House Republicans are proposing reforms to the state’s information technology agency–MN-IT (minute). It’s a response, in part, to recent troubles at the Minnesota Licensing and Registration System or MN-LARS. Representative Jim Nash says moving forward “we need to make sure that we’re spending money wisely on a good piece of software so that the people of Minnesota can interact with it and not have a problem not have to come back for additional funds that go beyond the original scope.”That’s in reference to Governor Dayton’s recent request for $10 million to fix MN-LARS. Democratic Representative Rick Hansen argues the Republican plan simply “doesn’t deal with the urgency of the problem that is here today, the urgency that’ll be here tomorrow, the urgency that has been there for the last week.”Nash’s bill would require MN-IT to seek quotes from third-party vendors to create new software, before creating new software themselves. Senate Republicans also introduced a measure today that would restructure MN-IT. That proposal, if passed, would be effective July 1st, 2018 and would permit MN-IT to continue working on any projects under a contractual agreement. For future projects, state agencies would have the option to choose MN-IT or an external resource.