From where Gary Carlson sits, the 2013 legislative session proved to be more beneficial to the city governments for which he lobbies than he dared hope when the session began five months ago.

A proposed constitutional amendment that would give an independent panel the authority to set salaries for House and Senate members passed the Senate on Monday morning by a 43-23 vote margin. The amendment is expected to be on the ballot in 2016.

On the afternoon that the House cast its historic vote in favor of gay marriage — completely monopolizing attention at the Capitol — the Senate quietly debated a bill overhauling the state’s campaign finance rules. Most notably, the bill would significantly increase caps on spending and contributions for political campaigns.

The Senate passed legislation increasing campaign spending and contribution limits. The House is yet to take up companion legislation on the floor by a 36-28 vote on Thursday.

The bills, sponsored by Sen. Ann Rest and Rep. Ryan Winkler, increase state limits on the contributions that candidates can receive and the amount of money they can spend.

Missing from our debates over who should have access to guns and over how much government should tax and spend are answers to the fundamental question: What is our government for?

Campaign finance legislation that’s proposing to increase fundraising limits for candidates has passed to the House and Senate floors. The House and Senate bills allow spending and contribution increases to give candidates a chance to compete with big-spending outside groups.

A proposal to pay for the next installment of the Capitol restoration project with $30 million included in the omnibus tax bill could put the project on hold.

The Minnesota Legislature may yet extend a program that loosened property tax rules to stimulate construction and development — though the legislation in its present form does not require reporting on how many jobs are created.

**UPDATED** In an embarrassing misstep, the Senate’s omnibus tax bill was initially defeated on a 34-32 vote on Monday. Seven DFLers joined all but one GOP legislator in voting against the bill, which raises $1.9 billion in additional revenue.