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*June 14, 2024*






Legislative Update

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Friends and Neighbors,

 

I hope you're having a good summer so far! It's been a wild week in the world of Minnesota politics. This week we saw the Office of the Legislative Auditor, a nonpartisan legislative watchdog, release TWO new reports on two separate instances of fraud here in Minnesota (both totaling more than $200 million!), the funeral for fallen hero Officer Jamal Mitchell, and the head of the state's largest newspaper, a former Walz appointee, had continuous contact with the Administration in (at least) his first few months heading the paper. Buckle up!



Frontline Worker Pay Fraud

On Tuesday, the *Minnesota Frontline Worker Pay Program review* was released. You can find that audit *here [ [link removed] ]* along with numerous local news stories here [ [link removed] ] and here [ [link removed] ].

* The Legislative Auditor found that the Department of Labor and Industry approved payments to people who were not eligible or whose eligibility could not be determined. This included fraudulent duplicate applications including many from people who were deceased long before this program opened. In addition, the Department of Revenue did not verify all applicants met the adjusted gross income requirements.*

This program was passed in 2022 (before I was in the legislature) and set aside a $500 million pool of money for our frontline workers who worked in-person during the pandemic. The expectation was that there would be under 500,000 eligible applicants who would split that pool of money. Ultimately, there were over 1 million applicants approved which meant *our legitimate frontline workers received significantly smaller checks than they were likely entitled to due to fraudulent applicants also splitting those funds*. This could have all been avoided if our agencies were doing the basics of their jobs.

If you or someone you know was a frontline worker, I am truly sorry and angry that this happened. It’s inexcusable. Our appointed state agency leadership who made these decisions, should be fired.

 

Feeding Our Future Fraud

This morning, the Legislative Auditor released the* audit of the Minnesota Department of Education Oversight of Feeding our Future*. You can find that full audit *here [ [link removed] ]*. Frankly, this one is even worse and shows the incompetence of the Minnesota Department of Education. The MDE was responsible for overseeing this program including approving and verifying applicants, reviewing their operations, making payments when services were actually performed that met the guidelines, and ensuring the meals program was adequately monitored and being correctly administered.

*Instead, the Legislative Auditor found MDE’s actions and inactions created opportunities for fraud.*

 

MDE:


* Failed to act on warning signs known to the department prior to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and prior to the alleged fraud
* Did not effectively exercise it’s authority to hold Feeding Our Future accountable to program requirements
* Was ill-prepared to respond to the issues it encountered with Feeding Our Future

 

The MN Department of Education received *over 30 complaints* from outside people and entities over this timeframe. Rather than investigating them, the MDE either ignored them or ASKED FEEDING OUR FUTURE TO INVESTIGATE COMPLAINTS ABOUT ITSELF. Huh??? Even the two times the MDE found Feeding Our Future “seriously delinquent," they did nothing about it and *continued making payments.*

*It is clear that this $250 million+ fraud would have never occurred if the MN Department of Education would have done the very basics of their job.* They let it happen even knowing there was a significant issue but instead turned a blind eye and continued to allow it to grow to unimaginable proportions. We have to ask ourselves, WHY?

As most of you are aware, I previously served in MN government including as the MN State Auditor (not the same position as this appointed Legislative Auditor who did these audits) and as a Commissioner under Governor Pawlenty’s second term. During my recent two years as a State Legislator, it has been shocking to me how much has changed for the worse. We have had numerous fraudulent situations like these and they seem to be the norm. Furthermore, the DFL trifecta who governs our state doesn’t seem to care that much and is even encouraging it. In fact, there was legislation this year (that ultimately didn’t pass) that appropriated well over a million dollars in state taxpayer funded grants to these same non-profits. Absolutely infuriating!

*The simplest explanation for why the MN Department of Education failed to put an end to the fraud is that they did not want to end the fraud.* This is not to suggest that the MDE invited or encouraged the fraud but that they were either too incompetent or were afraid of challenging their generally DFL constituents who run these programs..

Minnesota used to have a reputation for competent and clean government. Those days seem to be gone and we are all much worse off because of it.

 

Funeral for Fallen Officer Jamal Mitchell

 

This week a funeral was held for fallen officer Jamal Mitchell, a hero on the Minneapolis Police Department who was tragically killed in the line of duty earlier this month. Officer Mitchell was working a mandatory overtime shift and showed up to the scene of a shooting alone when he was shot and killed by the very individual who he was trying to help. My condolences go out to his family.

I sincerely hope that we can stop the DFL's war on cops and begin supporting our police 365 days out of the year, not just on the tragic ones. It's my goal in the Legislature to work to reverse the devastating impacts of the DFL's defund the police rhetoric. 

Former Walz Appointee Running State's Largest Newspaper

 

This week there wasa great article in the Reformer [ [link removed] ]that exposed Steve Grove, former Walz appointee, for maintaining communication with the administration while running that state's largest newspaper. This is a clear conflict of interest and just goes to show how deep the swamp runs in Minnesota - I encourage you to read the article.






Please Contact Me

If you ever have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding any issue related to state government, please feel free to contact me at either 651-296-3201 or [email protected] I would love to hear from you.

It’s an honor to represent the best!

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/RepresentativeMary
 Franson





303 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, MN 55155
651.296.3201







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