Minnesota Capitol. Photo courtesy of House Public Information Services.
The Minnesota House on Monday passed a bill that expands whistleblower protections for state employees who report fraud, waste or abuse of public dollars in hopes that workers will be more willing to come forward to report malfeasance.
The bill (HF23), which passed Monday 133-0, is part of Republicans’ anti-fraud package — a series of bills to address the theft of public dollars that has beset a number of Minnesota safety net programs in recent years.
Rep. Kristin Robbins, R-Maple Grove and chair of the House’s new fraud committee, said state workers have been fearful of retaliation if they report suspicions of fraud in their agency.
“The people who work in state government are working really hard, and they see these problems and they want to fix it. They want to be partners in solving some of the waste, fraud and abuse that’s out there,” Robbins said Monday.
Minnesota already had extensive whistleblower protections, but the bill creates new definitions for fraud and expands the law to all state workers. Current law provides protections for unclassified workers, but the bill passed Monday expands it to all state employees, which includes managers.
The bill will need Senate approval and the signature of Gov. Tim Walz to become law.
The House on Monday also took up another anti-fraud bill (HF3) requiring the Office of the Legislative Auditor to update lawmakers on which of their recommendations to the executive branch have been implemented.
The OLA frequently recommends a state agency adopt various practices to prevent fraudulent activity or other issues identified in an audit. The bill would require that lawmakers be made aware which of these OLA recommendations an agency has and has not adopted.
All House Democrats voted against the bill, arguing that it was unnecessary and a waste of taxpayer dollars. The bill would have allocated about $497,000 to the OLA and the state budget office for implementation.
The bill failed to win the 68 votes needed for passage.