The House passed a health and human services finance bill that reduces anticipated spending by $50 million on a 73-61 party line vote on Friday night. The legislation, which includes a 5 percent rate increase for nursing homes, is now headed to the Senate.

On Thursday afternoon the Minnesota House passed its long-watched bill to legalize same-sex marriage by a 75-59 vote that followed roughly three hours of floor debate.

On Thursday night the Minnesota House of Representatives gave final passage to the bill establishing a state-run health-insurance marketplace, leaving the long-disputed measure just a Senate vote away from reaching the governor’s desk.

During the last two years, organized labor has largely sought to preserve the status quo at the Capitol. Republican legislative leaders repeatedly pushed proposals that were vehemently opposed by unions, most notably “right to work” legislation that would have prohibited requiring individuals to pay union dues as a condition of employment.

In Senate District 24, which includes the southern Minnesota regional centers of Owatonna and Faribault, one candidate is warning about the harmful effects of state spending cuts while the other is throwing cold water on Gov. Mark Dayton’s desired income tax increase on the wealthiest earners.

On Tuesday afternoon, officials from the United Food and Commercial Workers union met at the DFL headquarters in St. Paul with Senate Minority Leader Tom Bakk and House Minority Leader Paul Thissen.

After a veto by Gov. Mark Dayton last week, the House has passed a smaller version of its omnibus tax bill on a mostly party-line vote.

For former DFL Sen. Jim Carlson, it was a matter of a little reflection and time to “lick my wounds” before he knew he was ready to run again for the state Senate. Carlson, who served one term in the chamber, was ousted last fall by Republican newcomer Ted Daley as part of a massive GOP wave that saw the party take control of both the House and Senate for the first time in nearly four decades.

While the governor's race may be the marquee feature in this year's campaign season, the large number of swing districts in play at the Minnesota Legislature are the object of lower-profile but no less intense campaign spending machinations by a number of groups.

Two weeks before Minnesota's political contribution refund (PCR) program expired, Rep. Julie Bunn, DFL-Lake Elmo, and about nine volunteers unleashed a full-tilt fundraising drive.