Good morning. OMG! OIG is OTG (IYKYK).

Several Minnesota government entities are suing the Trump administration after it repeatedly declined to share evidence in the cases of shootings by federal immigration officers . The state argues it has “authority and responsibility to protect against and address violence within its borders.” Attorney General Keith Ellison and Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said they need to file the lawsuit to force federal agencies to turn over evidence in the cases of U.S. citizens Renee Macklin Good and Alex Pretti, who were fatally shot, as well as Minneapolis resident Julio Sosa-Celis, who was shot by federal agents and survived. They argued the situation was unprecedented and that local authorities should be able to investigate the incidents. “We argue in this lawsuit that we share jurisdiction with the federal government,” Ellison said. “These incidents happen in Minnesota and fall under Minnesota state law.” Our colleagues Sarah Thamer and Matt Sepic have this report.

Gov. Tim Walz drew a hard line yesterday against a proposal to opt into a federal tax credit for scholarships. A provision of the federal tax and spending plan that Republicans dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill” makes taxpayers in states that opt in eligible to get a tax credit for up to $1,700 for donations they make to authorized scholarship-granting organizations. Republicans at the Capitol have said it’s a top priority and urged Walz to opt in. If he doesn’t, they said they would bypass education budget discussions. “They can go home today. They can shut the whole session down,” Walz, the second-term DFLer, told reporters at the Capitol. “That is never going to happen. Since I've been here in seven years, I've never said it about anything more forcefully than that. We are not doing it.” Rep. Ron Kresha, R-Little Falls, said the state should opt in to provide a cushion for school districts asking for help. “What I would say to the governor is, ‘Governor, why don't you revise your budget, opt in, you can take that off the table, allow parents educational generosity to go to public and nonpublic schools, and then we can solve some of the other issues,” Kresha said Tuesday. “But simply cutting another $50 million in special ed and not letting people use their own funds, that just seems disingenuous.” Some Democrats, teachers and Minnesota Department of Education officials have said the bill could encourage enrollment in private schools over public schools, which lawmakers have a responsibility to support. Dana has more on the standoff here.

A bill to create a new fraud-fighting office in government programs has finally made it through a House committee. It's an important step for the Office of Inspector General bill that has been stalled in the state government committee for weeks. The bill was tweaked to get both parties on board . An earlier draft allowed the governor to appoint someone not approved by an advisory board. But the bill that passed says a governor must appoint someone with preapproval from a new legislative commission. Democratic Rep. Matt Norris said the bill will need more fine tuning before full House consideration and promised to work with Republicans “to resolve the remaining sticking points required for it to pass the House and deliver on our shared goal of fighting fraud in Minnesota.” Norris said. The bill heads next to the judiciary committee. A similar bill cleared the state Senate last session. The bill’s Senate sponsor celebrated the apparent end of the logjam keeping the bill from moving forward. “Minnesotans have been clear: they want a government that spends their money wisely, takes preventative measures against fraud, and answers to no single party or special interest,” said Sen. Heather Gustafson, DFL-Vadnais Heights. “That is precisely what this legislation delivers.”

Vehicle registration renewals are never popular expenses but the creeping-up costs are touching off increased outrage. The Star Tribune’s Nate Minor captured the grumbly mood of people paying those bills, which can be many hundreds or even touch four figures these days. It’s a topic that’s caught the attention of lawmakers , with Republicans making moves to slash the tab fees a key part of their session priorities. Democrats say they’re not inclined to back off the fees because the money is needed to keep the transportation network in shape, and they say the fee structure is purposely progressive. Generally, the newer and the more expensive the vehicle, the more the price to renew a registration. Older cars can be reregistered for far less. Electric vehicles come with an additional surcharge to account for the fact their owners don’t get dinged by the gas tax that is a vital road-construction revenue stream. Tab fees now fetch the state more than $1 billion per year and rising while gas-tax revenue has begun to level off.   

The Minnesota Court of Appeals will hear a challenge today to a Ramsey Court District Judge’s ruling blocking a 2024 law dealing with firearm triggers. State officials are appealing the ruling that found the 1,400-page law violated the single-subject rule. They’re hoping for the reinstatement of the ban on binary triggers. Second District Court Judge Leonardo Castro in August said the bill spanned too many topics and could be subject to additional lawsuits. “This Court respectfully suggests that if there has ever been a bill without a common theme and where ‘all bounds of reason and restraint seem to have been abandoned,’ this is it,” he wrote. The Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus sued and was represented in court by the Upper Midwest Law Center. The Center announced a separate lawsuit yesterday, also highlighting the single-subject question. Nicholas Nelson, with the center, said the courts need to weigh in on the broader bill and invalidate. “We are arguing that the omnibus bill should be struck down in full,” Nelson said, “this case will come into play should that appeal not go the way we would like it to.”

A bill seeking to protect gig workers from AI practices that pay lower wages has stalled. DFL Rep. Emma Greenman says corporations are using personal data to drive down labor costs and hike up consumer prices. The Minneapolis lawmaker is pushing for a ban on what she calls "surveillance-based wage discrimination." In a House hearing, she posed a scenario of a gig worker completing a food delivery through an app. "When you run into your neighbor who's completed a similar task to the same restaurant, same neighborhood, they got $4 more,” Greenman said. “Now you don't know how your wage was set or the information the company used to set that wage, but you do know that you got a lot less for essentially the same task." The bill also tackles AI practices used to set consumer prices. Critics argue restrictions would eliminate the everyday discounts and worry the legislation oversteps into workplace management. The bill failed to get a committee majority to move ahead