Last week, the House Human Services Finance and Policy Committee, heard about HF4675 to establish a steering committee that would provide recommendations on current human services IT systems and the development of new ones…

Counties have long lamented outdated “Oregon Trail”-era IT systems used to enroll Minnesotans in Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Women Infants and Children, and other public assistance programs. Soon, President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” will introduce increased complexity to these systems and legislators have said the status quo can’t accommodate that.

In addition to remedies proposed by Gov. Tim Walz and other legislators throughout the session, Rep. Danny Nadeau (R-Rogers) has a proposal to kickstart upgrades and modernizations.

He sponsors HF4675 to establish a steering committee that would provide recommendations on current human services IT systems and the development of new ones. The bill would also appropriate an undetermined amount of money in Fiscal Year 2027 to update county IT systems.

The committee laid the bill over.

Counties currently use two systems to process claims: MAXIS, launched in 1989, and METS, established in 2014.

Testifiers said both systems have issues.