Capitol View for February 23

Good morning. It was U of M day at the Capitol yesterday, but we didn’t see Goldy tackle any lawmakers or make them do push-ups.

Another Friday, another politics show. On this week’s episode of Politics Friday, Brian sits down Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy a couple of weeks into her job as the lead figure in the DFL’s slim majority. Later, he speaks with Joe Fraser, a Republican aiming to take on U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar this fall. Fraser is new on the Minnesota political scene. While he casts himself as more moderate than other Republicans who have run statewide in recent years, he’s thrown his support behind Donald Trump in the presidential race. Hear why. Rounding out the show are MPR’s Clay Masters and Axios’ Torey Van Oot.

A bill clearing up one clause in last year’s tax package has won unanimous Senate approval after getting the House OK earlier in the week. Gov. Tim Walz plans to sign the bill when it reaches his desk. MPR’s Dana Ferguson reports that the 2023 bill didn't properly account for the standard deduction for next year's tax filing cycle. DFL Sen. Matt Klein said it is critical to approve the fix before next week to head off any potential consequences of the error. "These changes were agreed upon early, they will maintain a $0 impact on Minnesota taxpayers who are now filing their taxes, and they'll provide predictability and stability to businesses and workers who are currently filing,” he said. Republicans said it doesn’t go far enough because another glitch didn’t get corrected. The GOP tried to resolve that oversight, which relates to deductions small businesses can take for net operating losses. “We're not correcting the error that's going to cost small businesses millions of dollars, even though they were promised we were going to fix that error,” said Republican Sen. Zach Duckworth. Democrats said they would bring a separate bill to fix that portion later this year.

Former Gov. Arne Carlson has been out of office for 25 years, but he’s still as vocal as ever. Now 89, he’s frequently writing emails, letters or placing calls to reporters and editors about things Carlson says deserve more public attention. And the Republican-turned-independent, who frequently endorses Democrats for office, is upset with how DFL Gov. Tim Walz is doing his job. Carlson spoke with MPR’s Cathy Wurzer about the reasons for his frustration, which come down to fiscal management of the state and his objections to new forms of mining on the Iron Range. Tune into MPR News this morning for Wurzer’s interview.

EMS providers are asking for an emergency cash infusion from the Legislature. EMS providers across Minnesota are facing a range of problems , from funding to workforce shortages. Rural areas have seen longer response times, with some ambulances having to travel 200 miles in a single trip. DFL Sen. Grant Hauschild is a sponsor of the bill and pointed to a pair of Iron Range communities he represents, “They run the EMS, the poorest community per capita runs the EMS for that community and surrounding region. That is why this is such an acute issue for greater Minnesota.” Lawmakers and EMS providers say the money is just a short term fix and a bipartisan EMS task force is working on longer term solutions. The task force plans to release a report at the end of summer.

St. Paul fire chiefs enjoy unmarked take-home vehicles and unlimited gas. The Minnesota Reformer’s Max Nesterak reports 13 leaders of St. Paul’s fire department get to take home unmarked, black Chevy Tahoes, Suburbans and Ford Explorers and fill them with gas at the public's expense. While the St. Paul Fire Department says the take home vehicles are justified, the Reformer obtained data that shows the fire department spent hundreds of dollars a month filling up after long commutes to and from their sometimes distant homes.

There’s still a long way to go to match the presidential primary vote tally from four years ago. The number of votes cast in Minnesota’s presidential primary has topped 50,000. New figures from the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office released yesterday show about a quarter of the ballots mailed out or requested in person have been marked accepted. That’s 51,866 in all. All but four counties have received ballots back from eligible voters. No vote tabulation will be done before the day of the primary, March 5. Four years ago, a total of 750,000 people voted in the presidential primary

Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips, the Minnesota congressman challenging President Joe Biden, swung hard at officials in his party for falling in line. In an interview yesterday with WCCO Radio’s Chad Hartman , Phillips said Biden’s low polling numbers, physical decline and other liabilities aren’t going to change anytime soon. He said elected Democrats, including his Minnesota colleagues, aren’t showing courage and are part of a groupthink “propagating this delusion. They’re the ones wearing the MAGA hat because they’re supporting a candidate who is going to lose to Donald Trump.” He acknowledged he has torpedoed his career in Congress for speaking up. As he retools his campaign — he laid off many staff last week — he said he’s turning to a “guerilla-style, volunteer-based campaign.” Phillips also suggested Sen. Amy Klobuchar shouldn’t be running for a fourth term. One nitpick: Phillips continues to float — without interviewer challenge — the idea of a “unity ticket” if he can’t win the Democratic nomination. That could be legally impermissible given his pursuit of the Democratic nomination, although the jury is still out on some state laws. Phillips responded to a question Brian posed on X, saying he believes those laws are unconstitutional.