What’s a Quorum?
When Secretary of State Steve Simon convened the Minnesota House of Representatives at Noon on Tuesday, January 14, 67 Republicans were in attendance but the 66 DFLers were notably absent. DFLers boycotted the first day over concerns that Republicans would not abide by a previously agreed upon power sharing agreement and that they would reject the election certificate of DFLer Brad Tabke (see below). Secretary Simon ruled that a quorum of 68 members was not present and adjourned the House. Republicans, overruling Secretary Simon, declared that 67 members constituted a quorum, elected Lisa Demuth as Speaker of the House, and proceeded to organize the House for 2025-2026. House DFLers, arguing that these actions were improper, promptly filed suit in the Minnesota Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is expected to rule in the next few weeks.
House DFLers Sworn in Before Session Start Date
In a first ever move, House DFL members gathered behind closed doors at the Minnesota History Center on Sunday, January 12, and held their own swearing in ceremony. Republicans are questioning the legality of this ceremony and claim that the DFLers had to be present on the opening of session to be sworn in. Conversely, DFLers argue that the swearing in ceremony was legal. The Supreme Court will be called in to sort this issue out as well.
Judge Rules in Contested House Seat
Just a few hours before the start of the session on Tuesday, a district court judge ruled on the contested election in House District 54B, finding in favor of DFL candidate Brad Tabke, who won the election by 14 votes. While the GOP suit acknowledged the 14-vote margin, it noted that 20 absentee ballots had been lost before they were counted, thereby requiring a new election (and requesting the judge to order the same). Republicans have yet to appeal this ruling; we anticipate they will do so, arguing that the House of Representatives is the final arbiter of membership in the body.
Senate First Day was Uneventful
With the recent passing of Senator Kari Dziedzic (DFL-Minneapolis), the Senate is tied at 33-33. Prior to the first day of session, Senate DFLers and Republicans came to a power-sharing agreement. Under this agreement, there will be two co-presidents of the Senate, and each committee will have co-chairs. Governor Walz has also called a special election on January 28 for the open Senate seat. The DFL is expected to win this northeast Minneapolis seat and return the Senate to a 34-33 majority.
Governor Unveils 2026-2027 Budget
Governor Tim Walz unveiled his Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Biennial Budget on Thursday. The actual budget is comprised of thousands of pages of text and spreadsheets and is the first step in the budget adoption process. The Governor proposed a $66.9 billion budget which grows to $71.1 billion in Fiscal Years 2028-2029, which reflects a reduction from the current 2024-2025 Biennial Budget. The Minnesota Management Budget website has more details here.
