Inside the Minnesota Capitol

Growing List of Candidates for Minnesota's Sixth Congressional District

Christine M. Zimmer — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:46:18 -0600

When Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-MN 6th) announced she would not run for re-election and DFL challenger Jim Graves dropped out of the race, (see post dated May 31, 2013), potential candidates started lining up as they considered their prospects for the Sixth District open seat. The seat leans 57 percent GOP and has portions of multiple counties including Benton, Stearns, Wright, Sherburne and Anoka. It surrounds the St. Croix River Valley, northern suburbs, St. Cloud and extends south to Carver County.

Former State Representative Tom Emmer (R-Delano) has announced his candidacy. Emmer ran for Governor and narrowly lost to current Governor Mark Dayton (DFL-MN) in 2010. Emmer is a conservative with good street cred for the Sixth District. Emmer has hosted a morning radio talk show and likely has the highest name I.D. of the potential candidates. He is a favorite to win the GOP endorsement but will be challenged by others. He has agreed to abide by the GOP endorsement.

Anoka County Board of Commissioners Chair Rhonda Sivarajah has also announced that she will run for the seat. Sivarajah has been very active in the district serving on the Anoka Board since 2003 and chair since 2011. She is a strong fiscal conservative with Bachmann-like ideals but a lower profile. She will seek the endorsement but did not commit to abide by the decision.

Also jumping into the race is current State Senator John Pederson (R-St. Cloud). Pederson is a two term Senator from St. Cloud who touts his open door policy and his willingness to listen before casting a vote as strengths for the district. Environmental activist Judy Adams from Circle Pines is the only DFL announced candidate at this time.

First Congressional District Race Sparking Interest

Minnesota’s First Congressional District is currently represented by fourth term incumbent Democrat Tim Walz. The district includes the state's southern end, running along the entire border with Iowa and includes Rochester, Austin, Winona and Mankato.

State Representative Mike Benson (R-Rochester) announced his candidacy for the seat this week. Benson, a two-term State Representative and Associate Professor of Business at Crossroads College, is an outspoken critic of government spending and mandates. Benson will seek, but did not commit to abiding by the Republican endorsement.

Former State Senator Al DeKruif (R-Madison Lake) has also expressed interest in running but has not officially announced his candidacy. A strong candidate with good family name I.D., State Senator Jeremy Miller (R-Winona), has decided not to run citing his young family and increased responsibilities with his family business.

Minnesota’s U.S. Senate Seat Gains Attention

U.S. Senator Al Franken (D-MN) has high approval ratings after his narrow victory in 2008. He is a favorite to win re-election in 2014, has $2 million in the bank, and formidable fundraising potential due to his Hollywood connections. Franken has managed to avoid controversy and keep himself above the fray in DC. Thus far, two GOP candidates have announced their intention to challenge him for the seat.

Long time State Representative and former Chair of the Health and Human Services Committee Jim Abeler (R-Anoka) announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate this week. Abeler is serving his eighth term in the Minnesota House representing the Anoka area. He is a chiropractor with a libertarian bent and strong commitment to personal and religious freedom, smaller government and personal privacy. In his statement to supporters via email he said, “The personal and religious freedoms that were intended for us by our Founding Fathers are being steadily eroded. Government spending is out of control and unsustainable. Massive debt to foreign countries threatens our sovereignty. Our children and grandchildren are born into a future as indentured debtors of our country's careless spending. When we are dependent on the government, we are absolutely not free."

Also vying for the seat is businessman Mike McFadden. He is a successful finance and asset management executive from Sunfish Lake. McFadden is a political newcomer. He has said he will seek the GOP endorsement but did not rule out a primary run.

Four term State Senator Julianne Ortman (R-Chanhassen) is another potential candidate for the seat. The former Senate Tax Chair is a strong conservative and her name keeps popping up amongst Republican political operatives.

Minnesota State Revenue Collections Are Up

Thomas J. Hanson — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 09:45:58 -0600

Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) reported on Monday, June 10th that revenue collections in Minnesota totaled $1.4 billion in May. This represents a $25.8 million increase over what was projected to be collected for the month in the February Economic Forecast. Through the first five months of 2013, Minnesota’s revenue collections are running $324 million ahead of what has been projected.

