Legislative leaders want a Thursday special session, and they want it done quick. Not so that members can enjoy the Memorial Day holiday, but also because leaders fear they will hear from lobbyists and activists.
Announced Sunday evening, the deal triggers a frantic week — or perhaps longer — for Minnesota lawmakers.
Each hour that passes without a deal makes it more difficult to go through the tasks needed to consider and adopt legislation in time — and increases the possibility that a special session will be necessary.
The bill sets up regulations on Pharmacy Benefit Managers, which serve as a middlemen between drug makers and insurance companies.
House DFLers and Gov. Tim Walz propose renewing funding for 4,000 volunteer preschool slots in public school districts. Senate Republicans want to use those funds for early learning scholarships instead.
In recent days, the legislation’s fee structure — especially how fees on opioid makers would sunset should the state win settlement against the companies — have emerged as the main threat to the bill.
As the federal government prepares to cut wolves from the Endangered Species Act again, the debate over wolf hunting in Minnesota is emerging anew.
DFL leaders continue to expect Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka to meet them somewhere between zero and the billions in tax increases they’ve proposed. Gazelka has refused to do that.
The approach has become so common — if so far unsuccessful — that when someone says “this shouldn’t be a partisan issue,” at the Capitol, it usually means the issue has already become just that.
Several BRT projects are currently on regional leaders’ funding wishlist, but much of what happens with those priorities will depend on what happens at the Legislature.
House DFL delayed the process for months while they wrangled votes, and it paid off: They voted together on a slate of candidates and filled three of the four seats with their selections.
$24 million isn’t a huge amount in the scheme of health care funding, but it is part of a much bigger conflict over the future of MinnesotaCare.
Special education costs a lot more than what either the state or federal government has been willing to pay for it.
The measure would put new restrictions on certain waste storage dams for future copper-nickel mines in Minnesota.
Critics say the program has disproportionately benefited business and governments — at the expense of the average energy customer.
Meeting in the middle can sometimes resolve policy differences. But it’s rarely helpful in resolving philosophical ones.
The Department of Labor and Industry estimates that 39,000 Minnesota workers aren’t fully paid what they’re owed each year, and labor and social justice advocates have waged a campaign to address the issue.
Democrats in the House may be aligned with Gov. Tim Walz’s administration on many environmental issues. But they have split with Walz on studying the karst and Pineland Sands regions.
DFLers were surprised by Republican Sen. Michelle Benson’s move to amend her own bill to include the benefit.
The DFL-controlled House and Gov. Tim Walz back budgets that include significant tax increases, while the GOP-controlled Senate has taken a no-new-taxes stance.
