2 key leaders say yes but differ over path

Aside from their sudden velocity and a good amount of attention from leadership, advocates and the press, the two proposals shared little in common at the start of the session’s last week.

Rep. Lyndon Carlson, who chairs the House Ways & Means Committee, said a few provisions in the agriculture and jobs portions of the budget were the most significant hang-ups left.

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."

The Select Committee on Disparities and Opportunities will be co-chaired by Sen. Jeff Hayden, DFL-Minneapolis, and Bobby Joe Champion, DFL-Minneapolis.

Discussions about the repeal of new taxes, a bonding bill and a proposed increase to the state minimum wage seem destined to take center stage this spring.

1.) The state health insurance exchange has about one month to present a 2015 budget to the Legislature, but probably won’t know its full financial ...

All eyes in the political scene have turned to the state health insurance exchange, it seems, and most are casting either a skeptical glance or a withering glare in the direction of MNsure. Earlier this week, the exchange began its own “end-to-end” review of its work process, while simultaneously holding a first meeting with Office of theLegislative Auditor (OLA) head Jim Nobles.

Dayton said he had been speaking with the MNsure board on an increasingly frequent basis in recent months.

In a statement issued to Politics in Minnesota on Thursday afternoon, Fairview argued that it still felt that it qualified for the exemption.