ST. PAUL – In an effort to stop the waste, fraud, and abuse that has been running rampant in state government over the past few years, State Representative Paul Torkelson (R-Hanska) is co-authoring legislation to help ensure that taxpayers’ money is well spent.
During Governor Walz’s tenure and full-Democrat control of the legislature, taxpayers have lost more than $1 billion – that we know about - to fraudsters who have scammed the system. The most well-known instance of fraud in Minnesota is the Feeding Our Future scheme where criminals made off with $250 million that was intended to feed hungry kids.
“There have been multiple instances of criminals doing damage to our state’s budget, and there is no way to ever claw that money back,” Torkelson said. “The taxpayers have been ripped off and the money is gone, so now we have to make sure that never happens again.”
Torkelson’s proposals are part of a series of bills being prioritized by Minnesota House Republicans to tackle the widespread fraud occurring throughout state government.
The first plan would establish a centralized Office of the Inspector General. It would be charged with the task of combatting fraud and abuse in state government. The bill requires agencies to halt payments when fraud is suspected and mandates the creation of a fraud reporting hotline.
Another proposal would mandate fraud reporting for state agencies and equip them with additional tools to identify and prevent fraudulent activities including mandatory site visits. This bill also emphasizes transparency and swift action to address fraud concerns.
A third bill establishes “fraud notes,” a groundbreaking tool to assess the susceptibility of proposed legislation to fraud. Similar to fiscal notes, fraud notes would provide lawmakers with an evaluation of potential fraud risks before enacting new programs or policies. Torkelson said the plan would add additional accountability to agencies to make sure that they are following through with recommendations made by the Legislative Auditor to address matters of waste, fraud, and abuse in their agencies.
“We need to do something independent of the administration in order to be effective and to get ahead of future fraud,” Torkelson said. “We should strengthen the position of the nonpartisan legislative auditor and reorganize the current efforts of fraud monitoring. For years, the Walz administration has failed to admit we even have a fraud problem, so it’s time to let independent investigators take control on behalf of the taxpayers.”