How Sen. Nicole Mitchell's burglary charges are affecting the Minnesota Legislature
MINNEAPOLIS — With just two weeks left in the legislative session, there is a lot of unfinished business.
Major bills have still not been voted on. But the legislative business has slowed because of the controversial return of Sen. Nicole Mitchell, who was charged last month with felony burglary.
With just two weeks to go there are still a lot of big bills that have not been passed by the Minnesota Legislature, including sports betting, gun control measures an ERA amendment with abortion protections and a billion-dollar infrastructure bonding bill. But the business of the Senate has been slowed by the felony burglary charges Mitchell, of Woodbury.
Mitchell has been charged with breaking into her stepmother's house in Detroit Lakes last month.
Mitchell's presence is critical at the legislature because the Democrats have only a one-vote majority. As a temporary punishment, Mitchell has been removed from committee assignments and can't attend caucus meetings. But she has been voting and says she won't resign.
Republicans say she should. Democrats say she is entitled to vote and should be given the presumption of innocence until the court proceedings play out.
On Tuesday, an ethics committee is set to meet to hear the Republican ethics complaint against her. Assistant DFL Senate Majority Leader Nick Frentz and Republican Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson were guests on WCCO Sunday Morning at 10:30 a.m.
"On Tuesday, the first hearing where there are choices to be made will play out. We did notice as we looked at the history that in the last 30 years the option to allow the criminal process to play out first has always been observed," Frentz said.
"Here we have a senator accused of a crime of violence, a first-degree felony, who continues to sit on the Senate floor and do her job on the Senate floor during that time. What we are looking to do is hold her accountable," Johnson said.
The ethics committee is chaired by DFL Senate President Bobby Joe Champion and has a total of four members — two Republicans and two Democrats. Any motion that is a tie is defeated. In addition to saying she won't resign, Mitchell has said "a much different picture will emerge once all the facts are known."
Mitchell won her seat in 2022 and is not up for reelection until 2026.
You can watch WCCO Sunday Morning with Esme Murphy and Adam Del Rosso at 6 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.