Senator Mark Johnson, Republican Minority Leader (R-East Grand Forks) joined Republicans to roll out a comprehensive plan to hold government accountable to stop waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayers’ dollars. The plan is part of the group’s Minnesotans First agenda for the 2025 legislative session.
“We know that stopping fraud is not just a legislative priority, recent polling shows that it’s a top issue for Minnesotans too,” Sen. Johnson said. “That’s why we are making it a priority to hold government accountable for protecting taxpayers’ money. “Minnesotans work hard, and they are generous people, but with at least half a billion dollars in fraud over the last six years, they are tired of being in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.”
The eight bills presented cover everything from empowering the nonpartisan Office of the Legislative Auditor to creating a state Office of Inspector General, a state grants administrator, a central grant system, increased oversight of grant recipients, and additional accountability, training requirements, and whistleblower protections for state employees.
“We’ve seen a shift from legislative Democrats in their willingness to work with Republicans on stopping the fraud. I’m encouraged a sincere effort to listen to bipartisan input will result in significant change that makes protecting taxpayers’ dollars a top priority in every state government agency,” Johnson concluded.
Bill List
Senate Republicans comprehensive plan to hold government accountable to stop the waste, fraud, and abuse includes the following bills:
Oversight
- Sen. Drazkowski – SF TBD: Increase penalties on state employees who don’t follow the law to report suspected waste, fraud, or abuse
- Sen. Mathews – SF 475: Whistleblower protection laws for state employees who report suspected waste, fraud, or abuse (Heard in State and Local Government Committee on Feb. 11, 2025)
- Sen. Koran – SF 1219: Create a centralized state Office of Investigator General
Transparency
- Sen. Kreun – SF 730: Transparency in the AG’s office (Heard in Judiciary and Public Safety Committee on Jan. 29, 2025)
- Sen. Rasmusson – SF 263: OLA review on agency compliance based on OLA recommendations to relevant House and Senate committees (Heard in State Government Committee Feb. 11, 2025)
Grant reforms
- Sen. Nelson – SF 981: OLA recommendations on grant reform including conflict of interest rules, background checks, and salary transparency
- Sen. Coleman – SF 1123: Increased oversight of grants, reporting and compliance requirements
- Sen. Anderson – SF 538: Grant Administrator and centralized grant database
