Audit commissioners discuss embargoes, release timing and OLA's upcoming audits; legislative auditor outlines process

Commission members spent the bulk of the March 3 meeting debating protocols for release of special reviews, program evaluations and other OLA reports, emphasizing confidentiality of draft materials and the separation between legislative oversight and agency contact.

"We cannot divulge that information. It's embargoed...until the official report makes it public," said Senator Koran, urging colleagues to refrain from discussing draft findings with outside parties or agencies before a report's public release.

Legislative Auditor Judy Randall described OLA's current process for briefings and releases, saying the office offers verbal briefings to the full commission and to committee chairs and minority leads and that it has adopted a standard practice "to release it online at 9AM the day of the release, regardless of when the hearing is held." Randall said the practice grew from staff and logistical constraints and that OLA is open to changes, including posting after a hearing or coordinating simultaneous release and presentation.

Randall also said reports are treated as not public until posted online and that agency staff who discuss a report prior to release would be violating the Government Data Practices Act. She described the timing for agency review: OLA provides draft reports to the subject agency for review of factual accuracy (sometimes a month before release), holds a closing conference, then provides a final report about a week before public release so the agency can prepare an official response, which OLA publishes with the report.

Deputy Legislative Auditor Lori Lisonbee outlined planned financial audit work for 2025, including performance and financial statement audits. She said the financial audit division typically picks about "7 topics" for performance audits and listed planned projects: a Department of Human Services Behavioral Health grants review; Outdoor Heritage Fund grants at the Department of Natural Resources; a faculty payroll audit at Minnesota State; a statewide overtime payroll audit; a full-scope audit of receipts, payroll and expenditures at the Office of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor; and two IT audits (driver and vehicle data sales at the Department of Public Safety and a cloud services audit).

Deputy Legislative Auditor Jody Munson Rodriguez summarized the program evaluation division's schedule: the division selects roughly six evaluations per year. She said the division had released evaluations on aggregate mining, human resources complaint management at the Department of Health, and community benefit expenditures at nonprofit hospitals, and that three additional evaluations (DNR land acquisition, guardianship of adults, and another item) were scheduled to release in the next month. The program division also issued a consolidated follow-up report in chart form covering three years of implementation status for recommendations.

Members asked the legislative auditor and deputies to work with the executive committee and subcommittee chairs to develop clear, written protocols on briefings and release timing. Judy Randall offered to work with the executive subcommittee to draft protocols and to consider process changes for simultaneous release and presentation.

Commissioners also discussed how audit recommendations are used by the legislature. Senator Drazkowski and others urged members to take action on recommendations when appropriate, noting that OLA sometimes issues recommendations that do not lead to legislative change.

The commission did not take formal votes on protocol changes at this meeting; members asked staff and the executive committee to return with proposed written protocols.