Rep. Altendorf Legislative Update

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WHAT'S NEW?

Another Tax Day has come and gone, and hopefully you were able to submit your income tax returns on time or ask for an extension.

When you live in a state that takes far more of your paychecks than it should, and then watch as billions of your tax dollars are ripped off by fraudsters, it’s difficult not to get upset.

Know that House Republicans recognize that you pay too much in taxes and are trying to do something about it, as you’ll see below.

LEGISLATION HIGHLIGHTS

IMPEACHMENT TALKS DIE IN COMMITTEE

This week, the House Rules Committee took up the topic many of you have been clamoring for: moving forward with articles of impeachment against Governor Walz and Attorney General Ellison.

Nearly $9 billion has been lost in fraud throughout numerous state programs and not one person has lost their job over it. A culture of fraud exists in this state while there is seemingly no accountability. And yet, all Democrats wanted to talk about in committee were Donald Trump and federal issues, both of which Minnesota’s state government can do nothing about.

Impeachment proceedings are something Minnesota can do. But in this political climate with 67 Republicans and 67 Democrats in the House, we’re unable to move anything forward. The proceedings ended with a tie vote in the Rules committee.

It’s important for Republicans to know that the effort was made to move this forward, and please know I share your frustration in the final result.

For more of my thoughts, click here.

SECRETARY SIMON PRESSED ON STATE ELECTION LAWS

This week, Secretary of State Steve Simon was called to Washington D.C. to testify before the Committee on House Administration about the state's election practices and the integrity of its voter rolls.

I’m pleased to see Congressional interest in this topic. As someone who uncovered thousands of challenged votes in Hennepin County, many have questions about election integrity in this state. Not to mention, just this week an illegal alien was found to have voted illegally in Fillmore County.

To learn more, click here.

SCHOOL SAFETY PLAN STALLS 

This week, the House debated a plan that would have immediately helped schools improve safety and security in their facilities. It included more school safety and mental health funding for all schools statewide, flexible local options for anonymous threat reporting, and student discipline reform to better protect teachers, staff and students.

Every Republican voted for approval, and every Democrat voted against these common sense proposals.

To learn more about the plan, click here.

HOUSE DEMOCRATS UNANIMOUSLY OPPOSE BILLS TO LOWER YOUR VEHICLE TAB FEES AND PROPERTY TAXES

I’ve heard many of you complaining about outrageously high vehicle tab fees and escalating property tax rates. Recently, House Republicans tried to address these growing problems.

When Democrats had control of the House, Senate, and governor’s office during the 2023-24 biennium, they passed laws increasing vehicle tab fees. They also approved numerous unfunded mandates on local governments, who are now forced to raise property taxes in order to meet the state’s demands.

Proposals that would have returned vehicle tab rates to 2023 levels and given every property owner a refund were considered on the House floor. Every House Republican voted to give you this needed financial relief and every Democrat voted against the plans. Because Republicans only have 67 members and 68 votes are needed for approval, the bills failed by exactly one vote.

For more, click here.

FRAUD FATIGUE

When will fraud end in this state?

If you thought the estimates of $9 billion of fraud across 14 Medicaid programs in Minnesota were high, hold on! This week, long awaited data practice requests confirmed what many already feared: that Minnesota’s fraud numbers now have climbed to an unfathomable $20 billion.

Many hard-working families and business owners are paying their own taxes this time of year. I’m hearing from constituents that the enormous amount of fraud, waste, and abuse - which many now think of as organized corruption - within our state government is unforgiveable. And I agree! Most people do not mind paying taxes if they know they are being used in good faith to improve infrastructure like roads and clean water systems, help education, or care for our elderly and disabled.

People are angry – rightfully so. They want to know what we are doing about it. Recently I was selected to be a member of the House Fraud Committee. This committee has been operating for 14 months under the leadership of Republican chair Kristin Robbins and has worked to publicly expose and pressure the Walz administration to bring transparency and accountability back to Minnesota.