The K-12 Omnibus Finance Bill which was signed into law by Governor Mark Dayton on May 22, 2013 requires that any surplus as of June 30, 2013 be used to repay the school aid payment shifts. It is likely that June revenue collections, which will be reported on July 10, will show another revenue increase. Because of this repayment of the shift, the $324 million plus what is collected in June will not be available to spend in the 2014 Supplemental Budget.

Minnesota Legislature Passes Campaign Finance and Election Law Changes

John A. Knapp — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 12:21:59 -0600

The 2013 Minnesota Legislative Session saw the passage of significant campaign finance and election law legislation. Governor Dayton indicated at the beginning of this session that, despite the DFL majorities in both the Minnesota House and Senate, he expected any legislation presented to him to have bipartisan support. In the end, both the Campaign Finance Policy and Technical Bill (Chapter 138) and the Omnibus Elections Bill (Chapter 131) received bipartisan backing and were signed into law.

Campaign Finance Policy and Technical Bill (Chapter 138)
Chapter 138, the Campaign Finance Policy and Technical Bill, began as the recommendations of the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board ("Board") (SF 661/HF 863). The new law includes some provisions that were not part of the Board's original proposal; other provisions that had been sought by the Board were dropped from the final version. As ultimately adopted, the law contains changes to candidate contribution and spending limits, the gifts to public officials law, and changes to requirements for independent expenditures.

Contribution and Spending Limits
Candidates who have signed a public subsidy agreement will now be subject to new higher spending limits. The new spending limits apply over two-year segments, with a segment beginning on January 1 of each odd-numbered year. If there is a general election in the second year of the segment, the segment is called an "election year segment." If there is not a general election in the second year of the segment, the segment is called a "non-election year segment." The overall effect of these changes is to increase both the amount of money the candidate accepting public subsidy can spend, as well as the amount of money that can be contributed to the candidates.

For example, the limit on contributions to legislative candidates has increased to $1,000 during either a two-year election or non-election segment. The spending limit for a candidate for State Senate who has signed a public subsidy agreement is increased to $30,000 for the two-year non-election segment and to $90,000 for the two-year election segment. The spending limit for House candidates is increased to $60,000 for the two-year election segment.

In total, the aggregate expenditure limits for candidates receiving public subsidies are substantially increased. For Governor and Lieutenant Governor, running together, the spending limit has increased from $2,577,200 over the four-year cycle to $5,000,000. For Attorney General, the spending limit has increased from $429,600 over the four-year cycle to $800,000. The increase is partially justified by the cost-of-living increases that have diminished the effect of the spending limits since they were previously set. The higher spending limits are also intended to reduce the impact of independent expenditure groups, which are not subject to spending or contribution limits. It is also thought that the higher limits will encourage candidates to take public subsidies and abide by the limits. The new spending and contribution limits became effective on May 25, 2013.

For a detailed summary of the new contribution and spending limits, which will be in effect for the 2014 elections, visit the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board website at www.cfboard.state.mn.us for a copy of the Board publication "2013-2014 Election Cycle Segment Contribution and Campaign Expenditure Limits."

Corporate Political Expenditures
The Board's authority to investigate alleged violations of the prohibition on corporate political expenditures in Minn. Stat. Sec. 211B.15 is expanded. Under prior law, these issues, as well as issues dealing with campaign literature disclaimers in 211B.04 and legal expenditures in 211B.12, are under the jurisdiction of the Office of Administrative Hearings and ultimately the applicable County Attorney. In addition, the Board has now been granted the authority to issue advisory opinions over these three sections of law.

In addition, several changes, not contained in the original Board proposals, were made to the penalty provisions for inadvertent violations of the prohibition on corporate political contributions. Under prior law, violations of Minnesota Statute 211B.15 were severe, even for unknowing or inadvertent violations. Under the revised law, violations are required to be knowing (Sections 51, 52 and 53) before they will be considered criminal.

Gifts to Public Officials
An amendment offered on the Senate floor created an exception to the prohibition on gifts to public officials. Under the new exception in the law (Section 18), food or beverage given by a lobbyist or lobbyist principal at a reception, meal or meeting is permissible if the recipient is a member or employee of the Legislature and an invitation to attend the reception, meal or meeting was provided to all members of the Legislature at least five days prior to the date of the event. Proponents of the amendment argued that it would increase the collegiality among members of the Legislature while opponents argued that it was a glaring loophole in the otherwise settled gift law that would be subject to abuse. This new exception became effective on May 25, 2013.

