ST. PAUL, Minn. – Senator Andrew Mathews (R-Princeton) and Senate Republicans today to rolled out a comprehensive plan that consists of eight bill to hold government accountable to stop waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayers’ dollars. This plan is part of the Senate GOP’s Minnesotans First agenda.
Senator Mathews’ bill, SF 475, is a key piece of the overall package. The bill will strengthen whistleblower protections for state employees and expand the number of people to whom a whistleblower can report to, including their employer, any governmental body, law enforcement officials, the legislative auditor, a member of the legislature, or a constitutional officer. Therefore, improving the ability of legislators, oversight bodies, and law enforcement agencies to investigate and take corrective action when fraudulent activities are suspected.
“Minnesotans have seen a massive increase in waste, fraud, and abuse in government, and oftentimes the best people to flag these instances are the agency employees who are working on these projects,” Mathews said. “We have good people in our agencies who want to proactively protect against instances of misuse or abuse of tax dollars, but it’s clear our current laws are not sufficient to protect those who speak out.”
Bill List
Senate Republicans’ comprehensive plan to hold government accountable to stop the waste, fraud, and abuse includes the following bills:
Oversight
· SF TBD: Increase penalties on state employees who don’t follow the law to report suspected waste, fraud, or abuse
· 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)
· SF 1219: Create a centralized state Office of Inspector General
Transparency
· SF 730: Transparency in the AG’s office (Heard in Judiciary and Public Safety Committee on Jan. 29, 2025)
· 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
· SF 981: OLA recommendations on grant reform including conflict of interest rules, background checks, and salary transparency
· SF 1123: Increased oversight of grants, reporting and compliance requirements
· SF 538: Grant Administrator and centralized grant database