Good morning.  Decision time means ... decisions?

Legislation to create a new office of the inspector general is on its way to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. The Minnesota Senate gave final approval to the fraud watchdog entity by a unanimous vote. Walz has said he would sign the bill. The office will have power to review payments for public programs even through private vendors. It can take action if it spots irregularities. “This is not a message bill. We did not pass it to have something to say about a problem. We passed it to have something to solve the problem,” the bill’s sponsor Sen. Heather Gustafson, DFL-Vadnais Heights, said. GOP Sen. Michael Kreun, of Blaine, helped write the bill. "This independent agency will be the watchdog for the taxpayers and state government here in Minnesota needs to regain the trust of Minnesotans, and this bill will go a long way to hopefully do that,” Kreun said. “This bill is a seismic change in state government." Additional measures toughening criminal penalties and adding more fraud investigators elsewhere in government are also in the works.

A stretch of highway in the eastern Twin Cities suburbs will soon carry the name of a White Bear Lake soldier killed in the war with Iran. Minnesota senators voted unanimously yesterday to designate part of State Highway 96 as "Master Sergeant Nicole Amor Memorial Highway." It will be along that route between U.S. Highway 61 and Interstate 35E. The House previously gave its unanimous support. Amor was one of six U.S. soldiers killed when a drone strike hit their command center in Kuwait in the opening hours of the ongoing war. DFL State Senator Heather Gustafson says the 39-year-old wife and mother will be missed. “From now on, a place in our community, a well traveled road will have a sign that says she was here, she mattered, and she always will. Nicole Amore served our nation with courage and dedication, and moments like this remind us of the true cost of service.” Once it's law, tribute signs will go up to mark the memorial highway.

The Senate also voted Monday in favor of a package of bills restricting the power of immigration agents in Minnesota. But that package is unlikely to go much further. Among other provisions, it blocks agents from sensitive spaces like courthouses, schools, daycare centers and healthcare facilities without a judicial warrant. It also allows people to sue if their constitutional rights are violated or someone fails to render aid after someone else is shot. The bill passed 34-33 along party lines without Republican support. “We should not be playing to people who simply don't want immigration law enforced,” said Sen. Michael Kreun, R-Blaine. “And we should not be pushing a bill that has no chance of becoming law and has serious constitutional issues.” Sen. Matt Klein, DFL-Mendota Heights, said the need for this kind of legislation is unprecedented. He said in his career as a physician, he never had a difficult interaction with law enforcement previously. “Federal law enforcement agents invaded our patient spaces and disrupted our ability to do our work,” Klein said to his colleagues on the Senate floor. “Patients, terrified of this disruption, refused or avoided care and the health of Minnesotans suffered The Senate also voted to repurpose housing funds to help those adversely impacted — namely rental assistance. But a companion bill is stuck in the House. Groups lobbying to dislodge it came to the Capitol yesterday to tell their stories of the winter surge.

Parents of students from Annunciation Catholic School and Church are amping up pressure on GOP House Speaker Lisa Demuth to take up a gun control bill on the House floor. The Star Tribune reports that Demuth spoke to the parents of Harper Moyski spoke with Demuth at their home last September, and she told them that she would allow a then-hypothetical ban on assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines to get a vote on the floor. But that bill has now passed the Senate, and Demuth, who is also running for governor, has yet to bring it to the floor. Now those parents are pushing her to take it up. Last week, as GOP Rep Bjorn Olson filled in as speaker, he was asked about the bill, to which he said “We’ve received it, but I’ve been instructed not to report it.” Annunciation parents emailed Demuth twice last week to take it up, but say Demuth has not yet responded. One Annunciation parent, Kacie Sharpe, told the Star Tribune “It’s really disrespectful to not even let it come up for a vote — and she holds that power.”

The traditional income tax filing deadline last month ended with Minnesota taking in slightly more than it was counting on. A new revenue update shows there were an additional $181 million in net income tax payments compared to expectations in April. That helped push overall state tax collections up by $230 million when stronger sales taxes and other revenue was figured in. Only corporate taxes were below the mark. The monthly reports aren’t used by lawmakers when setting budget policy but they can provide patterns. For this fiscal year, which began in July, the state is now $48 million above projections. That’s 0.2 percent, so basically flat.

A former Minnesota state senator arrested in a child solicitation sting is due back in federal court Thursday and is expected to plead guilty. Matt Sepic reports on the notice by former state Sen. Justin Eichorn to the court that he is changing his plea. Eichorn resigned from the Minnesota Senate after his March 2025 arrest in Bloomington. Prosecutors say the 41-year-old exchanged text messages with an undercover officer he thought was a 17-year-old girl and wasn't dissuaded by her age. The federal charge of attempted enticement of a minor carries a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 10 years. Court records do not indicate the terms of any deal with prosecutors, or if Eichorn has agreed to plead to a lesser count. Eichorn had been scheduled to face trial in three weeks.

A former Minnesota governor is sporting a new title. Tim Pawlenty will be the next president of the Solar Energy Industries Association. The group is the national trade and lobbying group for the U.S. solar and energy storage industries. Pawlenty served two terms as governor, from 2003 to 2011. He was considered fiscally and socially conservative, but he supported clean energy. In 2007, he signed the Next Generation Energy Act. It required utilities to produce some of their electricity from renewable sources and set aggressive goals to cut greenhouse gas emissions. In a statement Pawlenty called the sun the "safest, most natural and largest nuclear reactor in the world" that we should use to its fullest potential. He starts his new position on June 15.