Simon's endorsers include some of the most senior members of the House and Senate, as well as the chairs of several of the Legislature's most powerful committees.

The majority of survey takers favor a raised minimum wage, mandatory background checks for firearms sold at gun shows and legalizing medicinal marijuana.

The Advisory Committee on Capitol Security used its second hearing to take public testimony on whether lawmakers should enforce tougher rules on carrying firearms in the Capitol. Nearly 30 people signed up to testify on the issue, many of them supporters of current state law that allows permit holders to carry guns in the building if they notify the Public Safety Department or Capitol Security.

The Advisory Committee on Capitol Security held a hearing on Wednesday to discuss the legality of carrying guns in the Capitol. Capitol security maintains a list of 832 gun owners who have been granted permission to carry in the building.

Whether the 2013 legislative session in Minnesota was a successful one depends on which Democrat you ask. While many long-sought DFL priorities were achieved at the end of the five-month session, including gay marriage and increased spending on education, a handful of high-priority issues were ultimately shelved in 2013 in the hustle and bustle of crafting a $38 billion budget.

DFL House Speaker Paul Thissen said Wednesday that the proposal lacked the necessary support to pass this session and would not be brought to the chamber floor.

Rep. Michael Paymar, a Democrat from St. Paul who authored the “Gun Violence Prevention Act,” said he was “very disappointed and very angry” that the proposal was no longer moving toward a vote on the House floor. “I think this is the kind of thing that really makes the public cynical about politicians and about the political process,” he said.

The judiciary finance bill cleared the House on a 71-59 party line vote on Friday. The bill provides $785 million in funding for the court system in the next biennium.

After debating a bill to expand background checks to gun shows, private sales and online sales for nearly two hours Wednesday morning, the House Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee reconvened in the evening only for a moment to lay over the bill instead of taking a vote, leaving the fate of background checks hanging in limbo.

It was a rare sight in politics: A suburban DFL lawmaker stood in front of the Minnesota House chamber surrounded by nearly a dozen Republicans, a sheriff, and close at hand was a spokesman for the National Rifle Association (NRA). They were there to introduce a DFL-sponsored, NRA-backed gun bill.