Legislators' immunity and MNsure's fate
Good morning. New State-of-the-State date is April 8.
Budget clash coming, Pat Condon and Ricardo Lopez report:
Minnesota's $1.9 billion projected budget surplus should be spent mostly on programs that benefit kids and families, Gov. Mark Dayton said Tuesday, setting up a clash with Republican lawmakers who want to return most of it to taxpayers.
Neither Dayton nor Lt. Gov. Tina Smith have any public events today.
Big day of committee hearings as we near first house deadline. For insiders, all eyes on House Gov. Ops at 10:15, where Speaker Daudt will press for a Legislative Budget Office to give the Legislature its own independent budget arm, like Congress has in D.C. (Where things were working really great, last time I checked.) Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk also favors. Dayton opposes.
Also at 10:15, in House Public Safety, Rep. Winkler's bill to clarify that legislators caught with a DWI during session can still be arrested and prosecuted, which caused a bit of a kerfuffle last year. Columnist Jon Tevlin wrote about this last year. RSB columnizes this year.
MNsure as a state agency instead of independent, in Senate Commerce at 2. In Senate Jobs, Ag and Rural Development, they'll hear a Sen. David Tomassoni bill: "Correctional facility butcher training pilot program establishment." (!)
Big agendas for both House Commerce and HHS Reform at 2:45.
House in session at 12:15.
Brandon Stahl on major reform of Minnesota law signed by Dayton allowing child protection workers to review previous child abuse reports when considering how to respond to a new one. We were perhaps the only state in the country that had that asinine provision. New law arose out of Stahl's reporting on tragic cases.
Mike Kaszuba on the Summit Academy Vikings Stadium bust.
Whoa there! After federal approval, Minn. lawmaker moves for moratorium on powdered alcohol, Abby Simons reports.
Big business, big labor spent big money to lobby the Legislature last year.
MinnPost on all the estate tax cutting proposals.
Washington and beyond
Netanyahu looks like he'll have another term in Israel. Overnight the victory began to look more crushing.
Times on the continued thorny relationship between Bibi and Obama going forward.
Times on Jeb the WASP's Catholic conversion.
Rep. Aaron Schock resigns. Washington all hot and bothered and aTwitter. Zero actual ramifications on the country.
Sex trafficking bill, high profile priority of Sen. Amy Klobuchar, made Jon Stewart last night as embodiment of Washington dysfunction; now in serious trouble. Allison Sherry has the latest.
Walker digital strategist has opinions on Twitter. About Iowa. Forced to quit.
