The Daily Digest (Budget framework, Senate votes on same-sex marriage)
In Minnesota
Gov. Dayton and DFL legislative leaders have agreed on a tax and spending framework that raises income taxes on top earners, expands the sales tax to some yet to be determined "non-consumer services," raises the cigarette tax and pays back the money owed to schools from earlier budget deals through a temporary income tax surcharge while erasing the budget deficit and boosting public education spending.
The Senate revived the possibility of raising the gas tax by five cents for roadwork and a Twin Cities area sales tax for mass transit projects.
The Senate will vote today on the same-sex marriage bill the House approved on Thursday. Just two years ago, Republicans, thought campaigning against same-sex marriage would help them politically. MPR News looks at how the issue appears to have backfired on the GOP.
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MPR News profiles one GOP lawmaker who plans to vote against the same-sex marriage bill even though his district voted strongly against the marriage amendment last fall.
The AP has lots of details on what's in the same-sex marriage bill.
A bill that would require investor-owned utilities to provide at least 1 percent of their power through solar generation by late 2025 has been approved in the Minnesota Senate.
In recent months, the conservative Freedom Club has stepped up its visibility at a time when Minnesota Republicans are in the minority and more conservative groups are cropping up to play a role in the 2014 elections.
In Washington/National Politics
The IRS is under fire for targeting conservative nonprofit groups for extra scrutiny. Now, the Wall Street Journal says the agency's actions went further than it has previously admitted.
The New York Times writes that the allegations are sure to unite a divided Republican party and its conservative political base around the cause of investigating the Obama administration.
GOP Sen. Rand Paul is best known for his libertarian politics but the Washington Post reports that as Paul considers running for president in 2016, he's busy courting evangelical supporters.
The green card lottery may disappear as part of a possible immigration overhaul.
An investigator has been appointed to look into allegations that an Iowa lawmaker improperly accepted payments from U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann's presidential campaign.
The GOP-controlled U.S. House will vote this week for the 37th time to repeal the Affordable Care Act. This time, the House will vote on Michele Bachmann's bill. Real Clear Politics asks whether the Republican strategy of constantly voting on repeal bills even though they're going nowhere in the Senate is misguided.
Speaking of do-overs, the House Agriculture Committee released its farm bill on Friday. It's very similar to last year's bill, which failed to advance. Both the House and Senate Agriculture Committees will meet this week to pass their versions out of committee.