St. Paul, MN – The newly formed House Fraud & Agency Oversight Committee convened its first official hearing today, marking the beginning of a critical effort to investigate and prevent fraud, waste, and abuse in state government programs. The committee, chaired by Rep. Kristin Robbins (R-Maple Grove), took testimony from the Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) on the oversight of state-funded grants to nonprofit organizations. The OLA recently released its Evaluation and Special Review Recommendation Updates (2022-2024), which provided a review of how well agencies have been implementing the recommendations from the OLA’s 2023 report.
“The last fraud tracking story I saw put the current amount of taxpayer money that has been wasted at about $610 million,” said Chair Robbins. “Not only is that an appalling waste of taxpayers’ hard-earned money but it is also an indictment of state agencies’ failure to serve those who need services. The mission of this committee is to ensure that taxpayer dollars go to the needy, not the greedy.”
Committee Members
The House Fraud & Agency Oversight Committee is made up of the following members:
- Chair: Rep. Kristin Robbins (Maple Grove)
- Vice Chair: Rep. Patti Anderson (Dellwood)
- Republican Members: Rep. Walter Hudson (Albertville), Rep. Marion Rarick (Maple Lake), and Rep. Isaac Schultz (Elmdale Township)
- DFL Lead: Rep. Dave Pinto (St. Paul)
- DFL Members: Rep. Steve Elkins (Bloomington), Rep. Emma Greenman (Minneapolis)
Hearing Highlights
The committee’s first hearing focused on the oversight—or lack thereof—of taxpayer-funded grants to nonprofit organizations. State Legislative Auditor Judy Randall and Deputy Auditor Jodi Munson Rodriguez testified on the office’s findings, outlining systemic issues in grant management and oversight by state agencies.
During testimony, Auditor Randall noted that “state agencies don’t necessarily approach their work with an oversight and regulatory mindset.” She emphasized the need for better training and accountability measures, stating that the most successful agencies overseeing grants take their oversight responsibilities seriously.
The House Fraud & Agency Oversight Committee will continue its work in the coming weeks, holding hearings and investigating how taxpayer dollars are being managed across state agencies and what types of policies the Legislature can pursue to prevent future fraud.
Chair Robbins reiterated that addressing fraud and government accountability is not a partisan issue but is rather a separation of powers issue. It is a fundamental duty of the Legislature to oversee the Executive branch agencies.
“As former U.S. Attorney Andy Luger said, ‘No other state had a Feeding Our Future fraud scandal like Minnesota.’ It’s our job to get to the root of these problems and put in place systems that stop fraud before it happens,” Robbins reminded committee members.
For further updates, and for video and audio logs of today’s hearing, visit the Committee’s webpage. Hearings will be held weekly on Mondays at 8:15 AM.
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