Minnesota State Legislature

A reworked proposal for a publicly aided Mayo Clinic expansion plan relies on a heavier local match and requires a bigger private ante before the state of Minnesota chips in. Revisions aired Monday in the Senate Taxes Committee would withhold state dollars until $250 million is spent on upgrading the clinic and associated development around Rochester.

Wolf hunting opponents plan to make a move in the Minnesota House to stop wolf trapping. Rep. Jason Isaacson, DFL-Shoreview, has authored an amendment to a broad natural resources bill slated to come up on the House floor Thursday.

Minnesota brewers and liquor lobbyists say a proposal to boost the state's alcohol taxes could tack $2 onto the cost of a 12-pack. House Democrats have billed a hike in the state's alcohol excise tax - part of a tax package unveiled Monday - as a 7-cent-per-drink increase to help the state pay the social costs of alcoholism.

Minnesota House Democrats are looking to fetch $2.5 billion by raising taxes on people with high incomes, those who smoke and those who drink alcohol. A tax package released Monday boosts those taxes to balance the budget, cut property taxes and increase school aid.

A top Senate Democrat says the altered funding plan to help the Mayo Clinic expand needs work before moving forward. The Senate Taxes Committee had been set Friday morning to take up the new plan, which replaced a complicated tax capture mechanism with state aid payment system that increases with private contributions.

The Minnesota House has passed a bill creating an online health insurance marketplace that aims to give at least 1.3 million Minnesotans a new way to purchase coverage. The House passed the bill early Friday on a vote of 72 to 61. Most Democrats backed the bill while Republicans opposed it.

A Senate panel has passed a bill that would impose background checks on all gun sales, but that measure has many obstacles to tackle before becoming law in Minnesota. Majority Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday night endorsed the legislation on a 5-3 party-line vote.

Opponents of wolf hunting win a victory as a Minnesota Senate panel votes 7-6 for a five-year moratorium on future wolf seasons. Wolf hunting opponents argued before the Senate Environment and Energy Committee on Thursday that the state acted too hastily when it decided to resume sport hunting and trapping after the region's wolves came off the endangered list early last year.

A key Minnesota lawmaker says a bill committing the state to aid in a massive Mayo Clinic expansion project needs a considerable makeover to get through her House committee.

A Minnesota Senate committee has approved a bill that would legalize gay marriage in the state. The bill was endorsed Tuesday on a 5 to 3 party-line vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee with all Democrats in favor and all Republicans opposed.