State auditor, legislators spar over her lawsuit against Minn. counties

State Auditor Rebecca Otto and her Republican adversaries in the Legislature continued their long-standing, frequently hostile dispute Wednesday over the powers of her constitutional office — and its budget.

While the hearing stayed civil on the surface, it bubbled with the simmering animus of an ugly divorce mediation. The laughs were few and mirthless, the smiles chilly as DFLer Otto defended a lawsuit she has filed against three Minnesota counties that stems from a 2015 measure to strip some of her authority. “It’s never been personal,” said Rep. Jim Nash, R-Waconia, who has been one of Otto’s chief critics in the House GOP.

http://www.startribune.com/state-auditor-legislators-spar-over-her-lawsuit-against-minn-counties/413898933/