Minnesota lawmakers this session are emphasizing new protocols to shield state agencies from fraud. A watchdog group says so far, it appears they're on the right track.
The motivation to address this issue is tied to the high-profile Feeding our Future case, when dozens of people were accused of stealing pandemic relief money intended for kids' meals. It's estimated roughly $250 million was misspent, and dozens of convictions have since followed.
At the state Capitol, both Republicans and Democrats have openly discussed the need for tighter controls, which is encouraging to Matt Ehling, a board member for Minnesotans for Open Government.
"It's been a growing problem for quite a few years now," he said, "so it's nice to see that both sides of the aisle are focused on this issue this year."
One bill calls for a new state Office of Inspector General to get ahead of suspicious behavior. Ehling said the Office of Legislative Auditor does good work, but sees the need for another arm that goes beyond reviewing problems after the fact.
A separate proposal could stir backlash by no longer awarding some grants to nonprofits without a bidding process. Backers of keeping that option have argued it helps smaller groups in underserved areas get access to funding.
The Minnesota Council of Nonprofits has said it agrees that state funds must be used for their intended purpose, but worries some restrictions would make inequities worse.
Ehling said it's unfortunate that, at the height of the pandemic, federal relief packages meant to help people in need were targeted by fraudsters.
"Bad actors were able to take advantage of that, because the money was coming in so fast," he said, "and the resources to oversee the money were simply not appropriately put in place."
When those COVID spending packages were approved, states were tasked with distributing aid. Ehling's group hopes that if there's a new Office of Inspector General, it will operate with transparency. And a bipartisan group of lawmakers has said that with grant reforms, there should be assurances that smaller community groups are given a fair shot.
