[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6324986,"mediaKeyId","2335178-922da5362b5148b1aafb4d21ab317cb8","parentId",2335178,"title","Committee sends nonprofit grant oversight bill to Ways and Means after debates over unannounced visits and costs","audioSeconds",163,"startMs",5583000,"endMs",5746000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2335178-922da5362b5148b1aafb4d21ab317cb8&start=5583&end=5746","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2335178-922da5362b5148b1aafb4d21ab317cb8/thumbnail_5583000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6324986/Minnesota/Committee-sends-nonprofit-grant-oversight-bill-to-Ways-and-Means-after-debates-over-unannounced-visits-and-costs","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6324986-6e3a24587625e50d028949af7cea29ce/orig.mp4?Expires=1771156627&Signature=dZKHh~fbBoqjBP4gYx6UOADbB44DK8ujIN6rICOL2eeo9hPoi161hrE1M6Etw3~-QbB4rg7StjERFFhXjPDlkHa9FOyZO4l2O0633sQUTh8dj5-i69Afs7L92coJ9VVyR-2puNRnicVrK-k3l3pj4DuufYeZYbQMQdkUlJXhabKZyUA9S6nCUAQ15IqfyMMDLChPdMpW-qY3r1P-qPeBkNehsGyHyKatlx~vJ9diqVPhkAhZdpqkQx2PVQoHBYI8ApITHYi70BdLJrpmA9U2~zfruG9ZthzAAVTOK3hO63y6QWR0bN2FeVpl7E6LE6EvTL8EJhSJI-CQXmBKohOAFw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","MNHouseInfo","date","2025-02-18T00:00:00Z","article","ST. PAUL, Minn. — The State Government and Policy Committee moved House File 2 to the House Ways and Means Committee on Feb. 18 after a contentious debate over unannounced site visits, immediate effective dates and the bill\u0000's fiscal impact.

Representative Davis, the bill author, said the DE and an author amendment (A13) clarified language and made technical changes. The author described the DE as removing criminal-penalty language, narrowing certain reporting requirements and adding exceptions to required site visits.

Nonpartisan staff, members and outside witnesses focused on two recurring issues: (1) whether the committee should require unannounced monitoring visits (some witnesses and agency staff distinguished \"unannounced monitoring\" from a less intrusive \"unannounced verification\" visit), and (2) how the bill's implementation costs would be paid and by whom.

Department of Administration Deputy Commissioner Stacy Christiansen told the committee the department supported the intent of verification but was concerned that \"an unannounced monitoring visit\" could strain state agency staff: \"We do have 2 concerns that remain. There is a difference between an unannounced verification visit and an unannounced monitoring visit,\" she said, and urged the committee to clarify the standard.

Tricia Reinwald of the Metropolitan Alliance of Connected Communities (MAC), representing 62 member nonprofits that contract with the state, told lawmakers that many providers already submit regular financial and program reports and undergo monitoring: \"Current monitoring visits take hundreds of hours to gather all of the necessary data and unannounced visits wouldn't improve oversight. They're impractical and duplicative,\" she said, adding that unannounced visits could disrupt services and be especially difficult for organizations that operate at multiple sites or outside standard business hours.

Representative Jones offered an amendment (A11) to delay the bill's effective date to allow agencies and grantees time to comply; that amendment failed on a voice vote. Representative Kraft offered an amendment (A14) to add an appropriation placeholder; that amendment was put to a roll call and failed (6 yeas, 7 nays on A14). Several other member amendments (including efforts to broaden or narrow coverage to include for-profit contractors) were offered and rejected.

Representative Davis moved to refer the bill to Ways and Means. The committee then recorded a roll-call referral vote with the following result: yes\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000votes from Chair Nash, Vice Chair Davis, Representative Anderson, Representative Joy, Representative Kosnick, Representative Quam and Representative Sexton (7 yes), and no votes from Representatives Bonner, Clardy, Freyberg, Howard, Jones and Kraft (6 no). The chair announced, \"There being 7 yes and 6 no, the bill is approved and will be moving to ways and means.\"

Opponents repeatedly highlighted the lack of a fiscal note and the potential workload across agencies: Representative Cleburne urged a layover until fiscal estimates were available and argued the bill would impose large costs on at least 35 agencies; that motion failed. Representative Davis said he had requested a fiscal note and would continue to work with agencies.

Supporters said stronger monitoring of grants is necessary to protect taxpayer dollars and to reduce fraud and abuse. Representative Howard urged broader coverage of entities that receive public funds, saying fraud does not only occur in nonprofit organizations.

Ending: With a narrow committee margin, HF2 moves to Ways and Means for consideration of fiscal ramifications and an expected further debate over whether to require unannounced monitoring visits, the bill's effective date and how implementation costs will be allocated.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House State Government Finance and Policy Committee 2/18/25","oneSentenceSummary","The State Government and Policy Committee voted to send House File 2 to the House Ways and Means Committee after rejecting several amendments and recording a 7-6 roll-call referral vote.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature MN, Minnesota","taxId",77817,"location","Minnesota","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6324991,"Committee advances bill to create legislative Office of Inspector General after amendment fight",4501,251000,4752000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2335178-922da5362b5148b1aafb4d21ab317cb8&start=251&end=4752","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2335178-922da5362b5148b1aafb4d21ab317cb8/thumbnail_251000.jpg","/articles/6324991/Minnesota/Committee-advances-bill-to-create-legislative-Office-of-Inspector-General-after-amendment-fight","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6324991-ae22317e489348f5c3e5d04388b5b5b4/orig.mp4?Expires=1771156627&Signature=WJlyKQJsxQYO7W0FxjmyAVvGirJ~auE9UU2zeB-L5a0N1U-aXe4n72XMUv~wYxFdDPX3J4YiJ~cCWOV7jtbT~KHsrzDTfW6l0PYV~H5w-ZOfbG36fy-wIGCHGuucDnWuTi5dESTjSYhTxFhkut0Qbijpl8sxLOObNsDoY7H6lo7sYiZQSvNDXdVJ4P76egrr156nnmyVB5m9~g10FgcsfZbpvqxZSDAYJLM0VUBf~caJ3GhJJWSC4wCqDetGkmJ2xnTSMAg3GYv5ZR4x2gEOmwTfn4B2Of1Q-Xk2kMeCBwYY2OgUvfa6WNXZwVKdWXxRpC9ftljLmjSFowd93y9LHA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","ST. PAUL, Minn. — The State Government and Policy Committee on Feb. 18 advanced House File 1, a measure that would create an Office of Inspector General (OIG) located under the Legislative Audit Commission to investigate fraud, waste and abuse tied to state funds.

