Minnesota high court sides with Democrats in struggle with Republicans over control of state House

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Supreme Court sided with Democrats on Friday in a power struggle with Republicans that the chief justice said had left the state House of Representatives “completely dysfunctional.”

The justices agreed with House Democratic leaders who argued that a quorum in the House was 68 members under the state constitution, not the 67 that Republicans claimed. The House GOP holds a 67-66 majority pending a special election to fill an empty seat that’s expected around March 11. House Democrats have stayed away from the Capitol all session to try to prevent Republicans from exploiting their advantage.

House Democratic leaders had expressed hope before the ruling that a win for them would incentivize their GOP counterparts to negotiate a power-sharing agreement similar to one that they agreed to after the November election when it looked like the House would be tied 67-67 when the Legislature convened its 2025 session Jan. 14.

That agreement collapsed after a Ramsey County judge ruled that the Democratic winner of a Roseville-area seat didn’t live in his district and was ineligible. That gave Republicans a temporary one-seat majority. The eventual special election to fill the seat is expected to restore the tie because it’s a heavily Democratic district. In the meantime, Republicans have pressed forward with electing their top leader as speaker, introducing legislation and holding hearings.

House Democrats have also said they won’t return to the Capitol until Republicans promise not to refuse to seat Democratic Rep. Brad Tabke, of Shakopee, who won reelection by just 14 votes in a swing district where the GOP would stand a good chance of winning a low-turnout special election. Republicans have refused to give that assurance, even though a Scott County judge declared Tabke the legal winner. Denying Tabke his seat would lock in the GOP majority at least until that seat could be filled.

In trying to block a quorum, House Democrats are using tactics that lawmakers around the country have tried at least two dozen times before to thwart their opponents. While it’s unusual in Minnesota, it’s not a first for the state. In 1857, Republicans wanted to move the Minnesota Territory’s capital from St. Paul to St. Peter, about 75 miles (121 kilometers) away. A Democratic lawmaker took physical possession of the bill and hid in a local hotel until it was too late to act on the measure.

The Minnesota Constitution says a “majority of each house constitutes a quorum to transact business.” But lawyers for both sides pointed during oral arguments Jan. 23 to various passages in the state and federal constitutions, statutes, case law and rules in Congress and other states to show that it’s not necessarily a simple question. Republicans argued that the court did not have the authority under the constitutional separation of powers to review how the Legislature organizes itself or its leadership choices.

Chief Justice Natalie Hudson said during those proceedings that while the courts are rightfully hesitant to dabble in the business of another branch of government, there are also times when the courts are required to step in.

“What we have is a co-equal branch of government that is completely dysfunctional, that is not doing the will and the work of the people of Minnesota,” she said. “Isn’t that an instance where, if not the judicial branch, who? Who steps in to resolve that?”

In contrast to the turmoil in the House, the Minnesota Senate, which is tied 33-33, is operating smoothy under a power-sharing agreement pending a Jan. 28 special election to fill the seat of a senator from a heavily Democratic district who died in December.