Minnesota Lawyer

Congress is providing $11 billion to prevent a 28 percent reduction in federal highway and mass transit spending at the peak of the summer construction season.

Republican legislators and candidates have seized on the run of disappointing tax collection figures, saying it's a clear indication that the state is headed in the wrong direction.

The bill was a victim of end-of-session horse trading between majority and minority leadership as Democrats sought to garner necessary votes from House Republicans for the $846 million bonding deal.

A delay was caused by the late submission of a series of negotiating requests from Gov. Mark Dayton, who sought the inclusion of several provisions that had not yet been funded in the bill.

Rep. Lyndon Carlson, who chairs the House Ways & Means Committee, said a few provisions in the agriculture and jobs portions of the budget were the most significant hang-ups left.

A final framework deal is in place for the second major tax-cut bill this session, signaling a resolution to one of the key end-of-session bills of 2014.

Revenue officials halted tax sharing over alleged contraband cartons.

The Minnesota House and Senate conferees must reconcile vastly different bills.

The Minnesota House budget bill goes higher in out-years spending commitments than the Senate version.

The Senate Taxes Committee passed its second tax-relief package of the 2014 session, but the bill differs significantly from a House counterpart that passed last week.