ST. PAUL – State Rep. Shane Mekeland, R-Clear Lake, is an author of three bills House Republicans have introduced to curb fraud, waste, and abuse in state programs.
Mekeland said the measures will increase accountability and protect taxpayers at a time fraud and waste is rampant in Minnesota. From Feeding our Future to childcare assistance, frontline worker pay, and DHS and the Department of Education, reports of fraud and waste have cost Minnesota taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars – and counting.
“Gov. Walz and his administration have let fraud, waste and abuse run wild in our state, costing taxpayers dearly,” Mekeland said. “House Republicans are taking this issue seriously and will do what we need to do to clamp down on this growing problem. Taxpayers already pay too much in this state. The least we can do is ensure the dollars they pay to the state are used for the intended purposes – and that’s what we aim to do with this package of bills.”
The first three bills House Republicans drafted in response to this issue this session include:
- House File 1: Establishes a centralized Office of the Inspector General to lead the fight against fraud across state programs. The bill consolidates agency-based inspector general offices into a unified entity, requires agencies to halt payments when fraud is suspected, and mandates the creation of a fraud reporting hotline. Additionally, it provides funding to ensure the new OIG has the resources to be effective.
- House File 2: Strengthens fraud prevention by mandating stricter reporting requirements for state agencies and equipping them with additional tools to identify and prevent fraudulent activities.
- House File 3: 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.
Mekeland said House Republicans anticipate each of the three bills will receive their first House committee hearings in the coming weeks.
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