Legislators serving on the Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy Committee in the Minnesota House of Representatives met for the first time Monday morning to hear about how state-issued grants are being monitored.
Chaired by Rep. Kristin Robbins, R-Maple Grove, the newly created committee is tasked with investigating waste, fraud, and abuse of state taxpayer dollars. Prior to the creation of this body, the Minnesota Legislature did not have a committee dedicated exclusively to oversight.
“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.”
Monday’s first hearing of the new committee focused on oversight of state-funded grants issued to nonprofit organizations.
In Minnesota, the legislature appropriates funds to state agencies specifically to be used as grants that are sent to organizations for various services. In many cases, organizations will either compete for those grants, or state lawmakers will author bills that designate a specific grant for a certain organization and purpose.
According to the OLA, state-funded grant spending to nonprofits totaled $558 million in 2022. State agencies are responsible for following guidelines as established by the Office of Grants Management (OGM) to ensure proper oversight and accountability of the grants.
On Monday, the Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) gave a presentation on this topic. That presentation was based on a 2023 OLA report which examined how well state agencies adhered to grants management policies.
Among other things, OLA staff said their 2023 report found that “Minnesota’s grants management policies established important practices, but generally lacked detail,” and “statutes provided little authority to enforce compliance with policies.” Additionally, the OLA found “pervasive noncompliance” with grants management policies.
Speaking to legislators at the hearing, OLA staff noted that recommendations made by the OLA to address this matter have since been partially implemented. A document provided by the OLA indicated that further action could be taken to improve grant oversight.
Legislators then got an opportunity to ask the OLA various questions about grant oversight.
The Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy Committee was created earlier this year and is comprised of five Republicans and three Democrats. While the balance of power in other House committees may change over the course of the legislative session, the fraud committee will have a GOP majority for the duration of the 2025-26 session.
According to a statement from the House Republican Caucus, the fraud committee will meet every Monday at 8:15 a.m. Robbins has previously stated that efforts at preventing fraud should be bipartisan, and the committee has already been contacted by more than two dozen whistleblowers.
Given the makeup of the committee, the GOP will have the ability to dictate what types of activities are investigated. However, legislative committees require affirmative votes from two-thirds of its members in order to issue subpoenas. As such, Republicans would need at least one affirmative vote from a DFL committee member to issue a subpoena.
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
