The Minnesota House passed around 14 bills in a single day, the most since 1994, according to an April 28 update from State Representative Nolan West. West said the legislative session is entering its final phase and described the atmosphere as busy.
This development is notable because, according to West, the bills are advancing individually on their own merits rather than being included in large omnibus packages. He said this approach stands out during a period of heightened partisanship and a tied House.
Among the legislation recently approved was H.F. 4425, which extends the statute of limitations for fraud from six years to ten years. West said this measure will give prosecutors more time to investigate complex fraud schemes and help ensure that individuals who commit fraud against taxpayers can be held accountable. “We’ve seen a lot of fraud going on in Minnesota and looking back they keep on finding more and more, so we want to make sure the statute of limitations allows us to prosecute fraud for a longer period of time. It is one step toward restoring accountability in Minnesota,” he said.
Another bill removes an outdated rule requiring advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) to complete 2,080 hours of supervised collaboration with a physician before practicing independently. West described this regulation as unnecessary and burdensome: “The ‘supervision’ was literally just a physician’s name on the paperwork, nothing more. That doesn’t increase quality or safety for patients.” He added that there are not enough primary care physicians in Minnesota to meet demand and emphasized that APRNs are well trained for primary care roles.
West concluded by expressing hope that lawmakers will continue passing individual bills transparently instead of combining them into large omnibus packages: “Hopefully, we can keep passing individual bills so the public can know what’s going on and we resist the urge to shove everything into one nasty omnibus and shove that through the process. That’s not how the legislature is supposed to work.”
