Democrats end boycott of Minnesota House after agreeing to power-sharing deal with GOP
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota House Democrats returned to the state Capitol on Thursday after reaching a power-sharing agreement with Republicans, ending a stalemate that prevented the chamber from conducting official business for more than three weeks.
Under the deal, House Republican leader Lisa Demuth, of Cold Spring, was elected as speaker for two years. Demuth, who is Black, is the chamber’s first speaker of color.
All 66 Democrats had boycotted the House since Jan. 14 to prevent a quorum of 68 members needed for the chamber to operate. All but one Democrat and all 67 Republicans were present on the House floor when Secretary of State Steve Simon took the roll, before handing the speaker’s gavel to Demuth. Representatives on both sides of the aisle gave her a standing ovation.
After the election, party leaders negotiated a power-sharing deal working on the assumption that the House would be tied 67-67. But in December, a judge ruled that one Democratic candidate didn’t actually live in the district that he won, giving Republicans a temporary one-seat majority. At that point, the agreement fell apart.
A special election to fill the empty seat is scheduled for March 11, and the Democratic candidate is expected to win, restoring the 67-67- tie. Republicans and Democrats will then co-chair most committees, with equal memberships from each party, though the GOP will get to lead and have a majority on a committee dedicated to rooting out fraud in government programs.
As part of the deal, there will be some checks on the speaker’s traditionally broad powers. Both parties will have to agree on certain major decisions, such as which bills come to the floor for debate, and Demuth won’t be able to block legislation all by herself.
In her first speech to the House as speaker, Demuth pledged to “foster a culture of respect and constructive debate” going forward.
“The people of Minnesota have given us a unique opportunity with this closely divided house,” Demuth said. “They expect us to rise above the politics and to find solutions together. And to prove that government can and will work for them. Minnesotans are counting on us, not for political theater or ideological victories, but the real results that will improve their daily lives.”
While Republicans said they won significant concessions in the negotiations, Democrats said the final deal was essentially the same as the one they proposed just before the session.
“That it took nearly four weeks to reach this agreement is regrettable and was unnecessary. … We could have avoided all of this, honored the will of the voters, and started in a bipartisan fashion from day one,” the top House Democrat, former Speaker Melissa Hortman, of Brooklyn Park, said at a news conference.
The last time the House was tied was in 1979, when party leaders reached a power-sharing agreement after weeks of negotiations. Republicans took the speakership, while Democrats chaired the three most powerful committees. The arrangement worked for most of the session but collapsed in the closing days, and lawmakers needed a one-day special session to finish off the year’s must-pass bills.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, tied chambers aren’t that unusual and often work out better than expected.
Under the Minnesota deal, House Democrats received GOP assurances that they will not try to unseat a Democrat who won reelection by only 14 votes in a swing district where 20 ballots went missing. An ethics committee will hold a hearing on that race but won’t take further action.
The Republican Party of Minnesota ramped up pressure this week by launching a drive to recall all 66 Democratic representatives. The state’s recall process is difficult by design and the party’s executive director, Jennifer DeJournett, estimated the process could take 10 months.
Nothing in the deal required the party to drop the recall campaign, and while Hortman said Democrats are confident the court will dismiss those petitions as it has in previous attempts, the state party organization plans to try anyway.
“We will continue the recall process to ensure there are consequences for the Democrats’ nonfeasance,” State GOP Chair Alex Plechash said in a statement.
By STEVE KARNOWSKI
Associated Press
