Legislative UpdateDear Neighbors, It’s been a long week, but I want to provide you with an update on recent developments at the Capitol. Supreme Court Ruling and Legislative ImpasseAs you likely know, on January 24, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that a quorum in the House requires 68 members to be present. Republicans have been working and showing up each day with 67 members. The Democrats, who have 66 members, continue to boycott the House and not show up for work. This decision has led to an official legislative standstill, but Republicans continue to hold committee “workshops” at the Capitol and do regular work, including meeting with constituents, staff, and other members of the public. Democrats started this boycott when they (wrongly) believed a special election would be held on January 28th for the open seat in Roseville. Their hope was that a win for their side would bring the House back to a tie and they would be able to elect co-speakers for the Session, but due to a separate Supreme Court ruling, the earliest that election can be held is likely March 11th. As a point of note – the Speaker and other leaders are always elected on the first day of session. Whatever the partisan split is at that time is typically the way the votes go down. By boycotting, they were hoping to stop the election of a Republican speaker. Hopefully, they will come to their senses and join us at the Capitol so we can start doing official work for the citizens of Minnesota. Mid-March is a long way off. In the meantime, we will continue to do what we can while we wait for them to show up. More Fraud Scandals EmergeRecent reports have highlighted significant concerns within the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP). The Minnesota Department of Human Services Office of Inspector General is actively investigating 62 childcare centers across the state for potential misuse of federal funds. For instance, one facility in Minneapolis accumulated 95 violations between 2019 and 2023, ranging from safety hazards to inadequate record-keeping, yet received $7.8 million in federal funding during this period. Another center had 36 violations, including failures to conduct necessary background checks on staff. This is extremely alarming, as it directly impacts the health and safety of our children. The mismanagement of taxpayer dollars doesn’t stop with CCAP. A new KARE 11 investigation has uncovered yet another massive fraud scandal, this time involving tens of millions of dollars in fraudulent Medicaid billing by NUWAY, one of the state’s largest addiction treatment providers. The report detailed double-billing, falsified treatment hours, and illegal kickbacks, all occurring under the state’s watch. You can watch that story here. I suspect there are many more of these fraudulent nonprofits yet to be uncovered, as this issue is prevalent across all state agencies in Minnesota. Commitment to Fraud PreventionIn light of these alarming findings, our resolve to combat fraud remains unwavering. We are working to enhance my bill, which would establish a centralized Office of the Inspector General (OIG) to oversee and enforce anti-fraud measures across all state agencies. This office will be empowered to halt payments upon suspicion of fraud, implement a statewide reporting hotline, and ensure thorough investigations are conducted promptly. We are also working on our other two anti-fraud bills, improving them for passage once the Democrats return to work. I spent a lot of time this week meeting with my Senate colleagues and talking with other OIG agencies across the country. Our goal is to use this time to make sure we do this right and ultimately create a Minnesota Office of Inspector General that is effective. We as legislators need to ensure that we are implementing proper oversight over executive agencies so that taxpayers are protected and people who need services are getting them. What Happens Next Week?Who knows. I will continue to show up each day and work on fraud prevention and other measures. In the meantime, the Senate has begun hearing companion bills for the bills we will likely introduce once the House convenes. I highly doubt House Democrats will continue their boycott until mid-March in hopes they can win the Roseville seat and bring the House back to a tie. A two-week boycott is very different than a two-month boycott. I don’t believe the public will tolerate that. At some point, we will need to use our constitutional right to “compel” absent members to attend, but I’m not sure what that will look like. I hope you have a great weekend, Rep. Patti Anderson |