In a major victory for Minnesota House Democrats Friday, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that 68 House members must be present for a quorum, which means the lower chamber has had no official proceedings during a Democratic boycott.
House Republicans have been meeting since the opening of the session on Jan. 14, when they elected a speaker and assigned committee chairs even though they only had 67 members present.
Minnesota House Democrats and Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon — who was the presiding officer on Jan. 14, declared the lack of a quorum and adjourned — sued House Republicans and asked the Supreme Court to find that Republicans could not conduct any business without 68 members present. On the first day of session, Jan. 14, all 66 House Democrats boycotted the session — and have stayed away from the Capitol since — to prevent Republicans from taking control of the chamber.
The Supreme Court, in a three-page order with a formal opinion to follow at a later date, agreed with Simon.
“We further hold that under Article IV, Section 13, of the Minnesota Constitution, which requires that ‘[a] majority of each house constitutes a quorum to transact business,’ a quorum requires a majority of the total number of seats of each house,” the court ordered. “Vacancies do not reduce the number required for a majority of each house to constitute a quorum.”
The justices, all of whom were appointed by Democratic governors, said that their “resolution as to the meaning of the Minnesota Constitution’s quorum clause should be sufficient to resolve the issues raised by the petitions.”
It’s unclear whether Democrats will return to the House chamber on Monday.
Democratic House leader Melissa Hortman — assuming she can keep her caucus united — can now threaten to continue to withhold a quorum unless Republican House leader Lisa Demuth agrees to negotiate a power-sharing agreement.
Hortman said that Republicans must return to the negotiating table.
“Republicans tried to seize power that the voters did not give them. Now that it is clear Republicans must work with Democrats for the House to operate, I am hopeful we will be able to shortly negotiate an acceptable path forward,” Hortman said. “We’re ready to roll up our sleeves and return to the negotiating table immediately.”
Hortman, during a Friday press conference, said she invited Demuth to begin negotiating Friday evening but hadn’t heard back.
In a statement, Demuth said that it’s time for Democrats to come back but made no firm commitment on any new negotiations.
“This decision drives home the fact that House Democrats are disrespecting not just their own constituents, but the entire state of Minnesota by refusing to do their jobs,” Demuth said. “House Republicans will be showing up to work on Monday — it’s time for the Democrats’ walkout to end and for the Legislature to get on with its work.”
There’s still an empty House seat, and Gov. Tim Walz hasn’t called another special election to fill it yet. House DFL leader Melissa Hortman said she anticipates the special election will take place on March 11. The seat is DFL-leaning, so the special election is expected to bring the chamber back to a tie, 67-67.
Democrats have also been concerned that Republicans would use their temporary majority to refuse to seat DFL Rep. Brad Tabke, who won his south metro election by 14 votes in a contest marred by 20 missing ballots.
Hortman has said that she hasn’t received confirmation from Republicans that they will refrain from unseating Tabke, a Shakopee Democrat. A judge last week ruled that despite the missing ballots, Tabke would have won anyway and there’s no need for a special election. Demuth has previously said that her caucus won’t seat Tabke without a do-over.
In a statement, Simon said he will convene the House on Monday.
“I thank the court for its promptness and clarity in this case. This was a closely contested legal issue, and for the first time in state history we now have a final answer on what constitutes a legislative quorum,” Simon said. “I look forward to re-convening the House of Representatives – and to working with an organized Legislature to advance the interests of all Minnesotans.”
