Daily Digest: Risky vote on health care bill

Good morning and thank heavens we've made it to Friday. Let's look at one more Digest for the week.

1. Minnesota House Republicans took a defiant stance against Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton Thursday with a proposal to eliminate his flagship early childhood education program, close an arts school and remove multiple automatic budget increases for school programs. With a larger than expected $1.65 billion budget surplus, Dayton announced earlier this month that he wanted to put $175 million toward preschool programs in the state. But as House Republicans rolled out their budget proposals this week, cuts to the early education program and the Perpich Center for Arts Education have shown that lawmakers are preparing for a larger fight over budget negotiations. (AP via Star Tribune)

2. The Destination Medical Center in Rochester has passed a crucial milestone: $200 million in private investments. City and DMC officials announced that more than $145 million in additional investment, including new condos and construction on Mayo Clinic's campus, was made in 2016, bringing the total investment in the city since 2013 to nearly $300 million. That means Rochester could soon be eligible to tap millions in taxpayer dollars for infrastructure projects. Several projects the DMC submitted have no direct connection to the economic development project, but the state says they count towards the goal. That includes a new $28,000 air conditioning unit for a local church, and $13,000 for a new roof on a local business. And at least three Mayo Clinic projects were approved before the Legislature's approval of DMC funding, including a $9 million dermatology center renovation and a nearly $6 million upgrade to the sports medicine center. (MPR News)

3.  A Republican bill that targets a State Fair mini-donut booth operated by a local DFL Party chapter is stirring debate at the state Capitol. The House State Government Finance Committee spent about 35 minutes Thursday discussing a bill that would require more disclosure about proceeds from such sales and prior warning to buyers that they could be feeding political activity. Rep. Randy Jessup, R-Shoreview, called the booth a “black stain” at the State Fair. Democrats on the committee complained that Republicans were focused on the donut booth while bottling up legislation that would require more disclosure of campaign finances by groups that are far more active in state elections. (Is anyone else getting hungry?) (MPR News)

4. Minnesota lawmakers are on the verge of approving as much as $300 million per year to try to stabilize the state’s 2018 individual health insurance market and lower premiums. But before the program, known as reinsurance, gets off the ground, lawmakers and the governor first have to settle an important question: where should the money come from? The Republican-backed bills passed this month take their money from the state’s savings, including its budget reserves and a special health care fund. (The House and Senate differ on the specific funds they draw money from.) Dayton, whose signature is needed for reinsurance to become law, wants to raise the money from a new tax. (Pioneer Press)

5. Abandoning negotiations, President Donald Trump late Thursday demanded a make-or-break vote on health care legislation in the House, threatening to leave Obamacare in place and move on to other issues if Friday's vote fails. The risky move, part gamble and part threat, was presented to GOP lawmakers behind closed doors Thursday night after a long and intense day that saw a planned vote on the health care bill scrapped as the legislation remained short of votes amid cascading negotiations among conservative lawmakers, moderates and others. (AP via MPR News)

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