Office of the State Auditor Recaps Legislative Testimony - March 18, 2025

Saint Paul, Minn. - Auditor Blaha and the Office of the State Auditor (OSA) have been actively engaged in the 2025 Minnesota Legislative session, testifying at committee hearings in support of legislation that’ll benefit Minnesota's local governments and public finance sectors.

Upcoming Testimony on March 18:

• House State and Local Government: Auditor Blaha will testify in support of reducing the fifth year of college required for accounting students to take the CPA exam, addressing the public finance workforce shortage. She has already testified on this topic at the Senate State and Local Government Committee hearing on March 14.
• Legislative Committee on Pensions and Retirement: Auditor Blaha will testify with Pension Director Rose Hennessy-Allen in support of changes to standardize reporting deadlines for relief associations. Additionally, they’ll support removing the minimum retirement age for plan members, allowing earlier distributions and local control over retirement age.

Recent Testimony:

• Audit Threshold: On Feb. 27, Auditor Blaha testified in support of raising the audit threshold for cities with combined clerk and treasurer offices, easing burdens on local governments.
• Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Report: On Feb. 6, TIF Division Director Jason Nord presented the Annual TIF Legislative Report, highlighting the positive trend of TIF districts decertifying earlier, returning value to the tax base sooner.

As the legislative session continues, Auditor Blaha remains available for interviews and testimony on issues aligned with the OSA's mission of ensuring government accountability and local government support. For more information or to schedule an interview, contact Director of Communications Nadine Kottom-Dale at nadine.kottom-dale@osa.state.mn.us.