A bill to create an independent statewide Office of the Inspector General to investigate and prevent fraud in state programs and public services is headed for a vote on the House floor.
The Senate passed the bill last session, but no House vote was taken.
This session, the bill faced a prolonged standstill in the tied House of Representatives over disagreements on agency jurisdiction and enforcement powers.
DFL State Senator Heather Gustafson authored the Senate bill, and is keeping a close eye on her colleagues in the other chamber.
"It's not a radical idea," she says. "It is a proven method that works and just knowing the history of our state recently, this was something that people felt that we were missing and needed."
The bill creates a centralized, independent entity within the executive branch that reports directly to the governor. It aims to streamline fraud oversight, which is currently scattered across several different state departments.
"I think there's always concerns about making sure it stays independent," says Gustafson. "What happens to existing state agencies and workers? How does it interact with the agencies? How does it interact with the attorney general's office or the state auditor or BCA?"
Fraud was back in the news this week, with another federal raid across parts of the Twin Cities, mainly at Somali-run childcare centers.
"You know whether it be inefficiencies in a state agency or whether it be a vendor who is taking advantage of one department and then also another department, there isn't anybody who's sort of minding the store," Gustafson says. "And that's really the gap that this would fill. At least 11 other states have an inspector general."
