Legislative Update
Friends,
We’ve now hit the committee deadlines at the Capitol, which means most committees are done hearing new bills for the year. From here on out, the focus shifts to the House floor and getting legislation across the finish line.
One thing we’ve made a point of doing is bringing forward single-subject bills instead of the massive, last-minute omnibus packages we’ve seen in the past. On Monday alone, we took up 18 individual bills. That gives members, and the public, a much clearer look at what’s actually being voted on.
One of those bills was House File 4425, focused on fraud. It passed the House and extends the statute of limitations so we have more time to investigate and prosecute cases involving stolen taxpayer dollars. That’s a step in the right direction. We’ve seen just how large and complex these fraud cases can get, and the current system hasn’t kept up.
While we delivered some progress with the above bill, Democrats once again showed where they stand when they voted down language that would have put in place one of the most basic oversight ideas you can imagine: if the state is handing out taxpayer money, someone should be checking that it’s being used for its intended purpose and that the organization receiving it is real, not just a P.O. box tied to an empty storefront.
The A3 amendment would have applied to HF 3629, the Democrats’ bill dealing with government grants. It laid out a simple, tiered approach based on the size of the grant. Smaller awards would get a virtual check-in. As the amounts increase, so does the level of oversight, including in-person visits and, for the largest grants, at least one unannounced visit.
It also required agencies to reconcile how funds were spent before sending out a final payment and paused payments altogether if required reporting wasn’t being submitted.
None of this is complicated. It’s basic accountability. And yet every Democrat voted against it.
Despite the deep divide when it comes to addressing fraud. There are still areas of cooperation. We were able to pass House File 3404 this week, a bipartisan bill increasing penalties for impersonating a peace officer. This legislation came in response to the tragedy on June 14th and passed unanimously with support from law enforcement across the state. This is about making it clear that impersonating law enforcement is a serious crime and will be treated that way.
There has been movement on fraud legislation this session, and some of it is good. But it still falls short of what’s needed. One of the biggest pieces still missing is the Office of Inspector General proposal with original language from last year. This bill, originating from Senate Democrats and supported by both Senate and House Republicans, was blocked by.....you guessed it, House Democrats.
Without a centralized, independent entity with real authority to investigate fraud across state government, we’re still leaving gaps in the system.
We’re now down to just a few weeks left in session. There’s still time to get work done, but that window is closing quickly. The focus needs to stay on practical solutions that protect taxpayer dollars and restore some trust in how state government operates.
I’ll keep you updated as we head into the final stretch.
Have a great weekend,
Josh