Minnesota House returns to a rare tie after newly elected Democrat takes oath of office
The Minnesota House on Monday returned to a rare 67-67 tie, after a Democrat who won a special election last week took the oath of office.
The seating of Rep. David Gottfried, who represents parts of Shoreview and Roseville in District 40B, means the power-sharing agreement negotiated between both caucuses last month takes effect. Democrats and Republicans now share power on committees and it ensures no bill comes to the floor for a vote without bipartisan support.
Until now, the GOP had a one-seat advantage in the chamber, after a judge barred the initial DFL winner in the general election from serving, finding he did not live there as required by law. That left a vacancy and gave Republicans the temporary edge, prompting Democrats to boycott the legislative session for weeks to guarantee a deal about how the chamber would operate if it returned to a tie.
"It is frustrating that we had to have a lot of conflict about getting a power-sharing agreement when we knew we would end up in a tie. I think that was wasted time and energy," former House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park told reporters last week. "But we are where we are. We are tied, and we will move forward and hopefully start working together next week in a real way putting together a budget."
Under the terms of the agreement, GOP House Speaker Lisa Demuth will remain in her role and Republicans will still lead the new oversight committee focused on fraud in public programs. But on committees that vet legislation, both parties will switch off who leads them. Democrats will have the gavel on those panels for the first time Tuesday.
Republicans thus far have been able to advance their priority bills — without DFL support — to the floor for a vote. But not all of those proposals had the necessary votes to pass, even with that one-seat edge.
"You will see 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. Minnesotans are looking forward to the work that can be done. They don't get involved in all of the happenings here on a daily basis," said Demuth.
The Legislature must pass the next two-year state budget before session's end in mid-May. Those discussions began in earnest after the state's financial experts detailed the latest budget forecast earlier this month, which provides the estimates needed to piece together those spending plans.
Lawmakers will have to keep an eye on looming budget impacts, too, as the state stares down a projected $6 billion deficit in future years.
