsel Regional Office or at Headquarters the Office of General
Law .
Tax return information is defined in GN 03320.001D.1.
For examples of authorized disclosures of tax return information to Federal, State
and local agencies, see
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GN 03320.015C.2 Examples of Disclosures of Tax Return Information to Other Federal Agencies With
Consent
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GN 03320.015C.3 Examples of Disclosures of Tax Return Information to State Agencies Without Consent
In these cases, handle the requests in accordance with the procedure in GN 03320.001E.
Field offices (FO) should not provide tax-return information to requesters.
If FOs receive a request from an agency or third party for tax return information,
seek advice from the component Privacy Act Coordinator (PAC), who may consult with
the Office of Privacy and
Disclosure, as necessary.