March 16, 2018
| Members Present: | Other Members Present: |
|---|---|
| Senator Warren Limmer | Representative Sondra Erickson |
| Senator Nick A. Frentz | Representative Tina Liebling |
| Senator Mary Kiffmeyer | |
| Representative Connie Bernardy | Other Legislators Present: |
| Representative Rick Hansen | Representative Laurie Halverson |
| Representative Duane Quam | Senator Susan Kent |
Senator Warren Limmer, Chair, called the Legislative Audit Commission (LAC) Evaluation Subcommittee meeting to order at 8:03 a.m. The purpose of the meeting was to select evaluation topics to be placed on the survey of legislators, and to release the Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) evaluation, Voter Registration.
Judy Randall, Deputy Legislative Auditor, explained that OLA staff had prepared a preliminary review of the 16 topics the subcommittee had chosen at the last meeting. She said that the members needed to select 10 out of the 16 topics to place on a survey to gauge legislators’ interest. She reminded the subcommittee that there would be a quick turnaround on the voting since the deadline would be the following Thursday, and the subcommittee would meet the following Friday.
Ms. Randall said that there were three topics that the Financial Audit Division (FAD) could include in their scope of reports. Those three were (1) Medical Assistance Dental and Mental Health Payment Rates, (2) Metropolitan Council Budgeting, and (3) State Employee Contracts. Representative Hansen moved to have those three topics be done by FAD; the motion prevailed.
After some discussion, Representative Hansen moved to remove two topics, Opioids in Nursing Homes and Special Education, because related evaluations had recently been done. The motion prevailed.
The Public School Funding topic was discussed in depth. Since it would be a large evaluation, Representative Bernardy moved that the topic be narrowed to focus on Public School Debt Service Equalization Aid. Representative Hansen seconded the motion and then moved the following list of topics to be on the legislative survey:
Charter School Funding
Cybersecurity
Minnesota Housing Finance Agency
Minnesota Information Technology (MNIT) Services
Minnesota State Arts Board
MnDOT Financial Effectiveness
Nursing Home Trends
Personal Care Attendant Compensation
Pesticide Regulation
Public Facilities Authority: Water Treatment Infrastructure
Public School Debt Service Equalization Aid
The motion prevailed.
The meeting moved to a brief presentation on the evaluation, Voter Registration. Jim Nobles, Legislative Auditor, made a statement about the evaluation, and introduced Carrie Meyerhoff, Evaluation Manager, to give a brief presentation.
After the OLA presentation, Secretary of State Steve Simon addressed the subcommittee. Mr. Simon said that he agrees with all of the report’s recommendations, especially the need to modernize and secure the Statewide Voter Registration System (SVRS). He said that this is a critical and urgent priority after learning that Minnesota was 1 of 21 states targeted by a foreign government during the 2016 election. Mr. Simon said that he is committed to working with the Legislature to ensure that SVRS will be a modern and secure system.
With no further business, Senator Limmer adjourned the meeting at 9:06 a.m.
Senator Warren Limmer, Evaluation Subcommittee Chair
Shelly Gilb, Recording Secretary
