The Kansas Senate approved legislation on February 18 that would have rewarded state employees for exposing fraud, waste, and abuse of taxpayer funds. The bill, Senate Bill 450 (SB450), passed by a vote of 33-6 but died in the House Committee on Federal and State Affairs on April 10.
The proposal, introduced by Senator Michael Murphy (R-Reno County) who has a 67-percent lifetime Freedom Score, sought to encourage state employees to identify financial misconduct and inefficiencies within government agencies. Under SB450, employees whose reports produced verified savings would have received 10 percent of the money saved after deducting investigation and recovery costs—a percentage that could lead to substantial payouts.
The secretary of administration, working with the Office of Inspector General or the attorney general, would have determined whether a report generated savings. Financial rewards generally would not apply to information already known to authorities, previously disclosed through investigations or public proceedings, or discovered during an employee’s regular auditing responsibilities. Existing protections under the Kansas Whistleblower Act would have remained in effect.
During a February 12 committee hearing, Murphy testified that the proposal was modeled after similar incentive programs in the private sector, including one operated by his former employer, United Airlines.
Murphy argued that government employees should have greater personal incentives to safeguard taxpayer funds and identify unnecessary expenditures. He emphasized that responsible stewardship of public money is particularly important because taxpayers bear the financial burden of government inefficiency.
Opponents raised concerns. Senator Cindy Holscher (D-Overland Park), who holds a 20-percent lifetime Freedom Score, warned that financial incentives could encourage politically motivated accusations and effectively turn government employees into “bounty hunters.” Senator Marci Francisco (D-Lawrence), who holds a 28-percent lifetime Freedom Score, questioned the bill’s lack of a clear definition of abuse of funds.
Unlike Kansas’ existing employee suggestion program—which caps certain cost-saving awards at $5,000—SB450 contained no specific dollar limit on whistleblower rewards. With no caps, this idea could make all government employees fiscal hawks, potentially reducing spending and the size of government.
The bill’s underlying objective—outlined in the U.S. Declaration of Independence—is to protect the God-given rights of the people, not squander their hard-earned money. Regardless of SB450 and its authors’ constitutional awareness, there is little debate that exposing fraud, waste, and abuse is essential to restoring accountability and fiscal responsibility.
However, government employees already have a responsibility to safeguard public funds. Any reward system must ensure financial benefits exceed costs while protecting innocent employees from unfounded accusations and upholding their constitutionally protected rights.
