When is a lobbying group not a lobbying group? Apparently when they lobby for a constitutional amendment. Patrick Condon of the Associated Press has the story and you can find it on the MPR site:

The two groups pushing hardest for a constitutional ban on gay marriage in Minnesota have not filed lobbyist disclosure reports, despite their work at the forefront of a debate that's dominated the Capitol much of the last three years. Instead, Minnesota for Marriage and Minnesota Citizens in Defense of Marriage have designated themselves as political committees working on a ballot question. The distinction means they face less stringent reporting requirements for salaries, advertising and PR campaigns, among other things, than do registered lobbyists.

Condon's story notes that groups on the other side of the gay marriage issue have filed as lobbyists.

Speaking of the gay marriage debate, Sen. Satveer Chaudhary, DFL-Fridley, says he received a death threat on an ad put out by supporters of the constitutional ban. Here's the Star Tribune story. Groups opposed to gay marriage said they have nothing to do with any threat.

The Twins stadium bill is headed to the House floor. The Ways and Means Committee approved it Monday night by a vote of 18-16. House Speaker Steve Sviggum says he believes the House will pass it. Opponents were once again unsuccessful in requiring a referendum on the Hennepin County sales tax that would pay for the bulk of the stadium.

Is Gov. Tim Pawlenty's alternative pay plan for teachers a success? He tells MPR's Tim Pugmire it is:

Gov. Tim Pawlenty recently visited Eden Prairie to announce state approval for that school district's alternative compensation plan. Pawlenty is a big booster of the program, which he calls Q Comp. He offered a kid-friendly explanation of performance pay to students at Oak Point Intermediate School.

"What we're talking about here today is trying to find ways to recognize and reward teachers for some things other than just how long they've been teaching," Pawlenty said.

It looks like the Bush administration has finally realized high gas prices could be a political problem. Here's the AP:

During the last few days, Bush asked his Energy and Justice departments to open inquiries into whether the price of gasoline has been illegally manipulated, said White House press secretary Scott McClellan. Bush planned to announce the action Tuesday during a speech in Washington.

It's unclear what impact, if any, Bush's investigation would have on prices that are near $3 a gallon. Asked if Bush had any reason to suspect market manipulation, McClellan responded, "Well, gas prices are high right now, and that's why you want to make sure there's not."

Want to see what's causing higher prices? Take a look in the mirror...and at this AP item:

The Power Information Network says that in January, February and March, nearly a quarter of all new vehicles purchased by consumers were equipped with eight-cylinder engines -- pretty much the same as in last July, August and September.

According to Power, sales rates of six- and four-cylinder engine vehicles have also been constant, with six-cylinder engines ccounting for about 41 percent of all new-vehicle retail sales during the past nine months. Products with four-cylinder engines have made up about 31 percent of overall sales.

Tuesday the House is expected to debate the proposed constitutional amendment that would dedicate sales tax money to natural resources programs. That should be a long one.

Sorry to be brief today, but I'm wrestling with some technical problems on the radio side that I have to pay attention to.