Minnesota lawmakers sought deep COVID audit; they won’t get it Under the bill, testing, vaccination, public outreach, contracting and predictive modeling are all areas that lawmakers who made the request want under the microscope. 12:23 pm, Jul. 13, 2021 × Legislative Auditor Jim Nobles said it will be difficult to fulfill a request from state lawmakers for a study on Minnesota's COVID-19 response. Forum News Service file photo ST. PAUL -- Minnesota’s independent legislative auditor has no plans to satisfy a request by lawmakers to carry out a comprehensive study of the state’s COVID-19 response. Legislative Auditor Jim Nobles said the scope of the request — included in the new state budget — combined with other projects his office is undertaking make it difficult to do the extensive review.