Greetings,
Addressing the fraud problem in our state has been a top priority for House Republicans this session. This week, we unveiled a new, secure website for whistleblowers to confidentially report suspected fraud within Minnesota’s state government.
REPORT FRAUD AT MNFRAUD.COM
MNFraud.com is designed specifically to collect tips from individuals who have firsthand knowledge of waste, fraud, or abuse in state agencies or publicly funded programs. Information submitted through the site is reviewed by the staff of the House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Committee. The information, including the identities of whistleblowers, is protected much as it would be on a secure-payment processing website.
If you know of waste, fraud and abuse within state agencies, please report your experience to www.MNFraud.com, and please encourage others to do the same.
OMNIBUS LIQUOR BILL APPROVED IN COMMERCE COMMITTEE
This week, the House Commerce Committee approved an omnibus liquor proposal I’m carrying that includes a provision I’ve long championed. It would allow a 17-year-old waiter or waitress to serve alcoholic beverages at a bar or restaurant. Current law requires anyone serving alcohol to be aged 18 or older. The provision would provide more flexibility for restaurants and the hospitality industry and give 17-year-olds another work opportunity that could lead to significant tip revenue that they could use to help them pay for college.
PUBLIC PENSION NEWS
On Tuesday, it’s anticipated that the police and fire pension bill I’m carrying will be discussed by the pension commission. I, along with 34 other Republican and Democrat state representative authors, are trying to level the pension playing field for those that help keep us safe by catching them up with other public employee benefit packages.
FREE MONEY? CLAIM YOUR PROPERTY!
I’ve written about this before but it bears repeating: you may have free money waiting to be claimed!
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!
LOCAL VISITORS
I was pleased to meet with members of the Holdingford School District in St. Paul this week to hear about their education and funding concerns. It’s always good to get a local update on district goals and hear their “state of the union” as it relates to hometown education.
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