Due to these efforts a 56-page report prepared by Tim O’Malley, Director of Program Integrity, was published in February. O’Malley lays out how Minnesota’s Department of Human Services could prevent fraud as opposed to respond to it. It’s clear that DHS could take many steps immediately to begin necessary reforms that would change the culture and increase internal controls over taxpayers’ money.

If you pay attention, not only will you see Minnesota making national news regularly, but even our local media has greatly escalated news coverage doing deeper dives and exposing the enormity of Minnesota’s fraud issues.

Following are a few additional fraud issues that have come up over the past few months:

Number of Minnesota autism providers jumped from 41 to 328 in five years. That’s an 800% increase! In the last year, the number continued to rise – estimated at 500 during committee testimony, which would be an increase of 1200%! Also, the amount billed per recipient increased a whopping 3000% over 5 years – another glaring red flag that was ignored.  A state report found 90% of claims billed for autism services may be fraudulent.

Non-Emergency Medical Transportation Program fraud. A needed program that provides a ride to medical appointments for vulnerable and elderly adults in our state was finally labeled as high risk. 15 years ago, it was recommended that transportation providers install GPS tracking devices in vehicles so it could track customer delivery as well as actual mileage. It never happened, and countless dollars were stolen. 

“Promise Act” fraud. The Minnesota Promise Act, a $100 million grant program that was passed by the Democrat-led legislature in 2023 to support businesses impacted by civil unrest and racial discrimination, was found to have numerous ineligible recipients.

Convicted fraudsters continue to scam system. Lawmakers learned that DHS failed to notice that people who were convicted of stealing state money in the Feeding our Future scandal continued to receive state dollars from other DHS programs.

Billions of your tax dollars going overseas in suitcases. At least $350 million in cash went through the Minneapolis St. Paul Airport in suitcases last year. This has been going on for at least 26 years - per the Star Tribune report Nov 19, 2000 - as Minnesotans have watched their tax dollars hauled into foreign countries, and the Department of Human Services has been turning on and off safeguards that monitor this problem the entire time.

Blocking autism fraud facts. A state report found 90% of claims billed for autism services may be fraudulent, but then the Walz administration blocked out 90% of the report so lawmakers couldn’t learn how they messed up and what Minnesota could do to stop it.

DHS ignoring Medicaid data law. DHS is supposed to be performing periodic data matching to ensure those receiving Medicaid and Medical Assistance are still eligible for the program, and report its findings to the legislature. It stopped doing them in 2020.

Voter fraud? The Minnesota Secretary of State's Office received a grand jury subpoena ordering it to turn over certain individual voter records, as part of a federal investigation into whether non-citizens are registered or have unlawfully cast ballots. You may recall my investigation that found nearly 8,000 challenged voters in Hennepin County alone.

Alleged fraudster flees. Despite being told he was a flight risk, a suspect involved in an $11 million Medicaid fraud was allowed to post bond and keep his passport, and promptly flew out of the country.

Within DHS, the Office of Legislative Auditor’s investigations have revealed the agency deliberately killed investigations of kickbacks, and found employees had backdated and forged documents to cover their tracks. This is criminal!

It is overwhelming to process how things got this bad. As a lawmaker, it is shocking to view graphs showing sharp increases in payouts and try to understand how the agencies or administration looked the other way with this unprecedented growth.

This is why people are exhausted from the rampant corruption and mismanagement happening in our state. Minnesota is an outlier when it comes to fraud, and new cases come forward every week. In some cases, it has been happening for decades, and it has taken House Republicans bringing these problems to the forefront to discuss change. The Walz administration has proven it will do nothing unless the media calls them out, and even then, employees are actively trying to cover their tracks and distract from their crimes.

If you suffer from fraud fatigue like I do, I understand. But realize the only way to end the fatigue is to provide accountability. Without a real desire to expose fraud, investigate past failures and implement new systems to help prevent crime in the future, the fraud pandemic in our state will never end.  

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PLEASE CONTACT ME

It’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. I am here to serve you!