ST. PAUL – State Rep. Bernie Perryman, R-St. Cloud, is an author of three bills House Republicans have introduced to curb fraud, waste, and abuse in state programs.
Perryman said the common thread among the bills is to 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.
“Minnesotans deserve accountability and transparency with their tax dollars, and that’s what House Republicans aim to deliver this session,” Perryman said. “Numerous reports have exposed how hundreds of millions of dollars are being lost to fraud and waste in Minnesota and we owe it to Minnesotans to do better. It’s time to tighten things up in our agencies.”
The first three bills House Republicans drafted and Perryman co-authored this session to address this issue 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. This bill emphasizes transparency and swift action to address fraud concerns.
- 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.
Perryman said House Republicans anticipate each of the three bills will receive their first House committee hearings in the coming weeks.
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