Board Recommendations Not Passed
The provisions of the original Board proposed-bill that drew the most controversy were not ultimately adopted.

First, a new definition of "express advocacy," which moved beyond the "magic words" test, was dropped from the bill. Under the "magic words" test, an expenditure must use election-related language such as "vote for," "vote against," "elect" or "defeat" in order to be considered a campaign expenditure. Under the proposed additional test, language subject to no other interpretation but that it was intended to influence an election would also be considered "express advocacy" and therefore subject to campaign expenditure registration and reporting requirements. The "magic words" test was retained in the new law but the subjective standard was deleted.

Second, the bill would have imposed new reporting requirements for electioneering communications. Electioneering communications would be most paid advertising containing the name of a candidate appearing 60 days before a general election or 30 days before a primary election. Parties engaged in electioneering communications would be required to file a report with the Board regarding such expenditures. There was some criticism that the new provision was unnecessary and burdensome, and it was also dropped from the final bill.

Finally, the Board proposed changing the method for allocating and reporting contributions to independent expenditure committees. When independent expenditure reporting was first required in 2010, three methods were provided for identifying donors. The Board proposed eliminating two of those methods so that proration would be the only acceptable method of attributing general treasury money to independent expenditures. The provision was dropped and the three existing methods for attribution of independent expenditures are retained.

Omnibus Elections Bill (Chapter 131)
One of the key changes made in the Omnibus Election Bill passed this session relates to absentee voting. Under the new law, absentee voting will be permitted for any eligible voter, regardless of the voter's reason for requesting an absentee ballot. Under prior law, voters were required to claim one of several specified excuses for absentee voting. The new law allows the voter to claim permanent absentee voter status, which would result in an absentee ballot application being mailed to the voter before each election.

In early versions, both the House and Senate bills allowed "early voting," meaning that voters could cast their ballots up to 15 days before an election. This provision garnered bi-cameral Republican opposition and was dropped from the bill before passage. Early versions of the bill would also have moved the State's Primary Election from August to June. There was bi-partisan opposition to this provision and it was not included in the bill.

Various technical changes are made to the election administration system in Article 2 of the bill, including changes as a result of the 2010 redistricting. Article 3 of the bill relates to the recommendations of the Task Force on Election Integrity, and the loss and restoration of voting rights for criminals. The Commissioner of Corrections is required to provide electronic data to the Secretary of State regarding individuals on probation for a felony offense that would result in the loss of the right to vote. Law enforcement agencies are required to promptly investigate alleged violation of the laws governing voter registration.

Political Contribution Refund Program Reinstated
In the 2010 special legislative session, the Legislature first suspended the State's political contribution refund (PCR) program for contributions made between July 1, 2009, and July 1, 2011. In the 2011 special legislative session, that suspension of the PCR program was extended to July 1, 2013. Because the 2013 Legislature did not act to extend the suspension of the PCR, it is reinstated effective July 1, 2013. The program is open only for contributions to candidates who have signed a public subsidy agreement and will be available for contributions received on or after July 1, 2013. The amount of the refund is $50 per person, per calendar year or $100 for a married couple filing a joint return.

Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board Budget (Chapter 142)
The Legislature increased the Board's annual budget from $689,000 per year to $1,000,000 per year in the State Government Finance Bill.

2014 Election Contests Begin to Shape Up

John A. Knapp — Fri, 31 May 2013 15:52:14 -0600

There were two surprise election developments this week, both involving the Sixth Congressional District. In an announcement released on YouTube at 3 a.m. on Tuesday of this week, Congresswoman Michele Bachman announced she will not run for reelection in the Sixth Congressional District. Bachman has represented the district for eight years. She has not ruled out a run for other political office stating that serving eight years for a specific Congressional district is long enough. The announcement took many by surprise in that Bachman had begun running reelection television spots as recently as last week.

