The Minnesota House chamber. Photo courtesy of Minnesota House Public Information Services.
A resignation, a secret oath-taking, missing ballots, a deceased senator, special elections, a burglary trial, House members on the run.
Even for Minnesotans following closely, the dramatic runup to the divided Legislature, which is supposed to begin its annual session Tuesday, has been confusing. So we’re here to help with this rundown of everything happening with our messy Legislature.
What’s this about Democrats not showing up?
Here’s a bit of backstory: The Minnesota House has 134 members and was set to be tied 67-67 after the November election. But one Democrat — Curtis Johnson — was ruled ineligible to hold office.
On this one, Democrats have no one but themselves to blame. Despite the Roseville-area District 40B being home to literally thousands of qualified, civically-engaged Democrats, party activists settled on a candidate who didn’t actually live in the district. Johnson claimed he was living in an apartment while searching for a family home, but a district judge ruled that he didn’t meet the residency requirement, which mandates that a person live in a district for six months prior to the election. Once the judge ruled against him, he resigned.
On Jan. 28, there’s going to be a special election in the district — barring a court challenge — and Democrats are expected to win that seat, which would bring them back into a tie.
In the meantime, Republicans want to elect one of their own, Rep. Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, to be the speaker of the House.
They also want to prevent Rep. Brad Tabke, DFL-Shakopee, from taking his seat in the House.
Why do Republicans want to prevent Tabke from being seated?
Tabke won reelection in District 54A in the south metro by 14 votes. But 20 absentee ballots were accidentally thrown out. Republicans contested the election, there was a trial last month, and we’re waiting for the judge to rule.
During the trial, six of the 20 voters whose ballots are believed to have been lost testified that they voted to reelect the Shakopee representative. If those voters’ ballots were the ones destroyed before being counted, that would expand Tabke’s victory to 20 votes with only 14 unaccounted for ballots.
What’s taking the judge so long to rule in the case?
Good question. She’s expected to issue a ruling before the session begins.
Regardless: No matter what the judge says, the House (and Senate) have ultimate authority to seat their own members, so theoretically a GOP-led House could ignore the judge and refuse to seat Tabke.
In fact, Demuth said as much last week.
Republicans would refuse to seat Tabke, which would pressure Gov. Tim Walz to call a special election in 54A. Republicans would have a real shot at that one, and if they win, they’d have a true 68-seat majority to pass bills out of the chamber for the next two years.
To prevent that, Democrats are going to boycott and deny the House a quorum. In fact, they’re so committed that they had their own swearing-in ceremony at the Minnesota History Center Sunday to avoid being at the Capitol Tuesday.
What’s a quorum?
Just as you can’t play respectable beer pong with three people, a quorum is the minimum number of lawmakers needed to conduct business. Without a quorum, Republicans can’t go ahead and appoint Demuth speaker or deny Tabke his seat.
What do Republicans say?
They say that a quorum is reached with a majority of the members, which is currently 133. So, they argue, their 67 should equal a quorum. Democrats say a quorum is a majority of 134, which is 68, and as long as Democrats don’t show up, Republicans can’t get their quorum.
Who’s in charge?
No one, really. But state statute dictates that Secretary of State Steve Simon is the presiding officer on noon Tuesday. And, the presiding officer, i.e., the chair, is the one who makes decisions about the quorum and other rules.
And what’s Simon say about all this?
Simon says that after consulting legal and constitutional advisers, the House needs 68 for a quorum. And without a quorum, he’s powerless except to adjourn the meeting until the following day.
So, you can see how this would go on until that special election in Roseville we mentioned, at which point it’s again 67-67.
Worth noting: Simon is a Democrat, but he says his ruling won’t be influenced by his party.
And what do Republicans say about that?
They say they’ll challenge Simon’s ruling. “While it is proper for a presiding officer to make an initial determination of quorum, any such determination can be appealed to the body just like every decision by every presiding officer of every legislative body,” Demuth and Rep. Harry Niska, R-Ramsey, said in a letter to Simon Monday. “If you seek to overstep your authority, you are subject to removal and replacement by the body.”
The follow-up question to that ominous bit about “removal” of Simon is very complex: What constitutes a “body,” especially if the presiding officer has determined there’s no quorum?
For instance, we asked the House Chief Clerk’s Office about Democrats having their own swearing-in ceremony and whether it’s legit, and they declined to comment. That’s because, as of now, there really is no House clerk because the clerk’s not been appointed by the House yet.
What’s happening over on the Senate side?
The Senate is tied 33-33 after the death of Sen. Kari Dziedzic, a Minneapolis Democrat and former majority leader. Walz has called a special election for Jan. 28, after which Democrats are expected to return to the majority.
In the meantime, everyone is being more chill about it. Republican and Democratic legislative leaders sent out a joint press release in which they highlighted the key agreements:
- Each committee has joint chairs, with gavel sharing determined by the chairs.
- Equal representation of DFL and GOP members on committees.
- No changes to Senate rules through 2025.
But there’s also another key item: Agreement is in place until there are 34 votes to end the agreement.
So, once Democrats are back in the majority, Democrats can use all the power of the majority, which is a lot. Hopefully this bit of bipartisan comity will persist through the end of the legislative session in May.
What about that senator who police found dressed in black in her stepmother’s basement?
State Sen. Nicole Mitchell, DFL-Woodbury, has a trial scheduled for later this month. She was charged with felony burglary after prosecutors say she broke into her stepmother’s home. She says she was merely retrieving some belongings, but when police found her she was in the basement and dressed like a cat burglar. She wants the trial postponed until the end of the legislative session. Democrats have ostracized her and tried to force her out short of expelling her, but she’s thus far refused to resign.
Republicans have promised to kick up a lot of dust if she continues to serve.
OK, so it seems like some politicians are fighting for power. What does it mean for me?
Insofar as this power struggle in the House leads to state government gridlock, it will have a big impact on you. And especially if you have kids in school, drive on state highways, go to state parks or need help taking care of someone with disabilities.
That’s because it’s a budget year, and the $60+ billion state budget funds all those priorities and a bunch of other stuff that make Minnesota a decent place to live.
And there’s no autopilot. The state budget needs to be agreed to by the Legislature and signed by Walz by June 30. Otherwise, state government shuts down. And that’s a huge mess.
Although the divided Legislature and a darkening fiscal outlook portend an unambitious legislative session, they need to agree to something to keep the lights on, i.e, money flowing to school districts, parks, courts, etc. etc. etc.
So we’re here to help you pay attention, because, ultimately, if a bit circuitously, you’re in charge.
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