During a Minnesota House of Representatives floor session May 17, one lawmaker described what county workers have been dealing with for years — systems that slow down even the most basic tasks. Rep. Paul Torkelson, R-15B, compared the technology still in use to something from the early days of computing — specifically, a 1970s video game.
“Those of you that are old enough, you might remember the game Pong, the green screen, where the little ball goes back and forth,” Torkelson said. “Well, that’s exactly the sort of technology that our counties are using today.”
He went on to describe systems that caused workers to re-enter the same information multiple times, and navigate slow, repetitive processes that added time to already complex cases. “This is ridiculous. It’s been ridiculous for quite some time,” Torkelson said bluntly during the hearing.
Their predicament, Torkelson said, was not accidental, and lawmakers played a role in it. Over the years, he said, they have repeatedly updated programs and handed them off to agencies, asking them to “incorporate this” and “incorporate that” into systems that were already outdated.
Each change required time and money, and those resources were often “gobbled up,” leaving agencies stuck maintaining old technology. The result, he said, was years of “putting Band-Aids on these old systems instead of doing the modernization that’s necessary.”
Now, there’s a bill, SF 334, that might begin to turn things around, said Torkelson — who was described during the House floor meeting as its author. The bill cleared the state House and Senate this week and is headed to the governor’s desk for a signature.
SF 334 doesn’t promise an immediate transformation or try to hide the complexity of what comes next. What it would do is lay out a path forward built on coordination, oversight and foundational change over time.
Despite the bill’s momentum thus far, Torkelson acknowledged the work it would begin won’t be a quick fix. One of the biggest challenges, he said, is that the system can’t simply be turned off and replaced; rather, “the old ship has to keep on sailing,” since people rely on these services every day.
Instead of starting from scratch, officials plan to layer new technology on top of the old system — what he described as an “integration layer” that puts a more modern face on outdated software. It won’t be a full fix, he said, but it should be an improvement and provide some relief to counties while larger upgrades are underway.
The bill would devise a plan for change, but would also empower “spending $90 million or so in technology modernization,” and create a new fund, providing what the legislation calls “a funding source for multiyear modernization of human services systems.”
“Money, honestly, is a big part of the cure,” Torkelson said.
The bill would direct funding toward large-scale modernization projects — those that replace, integrate or substantially enhance legacy systems. Those improvements could range from behind-the-scenes infrastructure to tools with which workers and residents will interact directly.
It would allow for system integration, automation and data-sharing improvements, and more visible changes such as digital forms, online portals and better case management tools. At the same time, it would explicitly target the kinds of outdated processes lawmakers described — reducing reliance on manual workarounds, paper-based processes and character-based screens.
But before any money from the fund is officially set aside or committed to a project, state agencies must consult with the advisory council and complete the review process. That’s what makes this bill different, lawmakers suggested. It doesn’t just fund upgrades — it creates a structure for how those upgrades are planned, funded and evaluated.