Bachman has been the darling of the Tea Party with a brand of fiery conservatism and ability to charm crowds despite her outspoken and often controversial commentary. She started in the Minnesota State Senate, challenging a Republican incumbent in 2000. She ran for the Sixth District Congressional seat in 2006 beating well-known but political neophyte Patty Wetterling. In June, 2011 Bachman announced a run for President but dropped out by January, 2012. She won reelection to her seat in 2012 by a very narrow margin defeating DFL Jim Graves who had announced his candidacy for the seat in 2014 over a month ago.

However, in another surprise announcement, Graves today announced that he is suspending his campaign for the Sixth District seat, apparently feeling that other potential Republican candidates will be harder to beat than Bachman.

Many GOP names have popped up this week for the conservative district’s open seat. Some potential Republican candidates are: former gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer, Big Lake state Senator Mary Kiffmeyer, President of the Minnesota Taxpayers League Phil Krinkie, state Senator Michelle Fischbach from Paynesville, state Senator Michelle Benson from Ham Lake, former Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch, state House members Peggy Scott and Tim Sanders, St. Cloud Mayor David Kleis and others.

Senator Al Franken will also be on the ballot in 2014 and a Republican businessman came forward this week to challenge him. Sunfish Lake resident Mike McFadden is the Co-CEO of Lazard Middle Market, an investment firm, and a political newcomer.

Meanwhile, Wayzata entrepreneur Scott Honour and Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson are the announced Republican candidates for Governor against Mark Dayton who has said he will be seeking reelection in 2014. Other potential Republican candidates include state Senators Dave Thompson, David Hann and Julie Rosen as well as former House Speaker Kurt Zellers and Hennepin County Sheriff Rick Stanek.

Former Republican Senator Norm Coleman has announced that he will not be a candidate for Governor or Senator as have Republican Congressmen Erik Paulsen and John Kline.

In the Seventh Congressional District, twelve term incumbent Collin Peterson (DFL) has said he will wait until early 2014 before deciding on whether to run for reelection. Peterson has been the target of some early ads by the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Perennial Legislative Bloomers

Gail T. Kulick — Fri, 10 May 2013 12:11:30 -0600

Certain issues come up year after year in the Legislature in the form of unsuccessful proposed bills, with the consistency and reliability of perennial blooms. Some come remarkably close to becoming law. Former State Representative Tom Rukavina (DFL-Virginia) repeatedly introduced a bill decriminalizing medical marijuana for several years before it finally passed the Legislature in 2010, only to be vetoed by then Governor Tim Pawlenty. This year, Representative Carly Melin (DFL-Hibbing) and Senator Scott Dibble (DFL-Minneapolis) introduced yet another medical marijuana bill. This time, neither bill made it to the floor for a final vote but rest assured, it will bloom again in future sessions.

Another perennial that can be counted upon is Sunday liquor sales. One variation of the Sunday liquor sale bill was the “Wine with Dinner” bill which would have allowed wine sales in grocery stores. Representative Phyllis Kahn (DFL-Minneapolis), a 41 year veteran of the State House of Representatives, continued to author that legislation year after year until the grocery stores tired of the fight. Representative Kahn shared with me that she loves to cook on weekends and has always been frustrated over her inability to pick up wine with her other ingredients. Representative Kahn also has been the author of another reliable regular, the industrial hemp bill.

The perennial bloomer which garnered the most activity and debate this year was the bill to raise the speed limit on Interstate 35E between Interstate 94 and West 7th Street in St. Paul (affectionately referred to as the “training highway”) from 45 to 55 miles per hour. Suburban or greater Minnesota legislators accustomed to traveling faster than 45 miles per hour on the interstate continually push this issue. Just as consistently, opponents point out that the lower speed limit is contained in a judicial Consent Decree resulting from the settlement of litigation over the location of the highway. Changing the speed limit, opponents argue, would violate that Consent Decree and result in litigation for the State.

The 35E speed limit provisions, like the other perennials this year, failed to advance. However, after initial setbacks, the bill morphed into an amendment to the Transportation Policy Omnibus bill which would leave the speed limit at 45 miles per hour but prohibit recording speed violations unless the violation is more than 10 miles per hour over the speed limit. Viewing this too as a violation of the spirit of the agreement which formed the Consent Decree, the conferees rejected that effort as well.

