Greetings,
After welcoming House Democrats back to the Capitol late last week, lawmakers are now trying to make up for lost time and putting in long days of work to take care of the people’s business.
PRIORITY #1: MINNESOTA’S BUDGET
Although there are plenty of things in need of fixing at the state level, the top priority for the 2025 session is setting the state’s budget. This exercise must happen by June 30, as the state’s next budget cycle begins July 1. There are many other important proposals out there, but those bills will be included in Chapter 2 of the 2025 legislative recap. Chapter 1 is solely dedicated to finalizing a budget.
COMMERCE COMMITTEE HAPPENINGS
As chairman of the Minnesota House Commerce Committee, we have also begun hearing testimony and will focus on budget priorities in the coming weeks. We are also reviewing health care reinsurance.
NEW FRAUD COMMITTEE HITS GROUND RUNNING
Our new House fraud committee held its first hearing on Monday and focused on the lack of oversight of taxpayer-funded grants to state nonprofits. We learned there is no tracking mechanism for nonprofits, which is problematic considering $2.6 billion dollars in state revenue was distributed to approximately 2500 different nonprofits across 27 state agencies, and 25% of the nonprofits received grants from more than one state agency.
ASKING TRUMP ADMINISTRATION FOR FRAUD INVESTIGATION ASSISTANCE
A formal request was sent to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi from Minnesota House Republicans this week, urging a Department of Justice investigation into the rampant waste, fraud, and abuse that is taking place within Minnesota’s state agencies. At minimum, $610 million of your tax dollars have been stolen over the past six years, and some believe the total is well above $1 billion.
FREE MONEY? CLAIM YOUR PROPERTY!
Did you know thousands of people each year have money being held for them by state government? The Unclaimed Property Division within the Department of Commerce reunites owners with their lost or misplaced property, including money in bank accounts, wages, insurance benefits, stock dividends and other funds that remain unclaimed for three years or more. To see if you have unclaimed property, click here, type in your name, and claim what’s rightfully yours!
VISITORS
This week I was able to meet with the members of the following organizations:
- Minnesota Licensed Beverage Association
- Minnesota Bankers
- CHEP Coalition for Home Equity Partnership
- Weights and Measures
- Benton Communication
- Canterbury Park
- Minnesota Chiropractic Association
Thank you for stopping by!
KEEP IN TOUCH
As always, I'm continuing to support constituent needs. Feel free to contact me anytime at rep.tim.odriscoll@house.mn.gov. or by phone at 651-296-7808.
Have a good weekend,
Tim