Minnesota House starts second half of session in a tie; 29 legislator recall drives dismissed

The Minnesota House returned Monday to its full complement — and a tie — with a newly elected DFL member getting sworn in to fill a seat that’s been vacant since the legislative session began in January.

Rep.-elect David Gottfried won a seat in District 40B covering parts of Shoreview and Roseville last week. He took his seat Monday, giving the DFL 67 seats to match the 67 held by Republicans and triggering a power-sharing agreement.

At the session’s midpoint, another holdover from a bumpy start also got resolved: a set of recall petitions against 29 DFL legislators were dismissed.

Republicans filed the petitions against Democrats who boycotted weeks of the legislative session while the GOP held a one-vote edge.

Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Natalie Hudson dismissed the petitions Monday, saying that none of them reached the appropriate threshold.

“Each of the recall petitions is dismissed for failure to allege specific facts that, if proven, would constitute grounds for a recall,” Hudson wrote.

House DFL Leader Melissa Hortman said lawmakers have a fresh start.

“Now, hopefully we can just focus on getting the work of the legislative session done and put that rancor and division behind us, understanding that none of that needed to happen in the first place,” Hortman said.

The transition from GOP control to and even split comes as a reset halfway through the legislative session that’s been dominated by partisan disagreement. Democrats boycotted the first month of the legislative session over disputes about how to run the chamber when Republicans held a one-vote lead, stalling out official action. Then Republicans used their month in the majority to move forth partisan priorities that failed on the floor without 68 votes needed to pass.

While there were signs that partisan tensions could remain, lawmakers expressed more optimism that the new power dynamic would force them to work together.

“You will see maybe, maybe a little bit of settling into the new role, that's to be expected. But I think you'll see some good bipartisan work come out of this session,” House Speaker Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, said. “Minnesotans are looking forward to the work that can be done.” 

In their final days with a one-vote advantage, House Republicans brought a broad swath of partisan priorities to the floor as they aimed to put Democrats on the spot on issues that they will likely highlight later in campaign materials. More than a dozen other bills were paused for now for more work and possible consideration later.

There are nine weeks left in the legislative session. The Legislature has to pass a budget before July 1 to avert a government shutdown but they’re adjournment date is earlier — May 19.

Meanwhile, another key voice in the spending negotiations, Gov. Tim Walz, spent the weekend on the road hosting town hall discussions in Des Moines and Omaha. He said more political events outside the state were on the way. And he’s expected to present his revised budget, reigniting debates about what should be in the two-year spending plan.

Legislative leaders earlier this year struck a power-sharing deal in the event the special election left the House in a tie.

Demuth keeps the speakership under the agreement, which puts her in a position to rule on disputes over motions or amendments. Overruling her would take 68 votes, so it gives the GOP a slight tactical edge. Republicans also retain the chair and majority on a newly formed fraud prevention committee.

All other committees move to shared control. DFL leaders, along with their Republican counterparts, will trade off their chair duties day-to-day. Democrats were expected to have their first shot and leading committees Tuesday, after Gottfried’s swearing in. The committees will also have even representation of Democrats and Republicans.

That means bipartisan buy-in will be necessary to advance bills.

“It does give the opportunity for each side to bring their priorities forward, but when it comes right down to it, there's an equal number of members on every committee,” Demuth said. “So in order to move something out, it’s going to have to be bipartisan.”

Demuth and Hortman noted that there could still be some partisan antics as Democrats and Republicans trade off control in setting the agenda.

Hortman said it could force a change in tone.

“Republicans have wasted the first nine weeks of session being partisan. It’s time we could have spent building budget bills. That’s our job this year, and I’m glad we’re going to be turning the page on that,” Hortman said. 

In their first shot back in the chair seats, Hortman said Democrats would highlight their proposals to rein in the cost of child care, housing and health care. Committee agendas for the week include barring landlords from using algorithms to price set rent prices, create new grants to fund geothermal energy projects and boost funding to the state’s diaper bank, among others.

Republicans plan to promote bills that would preempt state and local policies that bar employees from sharing immigration data with federal immigration enforcement authorities, direct the state to seek federal approval to keep an innovation waiver that allows it to operate a reinsurance program and roll back a tax rebate on electric bikes.

Also on tap for the week: an updated budget from the Walz administration to account for a dip in projected money available.

Leaders in the House and Senate will take that information and consider it as they craft budgets of their own. Before their May 19 adjournment, they’ll work to pass budget bills and negotiate final versions that can win support in the evenly divided House, get through a narrowly split DFL-led Senate and earn a signature from Walz.

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