October 6, 2025
Senator D. Scott Dibble, Chair, called the Legislative Audit Commission (LAC) Evaluation Subcommittee meeting to order at 10:02 a.m. in G23 State Capitol. All members were present. The meeting’s purpose was to select an additional five potential evaluation topics for the Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) to prepare background papers on, as part of the fall topic selection process.
Senator Dibble introduced Jodi Munson Rodríguez, Deputy Legislative Auditor for OLA’s Program Evaluation Division, who described where the selection process was currently at for members. She said five topics from the spring were still under consideration and that members were meeting today to select another five topics for further consideration. She said in the coming weeks, OLA would prepare background papers for these 10 topics, and the subcommittee would then meet again to narrow the list to recommend four topics to the Legislative Audit Commission for final selection.
The five topics previously nominated were:
Senator Dibble opened the meeting to discussion. Representative Quam asked for information on the topics of Emergency Ambulance Services, Nonemergency Medical Transportation, and Nonemergency Medical Transportation Fraud Prevention. David Kirchner, OLA Evaluation Coordinator, was invited to speak. He said he had worked on OLA’s previous evaluations related to these topics and answered members’ questions. Ms. Munson Rodríguez said that she thought the two topics related to Nonemergency Medical Transportation could be combined. Senator Dibble put the topics aside as a possible nominee.
Senator Dibble then took a question from Senator Drazkowski, who asked what news there was of the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) that was reviewed by OLA in 2019. Judy Randall, Legislative Auditor, came to the table to respond. She said that many issues in CCAP were related to control and compliance issues, which OLA’s Financial Audit Division (FAD) or Special Reviews Division would be better suited to review. Senator Rest then asked about the Medical Assistance Fraud Prevention topic. Ms. Randall said this would also be an ideal topic for FAD review. Representative Lee asked about the U.S. Bank Stadium Finances topic and if other stadium finances could be rolled into the topic, as he was concerned with stadiums requesting money from the Legislature for ongoing maintenance. Ms. Randall said that the topic of finances alone for U.S. Bank Stadium would be quite large, but that perhaps a new topic focused only on ongoing maintenance could be added in the future.
Representative Quam expressed interest in the Department of Human Services (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) investigations. Further discussion took place to clarify that this topic would be distinct from the legislation in progress to create a state OIG office. Senator Drazkowski supported DHS OIG as a choice, expressing concern that investigations of fraud seem to be coming from federal investigations or news investigations but not from within DHS OIG itself.
Senator Rest said she was interested in the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR) topic and would like to know if LCCMR is acting in accordance with the constitutional requirements for the funding for their projects. Representative Quam asked about the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) Safety Inspections topic and how much of the topic would include safety at worksites along roads. Senator Dibble also expressed interest in this MnDOT topic, mentioning concerns about recent fatalities at MnDOT worksites. Representative Quam also suggested the Teachers Retirement Association topic, although Senator Dibble said recent legislation had addressed some concerns about the retirement plan. Senator Dibble then asked about Waiver Reimagine and the possibility of finding out how that program is working or progressing.
Senator Dibble reviewed the topics with the most member interest. Senator Rest made a motion to adopt the following four topics for further consideration:
Senator Dibble told members there was room for one more topic, and Senator Drazkowski requested a friendly amendment to the motion to add the following topic:
Senator Rest accepted the friendly amendment. Representative Quam moved to accept the five topics for further consideration and background paper development. Upon a voice vote, the motion was unanimously adopted. Seeing no further discussion, Senator Dibble adjourned the meeting at 11:12 a.m.
Senator D. Scott Dibble, Chair
Evaluation Subcommittee
Maureen Garrahy, Recording Secretary