The Cost of Convenience: charging for online contributions

Tammera R. Diehm — Fri, 03 May 2013 15:50:52 -0600

On May 7, 2013, the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board (“Board”) will consider an advisory opinion request submitted on behalf of Democracy Ventures, Inc., d/b/a Democracy.com. The organization is seeking guidance from the Board on issues related to fee-based online contributions to state candidates.

In the request, Democracy Ventures, Inc., a nonpartisan, for-profit corporation, based in New York, indicates that it plans to operate a website that will serve as an online directory of federal, state and local candidates to assist voters in identifying elected officials and candidates for public office. The website will include publicly available information about each candidate and the candidates will be allowed, for a fee, to expand their webpage with customized content. The organization will also allow users to make online contributions to candidates. The contributions will be subject to the applicable contribution limits and will require donors to provide all information that is required under Minnesota law including the contributor’s name, address, employer and lobbyist registration status. Each contributor will be asked to certify that he or she is of legal age, is a United States citizen or permanent resident alien, and that the contribution is being made from personal funds. The organization intends to deduct a transaction and processing fee from each contribution before the money is transmitted to the candidate’s treasurer.

Democracy Ventures is seeking guidance from the Board to ensure that it will not be required to register with the Board as a political committee, that it will not violate any bundling or earmarking restrictions and that it will be allowed to deduct processing and transaction fees from each contribution.

A draft opinion, included in the Board materials for Tuesday’s meeting, concludes that the model proposed by Democracy Ventures complies with Minnesota law and does not trigger any registration or reporting requirements. The draft opinion notes that “[b]ecause there is no business relationship between Democracy.com and the recipient candidate, the amount of the contribution to the candidate is the net amount actually received by the candidate [and] [t]he fees paid by the contributor are the costs of a business transaction between the contributor and the Democracy.com and do not involve the candidate.”

The Board is expected to act on this request at its meeting on May 7. The Board will also consider several late fee waiver requests, as well as a resolution to clarify whether the Executive Director has authority to administratively resolve compliance issues involving the inadvertent deposit of funds in a state committee or fund that were intended for a federal fund. The Board meeting is scheduled for 9AM in Room 225 of the Minnesota Judicial Center.

Floor Calendar Prediction for the Week

Christine M. Zimmer — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 15:20:23 -0600

The 2013 Minnesota Legislative Session is all about lengthy floor sessions this week. It is risky to predict legislative schedules but this is only a tentative guide for the week. Keep in mind schedules change quickly at the Capitol. The Senate will hear the Omnibus Transportation Policy Bill (SF1270 Dibble) on the floor today along with a few other bills. On Wednesday the schedule is up in the air because of the need to suspend the rules in order to take up HHS (SF1034 Lourey) or E-12 (SF453 Wiger). Thursday they will most likely take up Health and Human Services, Friday is scheduled to be E-12 and Saturday session is not yet scheduled but could include the Omnibus Tax Bill (SF 552).

In the House, Monday was a nine hour debate of the Omnibus Health and Human Services Bill (HF1233 Huntley); Tuesday is K-12 (HF630 Marquart); Wednesday should be the Tax Bill (HF677 Lenczewski) and Transportation Finance (HF1444 Hornstein) is also on the Calendar for the Day. Thursday is likely Higher Education (HF1692 Pelowski) and Friday is open. A Saturday session is also planned for the House.

The big bills still on the list include energy, legacy and bonding. The Transportation Finance Bill is still in Senate Taxes as is the Omnibus Senate Tax Bill.

Tax Bills Taking Shape at the Capitol

Thomas J. Hanson — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 15:30:57 -0600

Both the House and Senate Tax bills have begun to take shape at the Capitol this week. The House Omnibus Tax Bill passed out of the Tax Committee on Wednesday, April 17 and Ways and Means on Friday, April 19. The reform provisions of the Omnibus Senate Tax Bill, SF 1617. passed out of the Reform Division of the Senate Tax Committee on Tuesday, April 16.

House
The House Omnibus Tax Bill, HF 677, is authored by Tax Chair Ann Lenczewski. More detail on this bill can be found at the Minnesota House website at: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=House&f=HF677&ssn=0&y=2013 In particular, the text of the bill, along with the House Research Summary, can be located at this link. The next stop for the bill is the House floor.

