The conventional wisdom from the start was that Session 2012 would be a short one. A healthy budget surplus plus newly redrawn legislative districts meant less work to be done at the Capitol and more to be done back home, where some lawmakers will face intra-party endorsement challenges and others have to get to know a daunting amount of new territory.

Three months have passed since the resignation of Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch and the firing of key Senate staffer Michael Brodkorb. But the episode has once again gripped the Capitol during the past week as Brodkorb’s attorneys and Senate officials traded public accusations.

Attorneys for Michael Brodkorb are threatening to expose other extra-marital affairs between senators and staff members in an effort to prove that Brodkorb was discriminated against when he was fired in December for having an intimate relationship with former Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch.

Secretary of the Senate Cal Ludeman this afternoon used strong words to deny that former Senate Communications Director Michael Brokorb's wrongful termination case has merit.

Nearly two months after a December whirlwind that saw Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch and her entire leadership team resign, the chamber’s Republican majority has moved into the 2012 session and put the upheaval in its rear-view mirror. Almost.

"I'm going to let this lie," Minority Leader Tom Bakk declared in renewing criticism from budget cuts passed the first day of session.

Geoff Michel’s short but memorable reign as acting Senate majority leader came to an end last Tuesday when the chamber’s GOP caucus elected a new chief, Dave Senjem, along with a whole new slate of assistant majority leaders. And though his tenure was only 12 days long, the episode has apparently left Michel among the figures most damaged by the upheaval surrounding the resignation of former Majority Leader Amy Koch.

Republican Rep. Steve Drazkowski and others say they have accepted the $34 billion number. But in their eyes, this means that they have already “compromised” on the budget — even if it’s only with other Republicans.

Sen. Kathy Sheran and Rep. Terry Morrow say former Human Services Commissioner and now secretary of the Senate, Cal Ludeman, withheld critical information from the Legislature when he edited a report on sex offender treatment.

Cal Ludeman, a former Gov. Tim Pawlenty appointee and current Secretary of the Senate, heavily edited a report to the Legislature on the state's sex-offender program, according to a report published Tuesday in the Star Tribune.