A state Web site is down, gambling takes another hit, budget bills start moving and the child support system appears headed for a change. That's the news in a nutshell. Let's take a closer look. First that Web site. The Pioneer Press reports the site where you order new license tabs may not be secure:

State auditors discovered security flaws in the state's popular online license tab renewal site, and officials shut it down two weeks ago.

The Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor today will release an information systems audit report — the second such report in recent years — about the Driver and Vehicle Services' license tab renewal Web site. A department official acknowledged Monday that the audit was the main reason officials took the system down for unscheduled maintenance.

Patricia McCormack, director of Driver and Vehicle Services, said she was not aware of any breaches of security by outside hackers into the computer system. Nearly 360,000 Minnesotans used the online service last year and had to provide a checking account, savings account or Visa credit card number to renew their tabs.

"We are trying to do maintenance and upgrades needed on the system,'' McCormack said. "We want to make sure the system is secure. We want to make sure it's state of the art.''

Hmmm, maybe you should have made sure of that before 360,000 people used it. Oh well, I guess it beats standing in line at Sears.

In another sign the governor's push for state-sponsored casino gambling is in trouble one of his tribal partners says merging the governor's plan with a racino is a no-go. This is from the Star Tribune:

"We just didn't see a benefit to us as a tribe," Leech Lake Tribal Chairman George Goggleye said of such a partnership. "We saw the possibility the revenues would be cut in half. We looked at some numbers."

But he said Leech Lake would remain interested in pursuing a casino in partnership with only the state and the White Earth and Red Lake bands.

Of course if Leech Lake is out of a merged plan and the other two bands are still in, that's more money for them, right?. That assumes any plan can get through the House Taxes Committee. And that's a big assumption.

As for the budget sans gambling revenue, the bills are starting to emerge. MPR's Michael Khoo had this item:

The first budget bill of the year has arrived at the state Capitol.The $530 million package funds the Legislature, state agencies, and state executive offices.

The House plan is the first of several bills that form the building blocks of the state's two-year budget.

The package offers $10 million in incentives for Minnesota National Guard enlistment. It would also reshape public subsidies for political parties. Minnesotans could still voluntarily contribute to a subsidy pool, but those donations would increase their income tax payments.

The measure eliminates $390,000 in funding for Minnesota Public Radio. The bill's price tag is slightly offset by expected new revenues, mainly from increased vigilance to catch those who underpay their taxes. Overall, the bill represents a roughly $10 million increase in state government funding. The Senate has yet to introduce its alternative.

And the question isn't so much whether the Senate plan will include a tax increase, but more likely what tax and how much of an increase?

And while the budget debate is just getting underway, MPR's Laura McCallum has a look at changes to the child support system that look likely to become law:

Sen. Tom Neuville, R-Northfield, says basing child support on the income of both parents is more fair, and would lead to fewer custody battles in the courts. "A divorce starts out and right away the father starts to contest custody, when all he really wants, is he wants a little more time, and he wants to pay a little less money," according to Neuville.

Neuville says his bill would give parents who don't have custody a reduction in their child support payments if they spend time with their kids. And by switching to a system where both parents' incomes are considered, Neuville's bill is expected to reduce child support payments for parents with one child, and increase payments for parents with two or more children.

"The bottom line is: the kids are the ones that lose," says Michele del Castillo, a co-leader of the Twin Cities chapter of ACES, the Association for Children for Enforcement of Support.

It's no small debate. Officials say about 300,000 children in Minnesota would be affected.