The bill, which divvies out dollars for arts and conservation via a constitutionally dedicated sales tax increase, was derailed in the final minutes of the 2011 session by Democrats, who ran out the clock debating issues with the proposal ranging from rural verses metro funding to open meeting laws.

Moderate legislators are hard to come by these days. By most accounts, last fall’s election saw voters oust most of the middle-of-the-road DFLers in the Minnesota House and replace them with a spate of freshman Republicans elected on a strong right-wing wave that swept the nation.

To the surprise of many, time ran out on the Legislature before votes were taken on several prominent bills unrelated to Minnesota’s general fund budget battle. While some bills passed the Legislature in the last three days of session, a raft of legislation now sits in limbo, including the Legacy funding bill and pension reform.

Around 4 o’clock last Saturday afternoon, the central drama of Session 2011’s closing days finally reared its head on the House floor. Shortly before the chamber recessed for dinner, GOP Rep. Mary Liz Holberg stood to announce the addition of a controversial constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage to the calendar for that evening’s proceedings.

The House and Senate are stuck in a rut over all-terrain vehicle (ATV) legislation in the Game and Fish bill.

While environmental spending is a relatively small portion of Minnesota’s general fund budget, the environment and natural resources funding bill appears likely to remain in play for as long as this year’s budget battle lasts.

Republican lawmakers are wrangling on several fronts as they move Legacy funding bills to the floor. The Legacy amendment, which was approved by Minnesota voters in 2008, provides roughly $550 million in dedicated sales tax dollars for arts and culture, parks and trails, water cleanup and habitat acquisition.

Just weeks after the party swept both chambers in last fall's historic election, then-House Speaker-elect Kurt Zellers and soon-to-be Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch took the podium at a press conference to announce the first-ever full slate of Republican committee chairs. Only one legislator - Rep. Mary Liz Holberg, the incoming chairwoman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee - joined the two leaders in front of the press to speak.

A priority for local governments and House Environment Chairman Denny McNamara regarding Legacy funding for habitat conservation is getting tossed around in a legislative tempest.

By law, the $540 million in anticipated 2012-13 proceeds from Minnesota's so-called Legacy Amendment, passed in 2008, are dedicated to specific environmental and cultural purposes. But it's been clear since the start of the 2011 session that legislators would seek to dragoon some of those dollars into helping to solve the state's $5 billion budget deficit.