April 15, 2015
| Members Present: |
| Representative Rick Hansen, Chair |
| Representative Connie Bernardy |
| Senator Mary Kiffmeyer |
| Senator Warren Limmer |
Representative Rick Hansen, Chair, called the Legislative Audit Commission (LAC) Evaluation Subcommittee meeting to order at 10:39 a.m. The purpose of the meeting was to select evaluation topics to recommend to the full LAC.
Representative Hansen said that the subcommittee had received a letter from Senator Benson regarding the billing practices of the Minneapolis Urban League, and she was requesting the Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) complete an evaluation. After some discussion among the members, it was decided that OLA could look into the issue under their authority and not have it be one of the final topics. Senator Kiffmeyer said that the subcommittee had also received a letter from the Board of Chiropractic Examiners requesting that OLA complete an evaluation. Jim Nobles, Legislative Auditor, said it would be similar to the OLA evaluation recently completed on the Board of Nursing. After some discussion, Representative Hansen decided to let the Board of Chiropractic Examiners Executive Director address the full commission at the next meeting on Friday, April 17, 2015.
Representative Hansen asked Jim Nobles, Legislative Auditor, to recap how the subcommittee arrived at this point. Mr. Nobles explained that before the legislative break, the subcommittee had reviewed a list of 139 topics and chose 14 for further consideration. He said that during the break, OLA staff created background papers on those 14 topics. He said that 149 responses to the survey were received from legislators and that OLA’s ranking of the top six topics aligned with the survey results. Mr. Nobles introduced Judy Randall, Evaluation Manager, and asked her to provide information about the topics. Ms. Randall gave a brief summary of each topic. She also explained that each evaluation would undergo a scoping process in order to figure out the top three or four issues legislators want addressed.
Representative Hansen acknowledged that the top six topics chosen in the legislative survey were good choices and he suggested that the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute (AURI) evaluation should be conducted if time and funds permit. Senator Kiffmeyer moved that the final list of evaluation topics to be recommended to the full LAC would be the following:
Deer Population Management
Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB)
Mental Health Services in County Jails
Minnesota Board of Teaching
Minnesota Department of Health HMO Complaint Process
MnDOT Project Selection
Agricultural Utilization Research Institute (AURI) (only as time/funds permit)
The motion prevailed. With no further business, the meeting adjourned at 11:30 a.m.
Representative Rick Hansen, Chair
Shelly Watterud, Recording Secretary
