Several freshman Republican legislators over the weekend introduced bills that would keep certain services running in the event of a full-fledged government shutdown.

In previous legislative sessions, proposals to expand gambling have attracted more support from Republicans than DFLers. Given Minnesota's $5 billion state budget deficit and the new Republican majorities in the House and Senate, gambling proposals would seem to stand a much-improved chance of landing on the governor's desk as part of a budget agreement.

More than a dozen bills aimed at increasing the transparency and accountability of the state's health maintenance organizations have been introduced since the start of the legislative session. The proposals boast prominent backers from both parties, including House Taxes Committee Chairman Greg Davids and Sen. John Marty, the ranking minority member of the Senate Taxes Committee.

Sen. Sean Nienow has introduced multiple bills aimed at bolstering the transparency and accountability of the state's managed care health plans. One such proposal would mandate competitive bidding for managed care programs, with funding awarded to the top two proposals. In addition, the bill requires regular audits of the state's health maintenance organizations, which currently receive roughly $3 billion annually, by the Office of the Legislative Auditor.