Minnesota House Democrats threaten to skip first two weeks of legislative session, preventing GOP quorum
House Democrats in Minnesota's legislature are threatening to skip out on the first two weeks of the legislative session starting Jan. 14, deepening political discord, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported.
If the Democrats fail to show up, Republicans won't have the quorum — meaning the minimum number of people required — that they need to legislate, the Star Tribune reported. At the same time, Republicans are weighing whether they should use their one-seat advantage in the House to refuse to seat a Democratic representative whose election victory is being challenged in court.
Originally, the Minnesota House was set to be evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats, but a judge in the state ruled in December that newly-elected Democrat, Curtis Johnson, wasn't eligible for his seat because he didn’t live in his Roseville-area district. A special election to fill the seat will be held on Jan. 28, but Republicans will have the advantage until then.
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It is assumed that the Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) party leaders would return to the legislative session if a Democrat were to win the special election, putting the House at a 67-67 tie.
Republicans were hoping to elect a speaker with their advantage in order to control the House committees for the next two years, but House DFL Leader Melissa Hortman said the parties should govern with shared power since the chamber is likely to be tied again after the special election.
"If there is no power-sharing agreement, we will not be here," Hortman said during a news conference at the State Capitol on Monday.
But Republican leaders disagree, arguing there isn't currently a tie and that they can reach a quorum on their own since there will be 144 chamber members until the special election in January.
"It completely begs the question of whether or not a true power-sharing was going to work when we see that Democrats are refusing to potentially even come in to work," State House GOP Leader Lisa Demuth said Monday at a Republican news conference.
Secretary of State Steve Simon will preside over the House’s first day, where he will make the call about a quorum.
Republicans might also refuse to allow Democratic State Rep. Brad Tabke to take office, as his 14-vote election victory has been contested in court after county elections officials lost 20 absentee ballots in one precinct, the Star Tribune reported. But, the GOP could also simply bar Tabke from taking office based on their own constitutional power regardless of what the judge rules, furthering the GOP advantage.
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"We’re waiting for that judge’s ruling. We will make our determination based on what the judge comes through with," Demuth said in an interview before the news conference. "But we, of course, asked for a new election. That’s the only way to guarantee a solid election in that area."
If House Democrats boycott next week's session, Demuth suggested they could be subject to recall petitions.
"I will expect that they’ll be professional legislators and show up," Demuth said.
Hortman, however, was optimistic that the parties would come to an agreement before the start of the session, the Star Tribune reported.
"Things work themselves out. It’s early, it’s a full week before we need to convene," Hortman said. "We have lots of time to come together and discuss how we can work together, and I’m confident that we will."