Two cases at the Minnesota Supreme Court could determine who controls the House

[MUSIC PLAYING] NINA POINI: Our top story this afternoon, about an hour from now, the Minnesota Supreme Court will hear arguments over a power struggle in the state house of representatives. Democratic lawmakers are boycotting the chamber to keep attendance below 68 members. That's the number that has historically been needed for the chamber to start its official work.

DFL Secretary of State Steve Simon has said this year is no different. House republicans disagree, and they've been going ahead with business, like electing a speaker. So Simon and DFL lawmakers asked the court to step in with two different cases that could decide who has power in the house. NPR politics reporter Dana Ferguson joins me now to explain more. Thanks for being here again, Dana.

DANA FERGUSON: You're welcome, Nina.

NINA POINI: So two cases here, what are the key issues?

DANA FERGUSON: Basically, it comes down to a question about legislative math. Democrats say a majority of members in the 134-person chamber, so 68, need to be there to get anything done. That's why they've kept members away from the capital. Adding even one member could get republicans to that threshold. But republicans say, since there is a one seat vacancy, that's in the Roosevelt area seat that democrats lost to a residency challenge. The magic number is actually 67. And that's how many members they have right now. They pushed forward in electing Lisa Demuth as speaker and have been doing sort of shadow floor sessions and other business. But it's not clear that it squares with what state law requires.

NINA POINI: So what are the democrats arguing?

DANA FERGUSON: Democrats argue that none of what republicans have done is legitimate, since they bypassed the secretary of state and moved forward with less than a 68-vote threshold. They asked the court to rule that GOP actions were unlawful and blocked them from doing anything else without DFLers at the table.

NINA POINI: And what do the republicans say?

DANA FERGUSON: Yeah, they say it would be a big overreach for the court to step in, and say that they don't have the authority to act. They argue that the law gives the legislature broad authority to govern itself. And without democrats there to participate, they say that's what they're doing.

NINA POINI: So this has been going on for a while now. Do you know when we might have a ruling?

DANA FERGUSON: Yeah, there really isn't a time frame for when they might rule. The Supreme Court operates sort of on its own timetable. Sometimes it takes days and other times months to decide cases. But in matters where there's urgency, like this one, justices do tend to move faster. They often hand down an initial ruling within a few days and then follow it up with a detailed explanation later on. There are a range of options here, which means there's a lot of room for the justices to work. They could dismiss the challenges, issue a ruling in favor of the arguments and block the temporary GOP control, or find something in the middle.

NINA POINI: And what do we know about the justices who are going to be making this decision?

DANA FERGUSON: There are seven justices on the Minnesota Supreme Court. All were appointed by democratic governors. But that shouldn't be seen as a guarantee of how they might rule. Just last week, the high court struck down a special election scheduled by Walz, a fellow DFLer. Nina, if there's one justice to watch, it's Associate Justice Paul Thissen. Before he was appointed to the court, he served in the legislature and had stints as minority leader and as house speaker. So he'll bring a unique perspective on the bench to the ins and outs of legislative rules and procedures.

NINA POINI: Yeah.

DANA FERGUSON: Also, Justice Karl Procaccini, a Walz appointee, and the governor's former general counsel, has said he'll recuse himself in both cases. The court is unified more than not, meaning that a deadlocked decision is unlikely here.

NINA POINI: All right, Dana, thank you so much for bringing us the very latest.

DANA FERGUSON: You bet, Nina. Thank you.

NINA POINI: Dana Ferguson is a politics reporter for NPR News. The politics team will be listening to the oral arguments this afternoon. You can hear what happens on All Things Considered later today starting at 3:00. You can also find updates, of course, at nprnewsandviews.org.