Good morning, and welcome to Thursday. 

The state House is expected to debate a tax bill later today, and there are more details about the Senate plan I mentioned yesterday. MPR’s Brian Bakst and Dana Ferguson have a closer look: A tax plan put in the mix by Senate DFLers would provide one-time rebate checks, child tax credits and a reduction — but not elimination — of the tax on Social Security income. The proposal outlined Wednesday to the Senate Tax Committee has some overlapping features as well as key differences from a House plan. Under the Senate bill, there would be $4 billion in tax credits and other cuts over the next four years. Its DFL authors called it the biggest tax cut in state history. Unlike a plan advancing in the House, it would not raise any income taxes for Minnesotans. But it would include a tax on earnings that multinational corporations make overseas. It’s estimated that that could bring in $1.2 billion through 2027, although the mechanism could face legal challenges or be difficult to enforce. “I look at this bill and these numbers and I look at every single family in my neighborhood and every single one of them benefits from this bill,” Senate Tax Chair Ann Rest, DFL-New Hope, said. “And I think that’s something that I’m going to be certainly proud of.” House Tax Chair Aisha Gomez, DFL-Minneapolis, said the early agreement on some key planks is encouraging. “We're not going to spend a lot of time arguing about things when our values align,” she said.

That deal on Social Security taxes appears to be done. It’s the same in the House and Senate bill and some of the DFL senators who ran on full exemption say they support it. “You know I came in here as a new senator with sort of wide eyes, and big priorities and those big priorities cost a lot of money you learn very quickly,” said Sen. Grant Hauschild, DFL-Hermantown, mentioning Social Security, child care affordability and public safety funding. “All of those things are some of the most costly items before us in the state Senate this year and all of them are included in this bill at enormous levels, historic levels.” Aric Putnam of St. Cloud is another DFL senator who had advocated for a full elimination of the tax. “With this proposal – though it's not the dream – we are helping out 78 percent of Minnesotans and we're reserving our capacity to help those in the greatest need,” he said. He was referring to the estimates that the expanded tax subtraction would put about three-quarters of people with Social Security income in the clear. Current law spares about half from taxes. Republicans still want full exemption. 

Republicans in the Minnesota House tried but failed Wednesday to remove two gun provisions from a larger public safety bill. One would expand background checks to private gun transfers, and the other would set up a way to temporarily take guns from people determined to be a risk to themselves or others. Republican Rep. Isaac Schultz said the DFL-backed measures penalize law-abiding gun owners while doing nothing to improve safety. "The 40-plus thousand constituents that I represent believe in the Second Amendment, believe in law-abiding gun owners having the right and the opportunity to own and possess firearms as they see fit," Schultz said. Democrats say the provisions will improve safety and that Minnesotans are tired of gun violence. DFL Rep. Dave Pinto said background checks for private gun transfers are in line with other gun sales and transfers. "There's an expectation among Minnesotans that before they hand over that gun that they should get proof of a background check,” Pinto said. “And that is an expectation that we would have of responsible gun owners and we would have of irresponsible gun owners to say if you're not going to be responsible, we're going to hold you accountable, and that's what this does." The House passed the larger public safety bill by a party line vote of 69-60. It's not clear whether the gun measures have enough support to pass in the Senate. 

In another party line vote, the Minnesota Senate passed changes to election laws. By a 34-33 vote, the Senate passed a bill that allows 16 and 17-year-olds to preregister to vote and automatically registers people when they apply for a driver’s license or state ID card or sign up for Medicaid or other state programs. “We are setting an example,” said DFL Sen. Liz Boldon, of Rochester, the lead Senate author. “We are leading the way.” Senate Elections Committee Chair Jim Carlson, DFL-Eagan, said the bill also seeks to shed more light on money and politics with increased disclosure requirements. It also includes criminal penalties for intimidation of voters and interference with voting. The House has already passed the bill, and it now goes to Gov. Tim Walz for his signature.  

Correction: I linked to a Pioneer Press story yesterday on the Senate’s omnibus housing bill. The story said the bill had a 0.25 percent sales tax increase in it, but it doesn’t. The story has been corrected.

The Associated Press reports: The Supreme Court seemed likely Wednesday to give a 94-year-old Minneapolis woman another day in court to try to recoup some money after the county kept the entire $40,000 when it sold her condominium over a small unpaid tax bill. The justices seemed in broad agreement with arguments by the lawyer for Geraldine Tyler that Hennepin County violated the Constitution’s prohibition on the taking of private property without “just compensation.” “At bottom, she’s saying the county took her property and made a profit on her surplus equity. It belongs to her,” Justice Clarence Thomas said. Tyler, who now lives in an apartment building for older people, owed $2,300 in unpaid taxes, plus interest and penalties, when the county took the title to the one-bedroom apartment in 2015. The county said she did nothing to hold onto her one-time residence. The apartment sold the next year. Justices Elena Kagan and Neil Gorsuch said the county’s position appeared to be that it could seize million-dollar properties over tiny tax bills. “So a $5 property tax, a million dollar property, good to go?” Gorsuch asked Neal Katyal, representing the county. Katyal essentially said yes, noting that the Supreme Court in 1956 upheld New York City’s decision to keep the $7,000 it received for selling a property it seized over a $65 water bill. 

The new publisher of the Star Tribune apologized for an editorial cartoon after Muslim legislators complained. The paper reports: "I'm sorry that the Star Tribune published it," CEO and publisher Steve Grove said in a statement to the Star Tribune. "We will work harder to do better as an organization to ensure we're holding ourselves and our community accountable in constructive ways that speak to our values of respect and integrity." The four legislators, along with many allies, including Attorney General Keith Ellison and St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, held a State Capitol news conference to condemn recent vandalism at mosques. After the news conference, the legislators issued the written statement that focused criticism on the Star Tribune. "Globally, many Muslims report not being respected by those in the West, and this cartoon adds to that sentiment right here in Minnesota," the statement said. A news release attributed the comments to Reps. Hodan Hassan, Samakab Hussein and Mohamud Noor and Sen. Omar Fateh. Hussein represents St. Paul. The other three represent Minneapolis. Grove, who is in his second week as publisher, said that he's spent a lot of time in recent days speaking with readers and community leaders, including Muslims. 

Tell MPR News: What do you hope lawmakers accomplish this session?