One potential 800-pound gorilla in the Republican field for Minnesota governor hasn’t even officially thrown her hat in the ring yet: state Sen. Julie Rosen, the four-term lawmaker from Fairmont who was the face of 2012’s successful legislative push for a new Vikings stadium.

State Sen. Dave Thompson registered a campaign committee to run for governor on Monday. Thompson becomes the fourth GOP candidate seeking to take on DFL Gov. Mark Dayton.

When Republican members of the Legislature return to St. Paul next year and compare notes on what they did during the interim, a growing number will say they launched campaigns for Congress.

The survey conducted earlier this week by Public Policy Polling revealed 49 percent approval and 47 percent disapproval for Dayton.

The legislation, which includes a 5 percent rate increase for nursing homes next year and additional spending for mental health services in schools, passed of the chamber floor on a 39-28 vote. At the start of the debate, bill author Tony Lourey, DFL-Kerrick, said the final budget bill was considerably better than a proposal passed earlier in the year. That’s because both chambers originally faced a $150 million targeted budget cut in health and human services, but that number was scaled back to $50 million when leadership reached final budget targets with Gov. Mark Dayton.

Democrats in the House have approved an $11.2 billion health and human services budget bill that would trim $150 million from spending over the next two years while also making first-ever investments in mental health programs in schools.

The bill passed off the House floor Monday night on a 70-64 vote after more than nine hours of debate. The bill would provide a 3 percent increase to cost-of-living for nursing homes and a 2 percent increase for long-term care providers while cutting about $150 million from projected HHS spending.

The omnibus pension bill that’s beginning its path through the Legislature puts the state’s ailing pension funds for police and firefighters back on the path to solvency.

January is generally not the time of year for four-hour committee hearings at the Capitol. But Wednesday’s gathering of the House Commerce and Consumer Protection Finance and Policy Committee nearly reached that dubious mark.

A bipartisan group of legislators unveiled a bill on Wednesday to create a state-administered marketplace where individuals and corporations will be able to purchase health insurance. Minnesota must enact such legislation by the end of March in order to be in compliance with the federal Affordable Care Act, which will be fully implemented in 2014.