The Senate Health and Human Services Committee voted 7-3, across party lines, to move the languishing proposal forward. It has so far passed one committee in the House. Sen. Scott Dibble, the measure's chief Senate sponsor, called the proposal a "responsible bill."

A new coalition of advocates for the elderly and disabled in Minnesota is planning an aggressive campaign to persuade legislators to pass a 5 percent increase in their budget next session, which would cost the state an additional $86 million in the current budgeting period.

**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.

There’s an old adage at the Capitol that first-term legislators should be seen and not heard. St. Paul can take some getting used to, the thinking goes, and most issues debated at the Legislature are so complex that newcomers would do well to sit back quietly and learn.

Legislation that would give day care workers and personal care assistants a path to unionization passed out of the Senate Health and Human Services Policy Committee on Monday after lengthy testimony and numerous amendments.

During the fall campaign season, the Republican Party of Minnesota sent out mailings in Senate District 4 accusing Kent Eken of voting to raise the “granny tax.”

Myron Frans has been making the pitch for about two years now. The Minneapolis tax attorney turned revenue commissioner started his tenure in Gov. Mark Dayton’s administration out on the road, carrying with him a pair of stools to demonstrate the need for comprehensive changes to the state’s tax code.

Of the 38 seats won by DFLers in reclaiming control of the Minnesota Senate on Nov. 6, no fewer than 14 will be filled by members who were not part of the caucus in 2011-12. But in several cases, the newcomers will hardly be strangers.

GOP-aligned independent groups have rushed to fill the campaign spending gap that Republicans face in their battle for continued control of the Minnesota Legislature.

The campaign finance reports released last week show that political action committees large and small have been funneling lots of money into legislative races.