Senate
The reform provisions of the Omnibus Senate Tax Bill, packaged in SF 1617, are authored by Senator Ann Rest. Property tax, income tax, and other miscellaneous provisions will be added in the full Senate Tax Committee. The first draft of the entire Omnibus Tax Bill, which will include the provisions in SF 1617, are expected to be made public on Tuesday, April 23. Consideration and final action by the committee should occur by Friday, April 26.

More detail on SF 1617 can be found at the Minnesota Senate website at: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=Senate&f=SF1617&ssn=0&y=2013

Tax Bills Take Center Stage

John A. Knapp — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 14:11:16 -0600

On Thursday of this week, the Senate Tax Reform Division adopted its recommendations for the Senate Omnibus Tax Bill. Much of the attention on that bill focused on the proposed reduction in the State sales tax from 6.875% to 6%. The rate reduction is paid for by broadening the sales tax base to include clothing and a wider array of personal services ranging from haircuts to car repairs, to tattoos. However, the bill does not include expansion of the sales tax to business services as Governor Dayton had originally proposed in his tax plan.

On the corporate tax side, the bill also includes a reduction in the corporate income tax rate from 9.8% to 9%. That reduction is paid for by closing “corporate tax loop holes” such as the tax treatment for foreign operating corporations.

At a press availability this morning, Senate Tax Committee Chair Rod Skoe indicated the bill would be approved by the Senate Tax Committee and sent to the Senate floor the week after next. House leaders and Governor Dayton’s office were not enthusiastic about the Senate tax bill.

On the House side, the House Tax Committee will begin discussion of its Omnibus Tax Bill on Monday at 9:00 am. The House will vote its tax bill to the floor no later than Wednesday of next week. Details of the House Tax Bill will not be available until Monday, but the House bill will include individual income tax increases greater than the 9.85% top rate which has been proposed by Governor Dayton.

Miles To Go Before They Sleep

Eric F. Swanson — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 12:19:47 -0600

With the 2013 Minnesota legislative session moving into the home stretch, virtually all of the “heavy lifting” of the session remains. While the calendar indicates the session is two-thirds complete, the numbers tell a different story.

The House has seen over 1700 bills introduced to date, the Senate over 1500. Ten bills have made it to the Governor’s desk. Of those ten, only the health insurance exchange (HF5/SF1, now codified as 2013 Session Laws, Chapter 9) was previously identified as a critical issue for this session. On all of the other key issues, huge and likely contentious debates lie ahead, with no consensus on the horizon for several, even between the DFL majorities and the Governor’s office.

So between now and the May 20 adjournment date, expect lively debates on:

Taxes: After meeting huge resistance, Governor Dayton dropped his proposal to significantly expand the sales tax base, including extending sales taxes to “business-to-business” transactions. However, other proposals continue to draw fierce opposition, including increasing the top tier of the State’s income tax and a House DFL proposal to add a surcharge on top of that increase, gasoline, alcohol and cigarette tax increase proposals and more. Property tax relief too continues to be debated, with consensus proving elusive.

Health and Human Services Budgets: The House DFL surprised everyone, including key DFL constituencies, in releasing a Health and Human Services target calling for a $150 million reduction in spending, as opposed to Governor Dayton’s $145 million increase.

Education: All the key issues remain, including Higher Education, K-12 and Early Childhood funding, proposals for all-day kindergarten, and paying back the school funding shift, a priority of the House DFL.

Jobs and Economic Development: This one broad topic can sweep in any number of “hot button” issues in addition to the Omnibus Jobs and Economic Development bill, including proposals to significantly raise the State’s minimum wage to unionization of child cared workers.

Energy Policy: After the Governor highlighted the issue in his State of the State address, both bodies have crafted legislation substantially increasing Minnesota’s already aggressive renewable energy standard, with particular focus on solar energy. The House and Senate bills reflect somewhat different visions and continue to draw strong opposition from both utilities and customers, concerned with the cost impact of such new requirements.

Bonding: Debate continues over bonding in this session, including for the Mayo Clinic’s Destination Medical Community proposal.

Same Sex Marriage: The debate took a new twist this week as Republicans introduced a “civil unions” alternative to DFL led proposals to legalize same sex marriage.

The bottom line: Expect some sleepless nights between now and adjournment on May 20.