Dear Neighbor, Good day from the House, where only 58 calendar days remain until our May 17 deadline to adjourn, and even fewer business days are left to address important issues to help Minnesotans. We are now reaching the first deadlines of the session, where bills need to make preliminary committee progress to remain on track for passage this session. Here’s a look at some of this week’s notes from St. Paul: Housing program ended At a time in the session where just about everything seems to be partisan, it was great to see bipartisanship out in full force this week! The House unanimously passed a bill (H.F. 3379) to repeal the Housing Stabilization Services program from state statute due to serious concerns about fraud and inadequate oversight. The program was tied to the misuse of hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars, comparable in scale to the Feeding Our Future scandal. This highlights our ongoing challenges in protecting public funds and reinforces the need for strong accountability measures. The bill now moves to the Senate, where it is expected to pass. Bills on affordability Affordability is a major concern for Minnesota families and businesses, especially after the historic increases in state spending and taxes enacted under the former trifecta. House Republicans are focused on reversing policies that have made things more expensive and lowering costs to make Minnesota a more affordable place to live, work and raise a family. Here are just some of the legislation we are proposing this session, including my bill (H.F. 400) to reduce costs on health care that has bipartisan support: - Lower/keep health insurance costs low: permanent reinsurance program (HF 3388)
- Creation of a direct primary care healthcare program (HF 1724)
- Require cost defrayal for new healthcare mandates (HF 400)
- Property tax commission to lower property taxes (HF 3396)
- No tax on tips or overtime (HF 3524 Robbins) (HF 3525)
- Repeal the retail delivery fee, ending the tax on Social Security income, and removing the automatic gas tax increases that were approved by Democrats last session. (HF 5)
- Lower boat registration fees (HF 3669)
- Lower vehicle tab fees (HF 3562)
- Return a portion of future surpluses back to taxpayers (HF 4)
- Lower property taxes by allowing schools to opt out of certain unfunded mandates from the state (HF 957)
- Lower property taxes by allowing local government noncompliance of unfunded mandates (HF 1593)
Capitol visitors Here are a couple photos from recent meetings I have had at the Capitol: Retail Day at the Capitol  Sauk Rapids City Administrator/constituent  OLA: DHS inaction was wrong A recent audit by the Office of the Legislative Auditor found that the Minnesota Department of Human Services incorrectly believed it lacked authority to investigate allegations of kickbacks within the state’s autism services program. State auditors provided some clarity this week by determining DHS had long possessed this authority but failed to act on multiple complaints between 2021 and 2023. This includes not referring cases for further investigation or law enforcement review. The report also identified systemic issues, including outdated administrative rules that may have limited the agency’s ability to suspend payments during investigations. Here’s an interesting snippet from a KARE story on this issue: "Kickbacks have been illegal for decades," said Deputy Legislative Auditor Katherine Theisen. Which is what makes the latest revelation by the Office of the Legislative Auditor such a head-scratcher. "In the three cases that we identified in this review, they did not refer any of the three cases to law enforcement or any other investigation agency," Theisen said, adding that DHS didn't even flag those cases for further review. These findings are particularly significant given the rapid growth of the Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention program, where spending has soared in recent years, raising red flags. The report also, once again, underscores serious gaps in oversight and accountability at the state level that require greater fraud prevention and enforcement going forward. House Republicans continue working on legislation to create a truly independent Office of the Inspector General to help address this issue. Helpful House links Here are some links you may find helpful in following the latest goings on at the Capitol: Please Contact MeIt’s an honor and privilege to work for you at the Capitol. Don’t hesitate to contact my office at any time this session to share your thoughts, concerns or ideas. You can call me at 651-296-6316, or email me at rep.bernie.perryman@house.mn.gov. I am here to serve you! Bernie  |