The Minnesota Provider Coalition sent a letter on Friday to members of the health and human services conference committee calling for a 5 percent increase in reimbursement payments for treating Medicaid enrollees.

Legislation making significant changes to the state’s troubled civil commitment program for sex offenders appears to be all but dead following a Friday setback in the House Judiciary Committee.

The Senate on Thursday rolled out its Legacy bill that spends dedicated sales tax dollars on environmental and cultural projects. The Senate’s bill is markedly different from the House companion that is expected to be debated Friday on the House floor.

The Senate passed legislation increasing campaign spending and contribution limits. The House is yet to take up companion legislation on the floor by a 36-28 vote on Thursday.

On Thursday afternoon the Minnesota House passed its long-watched bill to legalize same-sex marriage by a 75-59 vote that followed roughly three hours of floor debate.

A move to increase the state’s gas tax was dashed on Wednesday in the Senate Taxes Committee. Gas tax proposals have hit a roadblock this session from Gov. Mark Dayton's opposition.

Legislation that would allow child care providers and personal care assistants to join labor unions was sent to the Senate floor on a 12-10 vote Wednesday evening. The bill cleared the Senate Finance Committee without a recommendation of support, the third committee it has advanced out of without explicit backing from its members.

The Senate passed legislation by a 39-28 vote on Wednesday that will increase the minimum wage to $7.75 an hour for large employers by 2015. All DFLers voted in favor of the measure, while all Republicans cast dissenting votes.

Legislation that would change how dangerous sex offenders are indefinitely detained cleared the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday with bipartisan support. The bill is now cleared to be taken up on the Senate floor.

The bill passed through the chamber after less than an hour debate on a 74-60 vote. Republican Reps. Tim Sanders and Tim O’Driscoll crossed over to support the proposal, while DFL Rep. Ron Erhardt voted against the bill.

GOP House Rep. David FitzSimmons introduced an amendment to the gay marriage bill on Wednesday, the eve of a scheduled vote in the House, that would insert the word "civil" in front of any instance of the word "marriage" in state law. The freshman from Albertville says the move provides more religious protections by specifying that the bill is about "the civil aspects" of marriage.

Early this week, half a dozen offered no comment on which way they will vote the bill, which is scheduled for a floor vote Thursday.

No bill has faced a more tortuous path this legislative session than a proposal to allow child care workers and personal care assistants to unionize.

The centerpiece of the bill is a new standard for investor-owned utilities like Xcel Energy to generate 4 percent of their electricity from solar sources by 2025.

The bills, sponsored by Sen. Ann Rest and Rep. Ryan Winkler, increase state limits on the contributions that candidates can receive and the amount of money they can spend.

Gov. Mark Dayton indicated on Wednesday that progress towards a budget deal is being made in closed-door talks with House and Senate leaders, but revealed few details of the discussions. The DFL-controlled Legislature has less than two weeks remaining to reach consensus on a budget deal for the next biennium that Dayton will sign.

Premiums remain a huge issue in the debate over Minnesota's health insurance exchange, MNsure. One fear is that it will potentially raise health insurance costs for all Minnesotans. Others argue the opposite, suggesting health costs will flatten as the exchange creates a wider marketplace.

Politicians give speeches for a living. We asked the Capitol Insiders which of the current legislators are the best orators? Here are their top answers.

Missing from our debates over who should have access to guns and over how much government should tax and spend are answers to the fundamental question: What is our government for?

The House passed its energy policy bill 70-63 despite concerns that the bill initially lacked the votes to pass. The bill requires investor-owned utilities to produce 4 percent of their power by 2025 from solar sources. The bill drew criticism from Republicans for its exemptions for timber and taconite mining in northeastern Minnesota, moves that they claimed were made to win votes.