Dear Neighbor,
We are now past the third and final committee deadline, which ended last Friday at 5:00 p.m., and that means most committee work for the session is done and our focus has shifted to the House floor. With the House tied at 67-67, every bill that moves forward needs bipartisan support. That means we are passing mostly smaller, straightforward bills that members can agree on and that do not add new costs. I remain committed to standing up for the people of our district and across Minnesota as we push for lower taxes, smaller government, and eliminating fraud. Fraud and affordability go hand in hand, and that focus drove several of the bills we worked on and advanced this week.
‘Fraud Isn’t Free’ Amendment
This week on the House floor, Republicans offered the Fraud Isn’t Free Act as an amendment to a larger bill in an effort to put stronger guardrails in place and make sure there are real consequences when fraud is suspected. The proposal was focused on requiring state agencies to take action instead of letting problems sit, and on holding employees accountable in cases where there is clear negligence or misconduct. Unfortunately, House Democrats voted down the amendment, turning away an opportunity to strengthen oversight and protect taxpayer dollars. At the end of the day, fraud is not a victimless issue, and it is costing Minnesotans billions of dollars that should be going toward core services and priorities. Whether it is waste, abuse, or outright fraud, people expect their government to take it seriously and act quickly when problems are identified, and that is exactly what this proposal aimed to do.
HF4425 – Increasing the statute of limitations for fraud
HF4425 is a step to make sure fraud cases can actually be investigated and prosecuted before time runs out. The bill extends the statute of limitations for certain fraud crimes, including medical assistance fraud and other theft of public money, from six years to ten years. In many cases, fraud is not discovered right away. It can take years to uncover what happened and to gather the records, audits, and evidence needed to build a strong case. Under current law, some of those cases expire before prosecutors can act, which means serious wrongdoing can go unpunished simply because the clock runs out. This bill helps fix that problem by giving law enforcement more time to do their work and follow the facts wherever they lead. It strengthens the ability to hold people accountable when taxpayer dollars are stolen and makes it clear that fraud against public programs will be taken seriously. At the end of the day, this is about protecting taxpayers, improving accountability, and making sure the system works the way it is supposed to.
‘Take It Back’ Act
Another important piece of legislation focused on fraud accountability is HF4950, known as the “Take It Back Act.” This bill is designed to strengthen the state’s ability to recover taxpayer dollars that were stolen through fraud or improper payments, and it is currently moving through the legislative process and may come up for consideration on the floor later this session. When fraud is uncovered, it is not enough to simply stop it going forward. There needs to be a clear and effective process to take back the money that was wrongfully paid out, and this bill helps make that process more consistent and enforceable. It would create a 100% income tax on state funds obtained through fraud, applied to individuals or organizations that have been convicted of stealing taxpayer money. This tax would be in addition to any court-ordered restitution they are already required to pay. The goal is simple: if someone is convicted of defrauding the state, they should not be allowed to keep any of the money they took. This is another step toward making sure taxpayer dollars are protected, fraud is taken seriously, and there are real consequences when the system is abused.
I will keep you updated on these bills as we head towards our constitutional adjournment date.
Sincerely,
Jimmy