Rep. Torkelson: Fraud, Anti-Gun Bills Stall, School Safety Bills Move Forward
ST. PAUL – Week 2 of the 2026 legislative session found numerous headline-grabbing bills debated in the Minnesota House, which remains in a statistical tie with 67 Republicans and 67 Democrats.
The first, which would establish an independent Office of Inspector General (OIG). In order to help stop fraud in Minnesota, the legislation would establish the OIG and it would be given real investigative powers and enforcement authority, and would not be subject to any direction given or intervention made by the Governor’s Office. The bill cannot move forward due to full opposition by House Democrats, according to State Representative Paul Torkelson (R-Hanska).
“This proposal had overwhelmingly bipartisan support in the Senate last year, yet House Democrats stopped in from moving forward,” Torkelson said. “What would make OIG most effective is its independence from the administration, but House Democrats continue to try and make it more dependent on assistance from the Governor’s Office. This doesn’t make much sense since the current administration has allowed at least $9 billion to be stolen by swindlers without doing much of anything about it.”
Attacks on the 2nd Amendment are also on the agenda. A pair of House Democrats brought forward a bill that bans the sale, transfer, and possession of almost all semi-automatic rifles in Minnesota. The second limits magazine capacity for firearms to 10 rounds.
If these bills were to become law, they would force residents to surrender their firearms to law enforcement, destroy them, move them out of state, or become felons overnight, because a law-abiding citizen could face a five-year prison sentence by not complying.
By comparison, a person convicted of domestic assault may face as little as 90 days in jail.
“At the end of the day, much of what is being proposed when it comes to the banning of guns and magazines does not have enough support to move forward in the legislature,” Torkelson said.
Torkelson said there is support for keeping schools safe. Several bills were brought forward in the House Education Finance Committee recently that would provide funds for all schools to put security measures in place for their buildings.
“Both public and private schools should have the resources they need to keep their students and staff safe,” Torkelson said. “There is strong bipartisan interest to create safer school environments because that is important to everyone.”