Minnesota lawmakers have get-out-of-jail free cards that grant them immunity from arrest while the Legislature is in session. A group of students from Concordia is pushing to change those rules to remove immunity for DWI offenses, and their effort is making fast progress, WCCO reports.

Some Republican legislators are urging leaders in the House and Senate to move the controversial bill through committees and onto the floor for a full vote.

Students in a government class at Concordia want to change what they call a loophole in the state's constitution that grants lawmakers immunity from arrest "in all cases except treason, felony and breach of the peace" while the Legislature is in session. The students want to change the definition of "breach of peace" to include drunken driving.

A legislative panel on flood relief holds a Capitol hearing Thursday, to be followed on Friday by meetings with Gov. Mark Dayton. Dayton hopes to call a one-day special legislative session on August 24th to allocate money to counties struck by flooding this summer. Some Republicans have balked at the governor's proposed $190 million relief package.

At Friday's special legislative session, lawmakers will approve spending $167 million to help counties that were wracked by flood waters and wind storms this summer. Nearly half the money will pay for repairs to roads and bridges, but there are also some economic development grants and low-interest loans for housing repairs.