Minnesota lawmakers say work will continue in working groups; debates remain over MinnesotaCare for undocumented immigrants and OIG anti‑fraud bill

A legislative leader said Tuesday evening that conference committees had finished formal business and would convert to working groups that begin meeting the next morning as lawmakers continue negotiating remaining pieces of the state budget and policy packages.

“We literally cleared the entire, everything that was available to us at this time,” the legislative leader said, adding that “the working groups start already tomorrow morning, so there's no delay in the work that needs to be done.”

Why it matters: the working groups will negotiate unresolved parts of the biennial budget package and related policy changes that leaders said must be finished in a special session if the governor calls lawmakers back. Lawmakers flagged two items as likely to draw extended debate: a change to MinnesotaCare coverage for undocumented adults and an Office of Inspector General (OIG) bill aimed at reducing fraud in state programs.

On MinnesotaCare…