Disagreement over the Senate membership of a Democratic lawmaker arrested for burglary earlier this year bubbled up again Tuesday as legislative leaders prepare for the 2025 session.

A panel discussion Tuesday revealed few real examples of how bipartisanship might play out with a tied House.

The 134-seat Minnesota House of Representatives appears as though it will be evenly divided during the 2025-26 biennium.

On the first day of 2026, a state-run insurance program is scheduled to begin providing Minnesota workers with up to 20 weeks per year of paid time off to deal with family or medical issues.

There are weeks, and then there are weeks like this one, when the phrase “Thank God it’s Friday” rings especially true.

State money could fund overtime, subs while teachers learn how to use new phonics-centric reading curriculum.

It’s been nearly a year since the Paid Family and Medical Leave Act became law, and officials from the department in charge of implementing it are asking for changes to help manage issues that have come up.

GOP lawmakers use Tax Day to remind voters of DFL tax increases The Minnesota Legislature has a $3.7 billion budget surplus to work with for the next two-year budget cycle, but a possible deficit looms the two years after that. So far the Democratic majorities in the House and Senate are using caution on passing any new taxes in 2024, while Republicans used tax deadline day to resume their drumbeat of criticism of billions in tax increases passed last year.

Minnesota lawmakers will near a key deadline this week before the final sprint of the legislative session.

Focus started to shift this week with members beginning to spend less time in committee meetings and more time together as a body on the House Floor. That trend should continue over the next couple of weeks as the session’s second, and final, committee deadline approaches, by when committees must act favorably on major appropriation and finance bills.

It was a short week as lawmakers began their Easter Break Wednesday evening, but many committees were able to meet at least once before taking some much-needed time away.

Gov. Tim Walz took center stage in a southern Minnesota high school auditorium Tuesday night to highlight what he viewed as policy wins from the DFL trifecta — universal school meals, guaranteed access to reproductive care and new regulations on firearms — and ask for a few more before a “window of opportunity” closes.