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State Representative Kim Norton
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-9249
For more information contact: Matt Swenson 651-297-8406
Column/LTE
CLEANING UP STATE GOVERNMENT
Facing a record $6.4 billion budget deficit, state lawmakers don’t have the luxury of conducting business as usual any longer. We need to pass thoughtful reforms that will change the way state government operates and ensure every dime of taxpayer dollars are well-spent. With that approach, the difficult challenge of running the state on limited resources can provide the legislature a unique opportunity to make government more efficient and accountable than ever before.
There is indeed cleaning up to be done. A series of investigations led by Legislative Auditor James Nobles over the last year have revealed a troubling trend of financial mismanagement across state government. Those findings have ranged from poor record keeping over how taxpayer dollars are spent to an instance in which a government employee was paid more than $19,000 for overtime hours “without any documentation to show that the overtime work was necessary or approved."
Other OLA reports have found yet more instances of widespread, troubling mismanagement of taxpayer dollars. Some of the most egregious findings in those reports included the following instances of fraud and mismanagement in Minnesota’s state agencies:
• A former Health and Human Services employee stole more than $1 million over a period of five years
• Nine Minnesota Veterans Home employees took more than $2 million in overtime pay over three years
• $1.5 million in state bonding funds were misappropriated last year
• A MnDOT worker spent $26,000 in state funding on long distance phone calls and vacations
• The DNR spent over $300,000 on an international game warden conference
• All internal auditors at the Minnesota Department of Finance have been eliminated due to budget cuts
Despite these disturbing findings and others, an OLA report released several weeks ago was perhaps the most concerning. It revealed more than $100 million in federal transfers to state government were not properly tracked or accounted for last year due to poor fiscal management and lax oversight. In fact, Mr. Nobles’ federal compliance audit unearthed more than 30 troubling financial control weaknesses at 9 state agencies in Minnesota. This is most troubling at a time when Minnesota is relying on over $9 billion in new federal recovery dollars from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to help kick-start our economy and lead us out of recession.
Taxpayers have the right to be outraged by these findings, and lawmakers have a responsibility to clean it up. Minnesota literally can’t afford to go on with business as usual in state government. It’s time for a change - the kind of change that will not only clean up state government, but give Minnesotans new tools to hold our government accountable.
That’s why the Minnesota House of Representatives has been working closely with Legislative Auditor James Nobles to pinpoint weak areas in the state’s fiscal management. Each of our policy committees have taken on new oversight responsibilities to ensure every dime of state revenue is accounted for as the legislature appropriates funds this year to state agencies.
I have authored a bill (HF1785) requiring accountability reports and measures be established by state agencies before the funds are distributed. Additional cost-benefit analyses would be required using a uniform measurement process in an effort to better evaluate the effectiveness of state government programs - identifying those that work and those that don’t. If passed the bill would help ensure that programs achieve their desired results and make certain we get a positive return on state investments. It has received bipartisan support and is moving its way through the legislative process.
The House has also rolled out a number of additional reform measures to crack down on fraud and waste in state government. Those proposals range from enacting tougher criminal penalties for state employees who knowingly misuse taxpayer dollars, to establishing new accounting procedures and internal audit controls in state government.
Two weeks ago the administration joined the legislature’s reform efforts by taking an important first step to make state government more accountable and transparent. The Department of Management and Budget unveiled a new Transparency and Accountability Project (TAP) website where Minnesotans can see where each of their tax dollars are spent. You can log on to this site at www.mmb.state.mn.us/tap. I fully support this effort because it makes the details of state government finances more easily accessible for every Minnesotan. With millions of eyes watching the nickels and dimes spent in state government, we can all contribute to making state government meet our needs in a more honest, accountable, and efficient manner.
Still, a website is not enough to remedy the widespread financial mismanagement in Minnesota state government. Facing a serious budget shortfall and with over $9 billion in federal funds coming into our state coffers from the federal government in the coming months, the sense of urgency for significant reform has never been greater. Working with members of both parties and the governor, I will be doing everything in my power to act on these recent, troubling OLA findings in a way that cleans up state government once and for all.
I encourage you to contact me with your questions, concerns, and suggestions as we join forces to eliminate the egregious trend of lax oversight that is diminishing the state’s ability to govern well. You can reach me by phone at (651) 296-9249 or by email at rep.kim.norton@house.mn. I look forward to hearing from you.
News Items
- Rep. Norton Selected as Vice Chair of House Health and Human Services Finance Committee - (Posted: 2012-12-14 00:00:00)
- It’s Time for Legislature to Get Back to Basics, Balance the Budget Honestly - (Posted: 2012-12-11 00:00:00)
- Second Saturday Coffee Meeting Date Changed to December 9 - (Posted: 2012-12-03 00:00:00)
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