A week before the legislative session’s start, Minnesota House members are butting heads on what the first day will look like. Democrats say a power-sharing agreement is still necessary, while Republicans declare they have a majority in the chamber and will “exercise that right.”

Two special elections called last week by Gov. Tim Walz and set to occur in late January have raised questions over control of the House as well as the Senate. Following a court ruling to unseat a DFL representative-elect from Roseville, the House will start the session with a 67-66, one-vote Republican majority. And after the death of Sen. Kari Dziedzic, DFL-Minneapolis, the Senate will start the session with a 33-33 tie.

House Republicans argue that with a majority, they can elect a speaker and control the committees.

Lisa Demuth (Courtesy photo)

“At this point, there is no need for a power-sharing agreement, because there is not equal power in the state of Minnesota — there are 67 Republicans, 66 Democrats,” said House Leader Rep. Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring. “What that does is gives us an organizational majority, and we fully intend to exercise that right.”

GOP House priorities

Earlier this week, Republicans laid out their priorities and their intent to elect Demuth as speaker and take control of committees in the days before the vacant seat in Roseville is filled in a special election on Jan. 28.

That House seat is expected to remain in DFL hands, though the GOP has said the governor called for the special election too earlier and are asking the state Supreme Court to weigh in on the matter.

Republicans have said their priorities are focusing on affordability issues, safety, returning taxpayer dollars to Minnesotans and addressing fraud.

They are calling for repealing the nuclear moratorium, repealing the Minnesota Dream Act that gives college tuition to undocumented individuals, creating a fraud committee and repealing the tax on Social Security.

DFL response

Democrats called the GOP’s move an illegitimate power grab and pointed to the fact that a 68-representative majority is needed to pass bills.

Melissa Hortman (Courtesty photo)

Without a power-sharing agreement, they said, Democrats will not show up on Day 1.

“They can’t even turn on the lights without us,” said House Leader Rep. Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park. “They can’t pass a bill, they can’t move a committee report, so to pretend that they have a majority while acknowledging they can’t do a single thing with 67 votes just shows the naivete of their current position.”

In addition to the vacant seat in Roseville, another DFL-held seat in Shakopee is up in the air as a district court is set to decide whether 20 missing ballots should prompt a third special election.

The quorum question

The question of whether 67 members constitute a quorum in the House is the crux of the dispute between House Republicans and Democrats.

“She (Demuth) knows they don’t have a quorum,” Hortman said. “She assumes that we’re going to show up; we’re not going to show up and have them illegitimately seize power.”

Democrats insist that 68 representatives are needed for a quorum, while Republicans argue that 67 represent a quorum because the House currently has 133 members with the vacant Roseville seat.

“Our expectation is that we have a quorum with 133 elected members of the House that will be there on Day 1,” Demuth said. “There is absolutely no reason why Democrats wouldn’t show up on the first day of session and be ready to work for their constituents. We definitely know that constituents expect their people to be here at work, and we do not stand for anyone that chooses not to show up.”

Hortman asserted that without a power-sharing agreement, House Democrats will not be there.

“Minnesotans delivered a tie to the House, and they expect us to govern as a tied house,” she said. “This is an opportunity for us to have the most collaborative and the most bipartisan session ever. There’s a really simple choice in front of us right now, to fight or to collaborate, and we are here saying we’re here to collaborate. We’re here to work together.”

The Legislature convenes on Tuesday, Jan. 14.

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