Senator Mark Johnson (R-East Grand Forks) issued a statement reacting to Wednesday’s ruling from the Minnesota Supreme Court on the case between State Auditor Rebecca Otto and several Minnesota counties over the constitutionality of a provision within the 2015 State Government Finance bill allowing counties to contract with private CPA firms to conduct their county required audits.

“The MN Supreme Court’s decision – regarding a 2015 law which gives the counties the authority to contract with private CPA firms to conduct annual county audits – is a big win for our counties,” said Senator Mark Johnson.  “Ms. Otto’s insistence on trying this case all the way to the Minnesota Supreme Court cost the state, counties, and private auditors a large amount of time and money. Had she not tried to circumvent the law, she might have realized that the bipartisan legislation allows counties to save money and better serve their communities. With a definitive ruling now on hand, I am hopeful that the auditor will serve Minnesotans and allow counties the freedom to choose their auditor.”

In their unanimous ruling, the MN Supreme Court concluded that the Legislature’s 2015 law did not violate the separation of powers clause in the Minnesota Constitution, nor a clause requiring that bills at the Legislature deal with a single subject. When the law was initially passed, it did so with the broad support of both Republican and Democrat members.

While pursuing her frivolous lawsuit, State Auditor Rebecca Otto wasted more than a quarter-million dollars in taxpayer funding, money that would have been better spent on pension auditing and other state priorities. Her action also forced officials from Becker, Ramsey, and Wright counties to expend over $135,000 in local resources to build their legal defense.