Purpose

This bill aims to improve how state grants are managed across executive agencies. It creates a centralized framework for grants policies, adds a formal system to assess grantees’ risk of fraud, and strengthens oversight of grants-related activities, contracts, and technology.

Main Provisions

• Grantee fraud risk rating system and grants management policies

  • The commissioner must create general grants management policies and procedures applicable to all executive agencies.
  • These policies must include a grantee fraud risk rating system and grants management requirements based on vendor risk management principles.
  • The commissioner can approve exceptions for specific grant programs; exceptions must expire or be renewed after five years.

• Centralization and coordination

  • Executive agencies must still manage their individual grant programs.
  • A central point of contact will exist for statewide grants management policies and procedures.
  • The central office serves as a resource for training, evaluation, collaboration, and sharing best practices.

• System needs and technology

  • Grants management needs must be considered in developing, upgrading, and using statewide administrative systems.
  • The state should leverage existing technology where possible.
  • The commissioner may determine that it is cost-effective for agencies to develop and use shared grants management technology systems, governed by a specified section of law.

• Oversight of contracts and IT spending

  • The commissioner oversees and approves future professional and technical service contracts and other IT spending related to executive agency grants management systems.

• Governance, compliance, and reporting

  • The central office provides a point of contact for comments about violations of statewide grants governance policies and about fraud and waste in grants processes.
  • Comments received can be forwarded to the appropriate agency and followed up as needed.
  • The central office will maintain a single listing of all available executive agency competitive grant opportunities and the resulting grant recipients.
  • The commissioner may selectively review the development and implementation of grants policies and practices, and compliance with best practices.

How it changes existing law

• Establishes a statewide, centralized framework for grants governance that overlays but does not completely replace agency-level management.
• Introduces a formal grantee fraud risk rating system and ties grants management to vendor risk management principles.
• Creates formal channels for centralized guidance, training, evaluation, and sharing of best practices.
• Requires consideration of grants management needs in statewide information systems and allows for potential shared technology platforms.
• Expands oversight to include comments on violations, fraud, waste, and a centralized portal listing grant opportunities and recipients.

Potential Effects and Impacts

• Increased focus on preventing fraud and waste in grant programs.
• More standardized grants management across agencies, potentially improving efficiency and transparency.
• Greater use of centralized data, training, and reporting to support decision-making.
• Possible moves toward shared technology platforms for grants management, with governance defined in the bill.

Significant Changes to Law (at a glance)

• Mandates a grantee fraud risk rating system within general grants management policies.
• Establishes a central grants governance structure and a single portal of grant opportunities.
• Requires consideration of grants management in statewide administrative systems and allows for shared technology solutions.
• Creates formal processes for comments, oversight, and follow-up on policy violations and grant-related fraud or waste.

Relevant Terms - grantee fraud risk rating system - grants management - vendor risk management - statewide grants governance policies - executive agencies - central point of contact - training evaluation collaboration and best practices - statewide administrative systems - shared grants management technology systems - professional and technical service contracts - information technology spending related to grants management - fraud and waste - competitive grant opportunities - grant recipients - 16B.97 subdivision 4 - 16E.01 subdivision 3 paragraph b