Minnesota lawmakers hit a reset after Supreme Court ruling, but stalemate persists
Go Deeper.
Create an account or log in to save stories.
Like this?
Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.
The Minnesota House met Monday but adjourned after about seven minutes, continuing the stalemate between the GOP and DFL despite a Friday court ruling some hoped would reboot the chamber.
With only Republican members present, the House came up short of the 68 votes needed to convene and take up official business.
Democrats continued a third week of boycotting the chamber over frustrations that Republican leaders would not accept a power-sharing deal that includes assurances a Shakopee-area lawmaker would keep a seat and the GOP would revisit operations if a DFLer wins a vacant seat in March.
Secretary of State Steve Simon, who returned as presiding officer Monday and quickly gaveled the session to adjournment, said he would return Tuesday.
Turn Up Your Support
MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all.
Negotiations between legislative leaders were expected to continue behind closed doors.
In the Senate, there was a bumpy ride on Monday as well as members debated the possible expulsion of one of their own before voting to end consideration of that motion.
‘We do need to start over’
Like a scene from the movie “Groundhog Day,” life in the Minnesota House continued to repeat itself Monday — a cycle of gaveled to order, no quorum, no business, gaveled to adjournment.
The Minnesota Supreme Court on Friday offered at least one answer to a question that had split Republicans and Democrats. It said that the threshold to convene and do work is 68 members in the 134-member chamber.
That’s important because Republicans had been running the House and had elected leadership with their 67 votes. Meanwhile, Democrats stayed away from the Capitol to deny Republicans the extra vote needed to conduct official business.
The court didn’t explicitly outline what should come next when the House comes back for a do-over. But DFL and GOP leaders acknowledged Monday morning that the work Republicans had done so far was effectively void.
“Unfortunately, the work that was done over the last two weeks, even though it was great, basic, foundational work that we will build on, we do need to start over, and we understand that,” GOP Leader Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, said.
DFL Leader Melissa Hortman said Friday’s ruling was a message that the court didn’t want to wade too deeply into the business of the Legislature. Now it’s up to leaders to figure it out.
“They did their job. They interpreted the Minnesota Constitution. They've told us, quorum is 68 and now the ball is in our court to go solve problems together,” the Brooklyn Park Democrat said.
With a power-sharing deal, Democrats would be willing to end their boycott and return to the Capitol, she said. Such an accord has been elusive since the judge issued a residency challenge that shifted control in the House.
As of Monday, the biggest sticking points remained. Republicans still hadn’t agreed to a proposal to take leadership roles on a temporary basis and to let DFL Rep. Brad Tabke of Shakopee remain in office.
“If I had something in writing from Rep. Demuth that I could count on that would certainly help in resolving the issues that would get us back to the Capitol,” Hortman said Monday afternoon.
His 14-vote win has been a source of ongoing controversy because a batch of ballots went missing; a judge ruled that he would have prevailed anyway given testimony from affected voters. Republicans have kept open the possibility of removing him anyway.
“We have not made a final decision, but what I can tell you is Brad Tabke not showing up for work today was not helpful,” Demuth said after the short Monday House session.
Without movement on those issues, Hortman said Democrats would take their boycott into a third week, potentially stalling out the House.
Republicans moved forward with efforts to organize and elect a speaker despite Secretary Simon’s move to adjourn on the first day of the legislative session. At the time, they told Simon they wouldn’t allow him back in the House to attempt another effort to convene the chamber with the necessary 68 votes.
Controversy in the Senate
Minnesota Senate leaders were able to work out a power-sharing deal with a 33-33 split following the death of Minneapolis Sen. Kari Dziedzic, a DFLer and former majority leader. The vacancy there will also be filled in a special election.
The chamber, though, had its own drama Monday when Republicans tried to push the potential expulsion of Sen. Nicole Mitchell, DFL-Woodbury.
Mitchell was arrested in April at her stepmother's home in Detroit Lakes and charged with burglary. A trial that was supposed to start Monday was postponed until June after Mitchell’s attorneys invoked a legislative privilege.
“We shouldn’t be complicit in delaying justice for the victim of a crime by allowing Senator. Mitchell to use her membership in this body to shield herself from criminal consequences,” said Sen. Jordan Rasmusson, R-Fergus Falls.
Democrats argued against the consideration of the motion, which would have taken 45 votes to succeed. They said Mitchell has the right to defend herself in the criminal matter before facing legislative sanctions.
The motion to expel her was set aside on a 33-33 vote, which included Mitchell joining in the move to sink it.
Senate special election set for Tuesday
Voters in Minneapolis will decide Tuesday the winner of a special election for Dziedzic’s Senate seat. The result could throw a one-vote majority to Democrats or Republicans.
Senate DFL Leader Erin Murphy, of St. Paul, said she expects that a Democrat will win in the district and again give her party a one-vote edge. But she said having a power-sharing agreement in place “is laying a foundation for collaborative agreement, a collaborative relationship, and our ability to get the work done for the people of Minnesota.”
Because the agreement is allowing the chamber to operate well, GOP Leader Mark Johnson of East Grand Forks said Democrats should continue extending it no matter the outcome of the special election.
“If things continue to work this well, I hope that they reconsider that,” Johnson said. “We can continue to work together on these bills and in committees, because it's really produced some great relationships and good policy at the beginning here.”
MPR News politics reporter Clay Masters and host Emily Bright contributed to this story