The bill\u0000author, identified in committee as Representative Anderson, described the proposal as the state\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000fraud bill and said it would place an independent investigative office \"within, under the Legislative Audit Commission.\" The committee approved the bill as amended and referred it to the Human Services and Finance Policy committee.

Supporters and the bill author said the Legislative Audit Commission (LAC) provides a bipartisan, bicameral and nonpartisan oversight structure and argued the office should be placed there to preserve independence. Representative Anderson said the Legislature\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000has already seen large-scale fraud and that a new office could improve oversight. \"House file 1 is, essentially we call it the fraud bill. It creates the Office of Inspector General, within, under the Legislative Audit Commission,\" the author told the committee.

Opponents and some members pressed several recurring concerns: whether the OIG should be exempt from the formal rulemaking process, how broad the office\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000would be, whether it would duplicate existing agency OIGs, how staff would be classified, and the scope of data access the OIG would have. Nonpartisan staff explained that entities in the legislative branch do not typically follow Chapter 14 rulemaking procedures, and cited practice at the Office of Legislative Auditor as precedent.

On the narrow rulemaking issue, nonpartisan counsel summarized the formal rulemaking process and told members: \"with the formal rule making process, there's public notice, there's opportunity for public comment, there's often a public hearing... and the agency has to often submit a statement of need and reasonableness.\" Members who favored keeping an exemption said some investigative procedures cannot be fully public for operational reasons; Representative Quam argued that withholding limited investigative playbooks from potential wrongdoers is common practice.

The committee considered a series of author and member amendments and votes:
- The bill was taken up with an A1 amendment and a DE; the committee adopted the DE and the A1 and the bill was placed in amended form. (Voice vote; recorded as adopted in committee minutes.)
- Representative Clardy's amendment to remove an exemption for rulemaking (A2) was debated and failed to pass.
- Subsequent amendments broadening the OIG's statutory reach (to include tax preferences, business subsidies and worker misclassification) (A3, A4) were offered and not adopted.
- An accountability amendment requiring OIG staff to follow conflict-of-interest laws and submit statements of economic interest (A5) was divided by the author; lines 1.1\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000through 1.8 of A5 (conflict-of-interest and related technical cleanup) were adopted; the second part addressing a data-access reporting requirement was withdrawn at the author's request.
- An amendment (A6) that removed large portions of grant-management transfer language was adopted after the bill author said most of those grant provisions would be removed in the next DE.

Public witnesses and agency staff testified. Stacy Christiansen, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Administration, told the committee the department appreciates the conversations but still had two outstanding concerns: \"There is a difference between an unannounced verification visit and an unannounced monitoring visit,\" she said, and urged clarification because unannounced monitoring visits could strain agency resources. Devin Bruce, director of legislative and political affairs for the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees (MAPE), warned that some provisions would declassify employees and remove civil service and collective-bargaining protections: \"The language here in this bill stripping the OIG employees of their classified service designation and union protections is antithetical to the creation of a qualified independent office of inspector general,\" he said. Judy Randall, the Legislative Auditor, explained the current classification mix at the Office of Legislative Auditor as background for committee deliberations.

Committee members also pressed the bill author about separation of powers, whether the OIG would duplicate existing agency investigative offices (including the DHS and the attorney general\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000Medicaid fraud unit), and whether the Legislative Audit Commission would have enough time and capacity to make the OIG complementary rather than duplicative.

Representative Anderson said the bill is a work in progress and repeatedly told members she expected to revise grant-related language after further meetings with the administration and the Senate. The committee ultimately voted to refer the amended bill to Human Services and Finance Policy. \"Representative PH Anderson renews his motion to refer House File 1 to Human Services and Finance Policy. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? No,\" the chair announced.

The referral advances the measure to its next stop, where members said they will continue negotiations over rulemaking language, data access safeguards and the scope of grant-management authority.

Members and several testifiers asked the author to continue discussions, to limit duplication with federal and agency-level fraud units, and to clarify how staff would be appointed and classified. The bill will return to later committees for additional drafting and votes.

The committee hearing also included multiple procedural disagreements about which amendment had been voted on and whether the committee should lay the bill over for more drafting; those motions were debated and decided by voice vote.

Ending: The committee\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000referred House File 1 as amended to Human Services and Finance Policy. Lawmakers said they expect further changes in subsequent committee stops and in coordination with the Legislative Audit Commission and the Department of Administration.

","The State Government and Policy Committee advanced House File 1, which would create an Office of Inspector General (OIG) under the Legislative Audit Commission, after votes on multiple amendments and discussion about rulemaking, data access, grants oversight and staff classification.","actionData","errors"]

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Committee sends nonprofit grant oversight bill to Ways and Means after debates over unannounced visits and costs

Committee advances bill to create legislative Office of Inspector General after amendment fight