Minnesota Legislature
Woodchucks and zombie bills: Your guide to legislative lingo
By Tim Walker
A first-time visitor to the Capitol can’t help but be impressed by the ornately decorated interior and exterior of this grandiose and heavily marbled building.
But the same visitor ducking into a room while a committee is hearing bills might also become intimidated by the particular and sometimes peculiar terms used to conduct Capitol business.
Some of the terms can be easily sorted out, such as the typical political double-speak of saying “fee adjustments” or “revenue enhancements” instead of saying what they really are: tax increases.
But what’s a poison pill, or a woodchuck bill, or logrolling?
Recent Dailies
Woodchucks and zombie bills: Your guide to legislative lingo
By Tim Walker
A first-time visitor to the Capitol can’t help but be impressed by the ornately decorated interior and exterior of this grandiose and heavily marbled building.
But the same ...
Commerce agreement adjusts key lead ban, creates HOA ombudsperson
By Lisa Kaczke
Lawmakers finalized a commerce budget deal Thursday that would give a reprieve on lead in keys and create a new ombudsperson to facilitate disputes between residents and homeown...
Working group strikes agreement on environment and natural resources finance, policy package
By Tim Walker
In this tight two-year budget cycle, it’s not surprising that several budget agreements have turned to raising fees or adding surcharges to state services to meet their lean tar...
Page added to House website for special session working group information
By HPIS Staff
With a special session needed for the Legislature to finish its work, it can be hard to follow what is going on in working groups.
To help, a page has been created on the Ho...
Working group finds agreement on workforce budget bill
By Margaret Stevens An agreement on the workforce, labor and economic development budget bill would reduce General Fund expenditures while preserving many grant programs championed in the Senate bi...House leaders say lawmakers nearing agreements on unfinished bills
By Lisa Kaczke
Lawmakers are nearing the completion of bills left over from the regular legislative session that ended Monday.
In an update Thursday, House Speaker Lisa Demuth (R-Cold Spri...
Tax working group the first to make public preparations for a special session
By Rob Hubbard
Let’s start with the revenue, shall we?
While that might not have been the suggestion that jumpstarted the process of crafting a 2025 Minnesota tax bill, the Legislature’s f...
Legislature — with budget incomplete — gavels out, prepares for special session
By Rob Hubbard
Some years, state legislative sessions surge to a climax on their final day, a flurry of activity providing a sustained adrenaline rush, culminating in smiles of satisfaction as...
House, Senate pass state government and elections bill ahead of session's adjournment
By Mike Cook
10:37 p.m. — UPDATED following floor votes
With about 90 minutes to spare on the last evening of the regular legislative session, House and Senate members passed a conferenc...
House votes to extend unemployment benefits to Iron Range miners, Senate takes no action
By Margaret Stevens In the final few hours of regular session, the House provided what supporters called a lifeline for workers on the Iron Range. A bill that would extend the availabili...Session Daily Home
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Legislature — with budget incomplete — gavels out, prepares for special session
By Rob Hubbard
Some years, state legislative sessions surge to a climax on their final day, a flurry of activity providing a sustained adrenaline rush, culminating in smiles of satisfaction as...
Walz, lawmakers strike budget deal in session's final days
By Lisa Kaczke
With five days to go in the 2025 session, three of four legislative leaders announced a budget agreement Thursday that would sunset unemployment insurance for hourly school empl...
