A ballot measure that would place an equal rights amendment and abortion protections in the state constitution will have to wait until 2026, according to the Minnesota Legislature’s most-powerful member. House Speaker Melissa Hortman said Wednesday she thinks the Legislature will vote this session to place the issue on the ballot for voters to pass judgment on. But that public vote will wait until 2026 rather than appear on this fall’s general election ballot. The proposed measure has agreement by state ERA backers as well as groups representing abortion rights and transgender rights. Rather ..read more

Minnesota’s regulators will ask state lawmakers for a law to help them police the sale of raw cannabis flower, a product that was left without clear regulation in the 2023 recreational marijuana law. Charlene Briner Charlene Briner, the interim director of the Office of Cannabis Management, said this week she’ll ask for legislation to transfer oversight and enforcement of hemp-derived products from the Office of Medical Cannabis to her office this summer rather than wait until next spring. Briner said the acceleration would help fill a gap in the new recreational marijuana law that gave her o ..read more

A report released Thursday by a Legislature-appointed work group meant to help create a low carbon fuel standard to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is recommending lowering ambitious targets set by lawmakers. The Clean Transportation Standard (CTS) Work Group was established within the transportation omnibus bill passed by the Legislature this past spring. The 40-member work group was put together and managed by the state’s Agriculture, Commerce, Pollution Control and Transportation agencies. While a majority of the work group agreed with its recommendations, some members united to release th ..read more

Minnesota is one of four states where a candidate who is constitutionally ineligible to be president will appear on a Super Tuesday presidential primary ballot. Cenk Uygur, a naturalized citizen born in Turkey to Turkish parents, is among nine names that state DFL Chairman Ken Martin placed on the party’s primary ballot. The U.S. Constitution requires that presidents meet just three qualifications: be at least 35 years old, have lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years and be a natural-born citizen. Other states, including Arkansas, New Hampshire and Nevada, have rejected Uygur’s candidacy. La ..read more

Two sets of changes to the Minnesota tax code last year — one aimed at high earners and one at low earners — combined to give DFL tax policy leaders and advocacy groups a national trophy at the start of 2024. Minnesota is now the state with the nation’s most-progressive tax system in the U.S., as calculated by the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Its data-driven assessment looks at the share of state taxes that are borne by various income groups. Progressive is defined not in partisan terms but to describe tax systems that have higher income taxpayers devoting a larger ..read more

WASHINGTON — The political class here focused its attention this week on the New Hampshire presidential primary, where former President Donald Trump beat rival Nikki Haley, 54.3% to 43.2%, and appears to be on a fast track for the GOP nomination. Trump held fast to his core GOP supporters, winning the backing of about 74% of the Republicans who voted, according to a CBS exit poll. Meanwhile, Haley was much stronger than Trump with moderates, independents and younger voters. The other loser Tuesday night was Rep. Dean Phillips, D-3rd District, who was trounced by a write-in campaign for Presid ..read more

It is what passes for good news for a transportation construction project that is often prefaced with the word “troubled.” The managers of the Southwest Light Rail Transit project now are saying that the latest cost estimates and latest timeline for completion come with a high degree of confidence. The 14.5-miles extension of the current Green Line to Eden Prairie will cost $2.86 billion and will be welcoming paying riders in 2027. No, really. “I don’t lose sleep over that anymore, and I did. I’ve moved on to other things,” joked Met Council Chair Charlie Zelle. The reason for his relative re ..read more

Minnesota’s regulators will ask state lawmakers for a law to help them police the sale of raw cannabis flower, a product that was left without clear regulation in the 2023 recreational marijuana law. Charlene Briner Charlene Briner, the interim director of the Office of Cannabis Management, said this week she’ll ask for legislation to transfer oversight and enforcement of hemp-derived products from the Office of Medical Cannabis to her office this summer rather than wait until next spring. Briner said the acceleration would help fill a gap in the new recreational marijuana law that gave her o ..read more

A report released Thursday by a Legislature-appointed work group meant to help create a low carbon fuel standard to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is recommending lowering ambitious targets set by lawmakers. The Clean Transportation Standard (CTS) Work Group was established within the transportation omnibus bill passed by the Legislature this past spring. The 40-member work group was put together and managed by the state’s Agriculture, Commerce, Pollution Control and Transportation agencies. While a majority of the work group agreed with its recommendations, some members united to release the ..read more

Minnesota is one of four states where a candidate who is constitutionally ineligible to be president will appear on a Super Tuesday presidential primary ballot. Cenk Uygur, a naturalized citizen born in Turkey to Turkish parents, is among nine names that state DFL Chairman Ken Martin placed on the party’s primary ballot. The U.S. Constitution requires that presidents meet just three qualifications: be at least 35 years old, have lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years and be a natural-born citizen. Other states, including Arkansas, New Hampshire and Nevada, have rejected Uygur’s candidacy. Las ..read more