A Republican state auditor candidate wants to grade every local government in Minnesota on its vulnerability to fraud. The proposal comes as Minnesota continues to grapple with the best way to combat ongoing fraud schemes in the state.
Nate George is one of three Republican candidates who is running to be the next Minnesota state auditor. One of Minnesota’s lesser-known offices, the state auditor audits the finances of local governments across Minnesota such as cities, counties, and school districts.
George, who serves as the mayor of Braham, announced that a proposal of his has been introduced as a bill in the Minnesota Legislature. The bill, HF 4914, would require the state auditor to assign a “fraud risk score” to every city, county, and school district in Minnesota.
Under HF 4914, the fraud risk score would measure “the relative risk of fraud, waste, abuse, or mismanagement within a political subdivision based on internal controls, financial practices, governance structures, audit findings, and other risk indicators.”
HF 4914 was introduced by Republican State Rep. Jimmy Gordon, who represents Braham in the Minnesota House. Gordon told Alpha News that he introduced HF 4914 after George approached him with the idea.
“As lawmakers, we receive many bill ideas from constituents,” Gordon told Alpha News. “The idea for this bill was brought to me by Nate George, who is a constituent of mine. I thought it was a great idea, so I had the bill [introduced].”
“Fraud is a huge issue here that needs to be addressed and I think this bill is a step in the right direction,” added Gordon.
HF 4914 would require the state auditor to develop a uniform system for scoring each local government, establish a minimum acceptable score, update the score for each jurisdiction at least once every two years, and publish a public database for citizens to review scores.
“This bill is the first proactive fraud mitigation tool proposed by anyone that doesn’t expand the government and addresses the core problems leading to fraud,” George said in a press statement.
HF 4914 was introduced last week after a key legislative deadline had already passed. As such, the bill most likely will not be moving this session. However, the proposal could come back at the start of the 2027 legislative session.
“This tool presents an opportunity for Minnesota to be a good example on fraud for once, instead of the bad example,” he added. “No other state currently implements something like this.”
At present, George is facing State Rep. Elliott Engen and former State Sen. Scott Jensen in the race for the GOP nomination for state auditor.
While the office’s title might suggest that it is responsible for reviewing state government finances, the state auditor actually does not have jurisdiction to do so. Instead, the office audits local governments.
So far, the overwhelming majority of the fraud discovered in Minnesota has occurred in programs that are operated by state government. State auditor candidates have expressed an interest in expanding the role of the office.
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.
