ST. PAUL — A long-awaited investigation into the state health insurance exchange’s rocky rollout is about to be released.

The Office of the Legislative Auditor was set to release its wide-ranging audit of MNsure Tuesday morning. The new audit is expected to cover any gaps in planning and implementation as well as whether enrollments have kept pace with projections.

Previous looks into MNsure operations found that the exchange mishandled nearly $1 million in marketing work and had mistakenly placed several people in public health programs when they didn’t qualify.

MNsure concluded its second round of open enrollment Sunday. This latest audit may fuel proposals in the Legislature to alter MNsure governance and give lawmakers more power to control its budget.

Calmer tone heard from Dayton, Bakk in dispute over salaries

ST. PAUL — Last week’s confrontation over Minnesota agency commissioner pay gave way Monday to a calmer tone between two key Democrats in the middle of it, Gov. Mark Dayton and Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk.

Both leaders tried to get beyond the ugly dust-up that had Dayton condemning Bakk’s trustworthiness and the Senate leader doubting the governor’s recollection of events.

It all revolves around Dayton’s decision to grant big raises to agency leaders and Bakk’s move to temporarily squash those pay hikes, which he said he discussed privately with Dayton as an option.

A provision in an important spending bill to delay the pay increases drew a sharply worded veto threat. Republican leadership in the Minnesota House hasn’t decided whether to vote on the Senate version or seek additional changes to a bill that also pays for Minnesota’s Ebola response and shores up staffing at a security hospital for sex offenders in St. Peter.

The House won’t consider the bill until later this week, and Speaker Kurt Daudt said his caucus was still deciding what route to take to both stop the raises and provide funding needed to keep vital programs operating.