There are two weeks left in the 2026 state legislative session. It’s not too late to enact a robust anti-fraud agenda.
U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D) launched her campaign for Minnesota governor back in late January. Since then, February, March, and April have come and gone. On Sunday, May 3, Klobuchar held her first ever press conference to announce her agenda. On a Sunday.
Frankly, nothing on her agenda needs to wait for 2027. All of the useful bits could be done immediately, if only her fellow Democrats at the state capitol would go along.
From the Minnesota Star Tribune,
Amy Klobuchar unveils anti-fraud plan in governor race as she works to distinguish herself from Tim Walz
For example,
Many of her proposals overlap with ideas raised by Walz and legislators, including Republicans who want more in-person and unannounced site visits and an independent inspector general to investigate fraud in state programs.
The inspector general idea would have been passed into law last year if just a single House Democrat would have voted for it. Just one. But not one would vote for it, because…reasons.
More unannounced, in-person audits of providers should have been the rule all along. They could be done today without the need for any new legislation.
And there’s this,
For instance, Klobuchar highlighted her desire to replace decades-old technology systems in state government, an idea that Republicans and DFLers support at the Legislature. Klobuchar said if she had been governor instead of Walz, she would have spent some of the state’s historic surplus on system upgrades.
Fine, except I was around to witness MNLARS and MNSure. Minnesota is simply incapable of executing large-scale computer upgrade projects under Democratic leadership.
Furthermore,
Klobuchar’s fraud plan includes an audit of state agencies, tougher criminal penalties for fraud, creating a permanent ban on state grants and contracts for anyone convicted of fraud and more oversight like in-person inspections.
All ideas worth doing. The agency audits, if we started now, could be complete before the November election. As for the other ideas, they should already be state policy.
Truth be told, if you want a more effective state government then at least the top four layers of each agency’s leadership must be removed. Neither Klobuchar nor any other Democratic governor is willing to do that.
Let’s begin today. Why wait?
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