Daily Digest: Franken departure splits Dems

Good morning, and welcome to the second Monday of 2018. Here's the Digest.

1. One of the Democratic Party's biggest donors says she is reconsidering her support for the women in the US Senate who called for Al Franken’s resignation following multiple allegations of sexual misconduct. The San Francisco–based donor, Susie Tompkins Buell, 75, has given millions of dollars to Democratic causes since the 1990s. She is best known as a staunch supporter of Hillary Clinton, but has also contributed for decades to Democratic women senators. Buell said she is weighing whether to continue her financial support after the calls for Franken's exit last month. The charge for his resignation — led by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and followed almost immediately by a string of statements from other prominent female Democratic senators — came on Dec. 6, before the conclusion of an official Senate Ethics Committee inquiry. (BuzzFeed)

2. The U.S. Senate is back in session today, after Minnesota's newest senator spent the weekend introducing herself to her constituents. Tina Smith's first weekend back home after replacing Al Franken was a whirlwind of appearances, starting at a suburban manufacturer to talk job training, then north to Duluth and the Iron Range region to highlight illegal steel dumping, then back to her hometown of Minneapolis. It's just the start of a nonstop juggling game Smith will need to master to win the November special election against a yet-to-be-determined Republican, balancing the demands of her new job in Washington while crisscrossing the state to increase her visibility and raise more than $10 million for the campaign. (AP)

3. The Trump administration is taking steps to roll back federal penalties on nursing homes violating health and safety rules, a policy shift that’s alarming state officials and advocates for the elderly who say it could undercut Minnesota’s emerging moves to crack down on violence and criminal abuse in senior homes. In recent months, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has directed its regional offices to ratchet back some Obama-era enforcement practices that the nursing home industry has found most onerous. The new directives are likely to reduce both the number and severity of monetary penalties, even for violations that lead to serious injury or death. (Star Tribune)

3. Some blue states are looking for ways to get around provisions in the new federal tax overhaul. In New Jersey and California, top Democratic officials want to let people make charitable contributions to the state instead of paying certain taxes. In Connecticut and New York, officials are exploring a switch from income taxes to new ones on payroll. A few governors have even called for tax cuts. The ideas are bubbling up as state lawmakers begin their 2018 sessions and assess the effects of the Republican tax overhaul that President Donald Trump signed into law last month. Lawmakers and governors in some states are grappling with how to protect their constituents. (AP)

4. What will Minnesota do to respond to the federal tax changes? House Taxes Committee chair Greg Davids and Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, both Republicans, say they want to help Minnesotans facing new limits on the amount of state income taxes and property taxes they can deduct from their federal taxable income. Mark Haveman, executive director of the Minnesota Center for Fiscal Excellence, said his group’s analysis finds that cases of Minnesotans with a higher federal tax bill under the new law will be rare. That’s because even though Minnesotans will lose some of their state and local tax deduction, they’ll benefit from new lower tax rates and the higher standard deduction. Still, Gazelka said of the state and local tax deduction, “It’s a huge number for a lot of people, and I want to explore what we can do about it.” And that's just one of the issues the Legislature is likely to grapple with as it debates conforming state tax laws to the federal changes. (Star Tribune)

5. One of the state’s most closely watched education lawsuits in years is heading to the Minnesota Supreme Court on Tuesday. The suit filed in 2015 claims that state officials are shirking their responsibilities to educate poor and minority students. The case could prompt dramatic demographic changes in schools, including the first metrowide school desegregation plan in two decades. But before that, the Supreme Court has to weigh in on judicial authority: Can the courts decide whether the state failed in its responsibility to adequately educate students? A Court of Appeals ruling in March said no, but a trial court judge in 2016 said parents had the right to sue. (Star Tribune)

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