As Minnesota lawmakers look to fight fraud, disagreement remains over Inspector General details

ST. PAUL, Minn. (GRAY) – Minnesota lawmakers appear to be split over how to implement a statewide Office of the Inspector General, despite a mutual appetite to establish the independent watchdog agency.

The bill passed on a bipartisan vote in the Senate in 2025, but did not get across the finish line in the House of Representatives.

On the final night of the 2025 Legislative Session, House Republicans attempted to force a floor vote on the Senate’s bill, but DFLers blocked the motion. The DFL claims the bill had not received enough time in House committees to warrant passage.

Now, as both legislative caucuses dig in on efforts to prevent fraud, the bill remains unpassed in the House.

Several House Committee hearings this year have been devoted to the Inspector General bill, but each time it’s come forward, Republicans and DFLers have continued to disagree on the details.

Conversations have included changing the OIG’s role and jurisdiction, maintaining agency-level Inspector Generals, and deciding whether the Office will have enforcement capabilities.

Senate bill authors Heather Gustafson (DFL-Vadnais Heights) and Michael Kreun (R-Blaine) weighed in earlier this week, pining for the House to find a path forward.

I think that we now have all four caucuses on board. We’ve got the governor on board. Everybody wants the OIG. It’s just going to take them working together in the house," Gustafson said.

“Maybe we’re all on board with the concept of an OIG, but how that OIG looks and operates in effect, three of the four caucuses are on board. The House Democrats still have their own ideas about what they want to see,” Kreun said.

DFLers stopped short of blaming their House colleagues, instead saying that House Speaker Lisa Demuth (R-Cold Spring) has a responsibility to find a compromise.

“She’s committed to an OIG, and I believe that probably is important for her and for her campaign, but most importantly, it is important for the people of Minnesota for us to get this done,” Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy (DFL-St. Paul) said.