Legislative UpdateFriends and Neighbors, We’re heading into the final week of session, and while some key bills are moving forward, a lot remains unresolved. On Monday, we held our final House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Committee hearing. The next day, I joined colleagues for a press conference to highlight what we’ve achieved through that committee. We also saw action on major legislation this week, including the House Tax and Human Services bills. More on both of those below. Before I dive in, I want to wish all the moms out there a Happy Mother’s Day. And if you’re heading out for the fishing opener, looks like you are going to have an amazing weekend. Enjoy the water and stay safe!  Cleaning Up Fraud: Final Hearing and Results Monday’s hearing brought the Fraud Committee’s first session to a close, but our work is far from over, and we will continue to meet in the interim. Attorney General Keith Ellison made a brief appearance before handing off questions about Medicaid fraud to the director of the state’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Over the past five years, that unit has recovered just $53 million despite a $20 billion annual Medicaid budget. If even 1% of spending is fraudulent, that’s $200 million lost per year. We need to do better. We also discussed the need for better interagency communication and IT upgrades. Too often, individuals commit fraud in one agency’s programs and simply move to another with no safeguards in place to stop them. There are numerous bi-partisan anti-fraud provisions within the House omnibus bills including a couple Republican bills we brought forward that offer real solutions. One would finally make kickbacks a crime under state law, which DHS has testified would make prosecuting fraud easier, even though kickbacks are already illegal under federal statute. Another would require grant managers to complete training and certification so they’re equipped to spot red flags before funds are distributed. We closed with a press conference on Tuesday where we reviewed the progress we’ve made. Our committee helped advance legislation to let agencies withhold payments if there are credible fraud allegations, create a new Medicaid fraud unit, strengthen whistleblower protections, and add more investigators at the Office of the Legislative Auditor. We also introduced “fraud notes,” a new system that will help the Legislature identify high-risk proposals before they become law, to name a few. One of my top priorities this year is creating a statewide Office of the Inspector General, an independent agency with real investigatory powers. I’m hopeful we can reach an agreement with the Senate and get it to the Governor’s desk. I believe the committee succeeded in its core mission: exposing waste, fixing broken systems, and ensuring public dollars are spent as intended. House Version of Tax Bill Passes Committee The House Taxes Committee passed a bill this week that avoids the kind of massive tax hikes we saw last session. To recap: Democrats spent every dime of an $18 billion surplus last year and still raised taxes by another $10 billion. This year’s tax bill is a departure from that approach. It includes no new tax increases, but it also doesn’t include any tax cuts. What it does include is targeted relief. Small and mid-sized businesses will benefit from a vendor allowance, letting them keep a small portion of the sales tax they collect to help offset compliance costs. This is a common-sense, low bureaucracy fix that helps Main Street job creators. The bill also increases the homestead market value exclusion for disabled veterans, giving back to those who’ve already given so much. And it addresses fraud in the tax code by removing the ability to assign someone else’s tax return to the K-12 education credit, a loophole that’s been abused in recent years. Elections matter, and a tied House mostly means status quo. The Democrats won’t cut taxes, and we won’t raise them. Why I Opposed the Human Services Bill This week, the House passed its Human Services omnibus bill, which I did not support. While it contains some good provisions, the bill shifts significant costs to counties, forcing local governments to either raise property taxes or cut essential services. I’ve heard from several local officials who are deeply concerned about this change. Let’s be clear: shifting costs onto counties doesn’t reduce spending, it just hides the state’s responsibility. Minnesotans already pay among the highest taxes in the country. After last year’s record tax increase, they shouldn’t be hit again through backdoor increases at the county level. I hope these provisions improve in conference committee with the Senate. It’s very wrong to shift the costs of these state mandated programs onto counties – and ultimately property tax payers. One Week to Go While some gridlock has cleared (workforce, energy, and health bills are now moving) education remains unresolved. Democrats walked away from a signed agreement negotiated by both the Republican and Democrat committee chairs. I hope an agreement can be reached, and we can wrap session on time by May 19. Thanks for following along, and have a great weekend. |