Minnesota State Legislature

The Minnesota Senate has unanimously approved a bill that will let some Minnesota taxpayers claim recently enacted federal tax deductions on their state taxes too.

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A plan adding more than 35,000 people to government-subsidized health insurance rolls in Minnesota is headed to Gov. Mark Dayton's desk. The state Senate voted 45 to 22 on Thursday to approve the Medicaid expansion.

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Minnesota lawmakers are moving this week to take the federal government up on a health care offer: By making more low-income people eligible for the Medical Assistance program they're getting the U.S. government to temporarily foot the extra costs.

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Thousands of state employees may soon get a raise. State Senators Thursday approved a new contract that includes a 2 percent pay hike.

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An influential Minnesota House Democrat is proposing a substantial increase in the state's cigarette tax. Rep. Ann Lenczewski of Bloomington wants to more than double the state's cigarette tax by $1.60 a pack, from $1.23 to $2.83.

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A Duluth lawmaker is pushing a bill that would legalize liquor sales on Sundays, even though he admits its chances are slim. Sen. Roger Reinert says consumers have wanted the change for years.

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The national debate over guns has come to Minnesota's Capitol as lawmakers begin marathon hearings on a dozen proposed changes to state gun laws. A huge crowd turned out Tuesday at the House Public Safety Committee's first of three days of hearings on gun bills.

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A key Democratic lawmaker says within the next two weeks she will release a "robust" plan to borrow for public-purpose construction projects around Minnesota. House Capital Investment Committee Chairwoman Alice Hausman says her proposal will exceed the roughly $500 million plan Gov. Mark Dayton has suggested he will recommend.

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For eight of the past 11 years, deficits riddled Minnesota's budget and lawmakers responded with spending cuts, fee hikes, drawn-down reserves and other Scotch-tape solutions that momentarily balanced the books.

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The first firearms bill introduced in the Minnesota Legislature this session would make it harder for convicted felons who've served their time to regain the right to own a gun. The bill by Sen. Barb Goodwin, DFL-Columbia Heights, would eliminate the right of violent felons to petition courts for restoration of their gun ownership rights.

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