ST. PAUL – A bill that would begin to bring accountability to Minnesota’s fraud epidemic is finally moving forward in the Minnesota House.
The plan to create an independent Office of the Inspector General (OIG) that would investigate fraud in our state was approved in the House State Government Finance Committee. State Representative Greg Davids (R-Preston) said the positive result is long overdue.
“House Democrats have been blocking this legislation for weeks,” Davids said. “I’m pleased we are finally moving forward on this important bill, as with an estimated $9 billion lost already to fraud, it’s clear this administration has not taken the fraud issue seriously.”
The legislation Davids references would establish the OIG and give it real investigative powers and enforcement authority. Most importantly, it would not be controlled by the Governor’s Office.
Last session, this bill, carried by a Senate Democrat, was approved in the Senate on an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote. But with a tie in the Minnesota House, House Democrats refused to allow a vote to be taken on it.
“We seem to hear about a new fraud problem every week, followed by an agency that doesn’t accept responsibility and refuses accountability,” Davids said. “An independent OIG would remove all partisanship and any loyalty to the Governor’s Office and truly attack the fraud problems in this state without having to worry about protecting the administration.”
The OIG bill now heads to the Minnesota House Judiciary Finance Committee for further debate.
Leave a Reply