SAINT PAUL, Minn. (GRAY) – Recently announced investigations into a now-terminated Minnesota housing assistance program have reignited concerns over fraud in the North Star State. They’ve also created an opportunity to look back on one legislative push that failed to get across the finish line this past spring: a statewide Office of the Inspector General (OIG).

A bill in the legislature would have established an independent watchdog agency within the state government. It passed the Senate during the regular session with broad bipartisan support.

“That bill passed in the Senate 60-7, and really what the bill does, and I think why it had so much support, is it provides an independent oversight authority that really monitors both providers and recipients,” Senator Heather Gustafson (DFL - V

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