Minnesota state senators leveled a blistering critique of the state Department of Human Services during a wide-ranging hearing Tuesday.
The sprawling $17.5 billion social service agency has been beset in recent months with a leadership shuffle, a whistleblower action over contract compliance and an acknowledgment that the agency overpaid two Indian bands approximately $25 million for substance-abuse treatment in recent years.
"Somehow the Legislature never gets direct answers," said state Sen. Michelle Benson, R-Ham Lake, who chairs one of the two committees that met jointly Tuesday. "It's our expectation that given a new governor and new commissioner, there will be direct answers to questions we pose."
Republican senators, who hold a narrow 35-32 majority heading into a challenging election year, were especially pointed in their remarks and questioning as they sought to expose what they see as mismanagement in the massive agency, which serves more than 1 million Minnesotans with the help of roughly 7,300 workers.
The nearly four-hour meeting often illustrated the Legislature's challenge conducting meaningful oversight when lawmakers are not in session and lack the ability to write laws.
Still, Benson said it was an important exercise: "We're not going to stop asking these questions. There will be more hearings. There will be more [public information] requests," she said. Benson said she is not ruling out using subpoena power to compel testimony, especially after a number of top Department of Human Services (DHS) managers did not appear at Tuesday's hearing.
Legislative Auditor Jim Nobles, who was asked by the administration of DFL Gov. Tim Walz to look into the Medical Assistance overbilling, said that his office has a significant team of investigators parked at DHS. "Because of its size, complexity and importance, DHS consumes more of our resources than any other agency," he said.
More change is already coming to DHS. Walz, a first-term governor who took office in January, appointed Lutheran Social Service CEO Jodi Harpstead as the new commissioner on Monday. She starts Sept. 3 and did not appear at the Senate committee hearing. DHS was represented by interim Commissioner Pam Wheelock, a veteran public administrator who was brought in after the July resignation of Tony Lourey. The former DFL state legislator left only six months after his appointment by Walz.