Almanac: At the Capitol

The Senate was supposed to be taking up the big healthcare reform bill, but there's no sign of it so far. The official word from the Senate DFL caucus is that they were "deferring to the minority" over their concerns about the bill. But the word from some Senate DFLers is that there are not the votes to pass Sen. Berglin's bill. These Dems say the governor is also apparently not completely on board yet either. One senator told me Majority Leader Pogemiller has been threatening to bring the bill up yet tonight. Lawmakers' Easter break is supposed to start tonight and they are not excited about being forced to stick around. In our weekly briefing with leaders, Berglin just said the concern is with Senate Republicans who want a longer look at a complicated bill. She may even address the GOP caucus. But needless to say, there's trouble over what was supposed to be an important consensus item this year.