April 10, 2026
Senator D. Scott Dibble, Chair, called the Legislative Audit Commission (LAC) Evaluation Subcommittee meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. in room G3 State Capitol. Senator Dibble asked for a roll call; a quorum was present. Senator Dibble then introduced Jodi Munson Rodríguez, Deputy Legislative Auditor, Program Evaluation Division of the Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA). Ms. Munson Rodríguez began the discussion by detailing the current evaluations in progress. She then went over the suggested topic selection schedule and timelines for the upcoming topic selection meetings. Finally, she outlined the Legislative Audit Commission’s Policy on Program Evaluation Topic Selection for members.
Senator Dibble then moved to the topic selection process. He asked Ms. Munson Rodríguez if there were topics that OLA considered good candidates for the annual selection of at least one board, committee, or council, and at least one follow-up evaluation, or if there were ones that otherwise fit the selection criteria as good candidates from the topic list. Ms. Munson Rodriguez highlighted seven OLA recommended candidates from the 102 submitted topics, as listed below.
Numbers 17 and 18, the Board of Behavioral Health and Therapy and the Board of Social Work, respectively, were never previously evaluated and have had sustained legislator concern. OLA’s access to not public data could add value to their review.
Number 43, Post-Secondary Enrollment Options, has had broad bipartisan interest, with questions around financial impacts on schools, student access, and whether it meets the needs of both schools and students.
Number 52, MPCA Feedlot Permitting, has had no review in 30-plus years, and there have been significant constituent concerns about permitting responsiveness and regional variability.
Numbers 67 and 69, Minnesota Department of Health Mortuary Science Program and Adult Day Services, respectively, have never been evaluated and have had sustained, multiyear interest.
Number 101, Office of Cannabis Management, as the agency now has sufficient operational data for a meaningful evaluation; licensing and process concerns are prevalent.
Senator Dibble opened the meeting to member discussion. Senator Rest said she had an interest in Number 56, Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use in the Public Sector, saying it might be a good time to examine how AI can enhance, not replace, human judgment in state government.
Senator Dibble then took a moment to mention Numbers 1 and 89, Civil Commitment of Sex Offenders and Minnesota Sex Offender Program Efficacy, respectively, saying there has been much advocacy interest in these topics. He added that members may have received stakeholder letters of interest on Number 39, Firefighter and Peace Officer Duty Disability Benefits. Finally, he said that Personal Care Assistance, Number 80 from page 36 in the back, prior evaluation list, was one which he has been interested in for some time and if not nominated currently, he hoped would be reconsidered in the fall.
Senator Dibble then asked members for further nominations. Senator Drazkowski suggested looking at Numbers 29 and 95, Minnesota Paid Family Medical Leave and the Attorney General’s Office, respectively. Representative Quam spoke for Numbers 76 and 85, DHS and County Collaboration on Service Approvals and Provision, and DHS System Modernization, respectively. Representative Lee asked for more information on Numbers 61 and 63, Federal Government Funding Impact on State Operations and Operation Metro Surge, respectively, but after further discussion, nominated Numbers 9 and 96, Minnesota Research Tax Credit and Corporate Concentration in Minnesota, respectively.
Seeing no further discussion, Senator Dibble suggested that together they try to narrow their suggestions to 12 by each legislator choosing two topics. Senator Rest and Representative Anderson said they would use the seven topics recommended by OLA as their topic choices. Senator Dibble then asked the remaining members for their choices, which brought the total to 13 suggested topics. Senator Rest then asked to remove OLA recommendation Number 18, to bring the list to 12 topics, and motioned to advance the following 12 topics for OLA background paper development:
Senator Dibble asked for a vote; the ayes were unanimous and the motion carried. Senator Dibble adjourned the meeting at 4:03 p.m.
Senator D. Scott Dibble, Chair
Evaluation Subcommittee
Maureen Garrahy, Recording Secretary
