The Minnesota House approved the measure by a vote of 126-5, with bipartisan backing from Republicans and Democrats. The legislation now heads to the state Senate and is expected to be signed by Governor Tim Walz, who has publicly indicated support for the proposal.

Under the legislation, the Office of the Inspector General, or OIG, would begin operating immediately, with broader enforcement authority scheduled to phase in by 2028. Lawmakers backing the bill said the agency would investigate corruption and misuse of public funds across state programs.

Republican state Representative Kristin Robbins, who chairs the Minnesota House Fraud Prevention and State Oversight Committee, said the new office would strengthen ongoing investigations into alleged fraud schemes linked to state-administered welfare and pandemic relief programs.

The legislation comes amid heightened political and legal scrutiny of fraud cases involving organizations connected to Minnesota’s Somali-American community, the largest Somali diaspora population in the United States.

Federal prosecutors and U.S. President Donald Trump have alleged that more than $9 billion may have been improperly obtained through social service fraud schemes in Minnesota involving federal and state welfare funding distributed since 2018.

One of the most prominent cases centers on the now-defunct nonprofit Feeding Our Future, which administered federally funded meal reimbursement programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prosecutors said defendants created shell companies and fictitious meal distribution sites, submitting falsified meal counts to the Minnesota Department of Education to secure inflated reimbursements.

Former Feeding Our Future executive director Aimee Bock was found guilty of wire fraud and bribery charges, according to court proceedings cited by lawmakers.Authorities have charged 79 individuals, most of them Somali Americans, in connection with schemes allegedly involving more than $250 million in fraudulent grant claims tied to child nutrition and welfare programs.

Robbins’ committee recently subpoenaed Democratic U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar to testify regarding allegations that she assisted entities accused of abusing federal and state funds. Omar has not complied with the subpoena, according to committee officials.

The investigations have intensified debate in Minnesota over oversight of pandemic-era aid programs and the effectiveness of state controls governing the distribution of federal welfare funding.