2025 Legislative Session Begins Under Unusual Circumstances

January 21, 2025

The 94th biennial legislative session began on Jan. 14, 2025, with a partisan power-sharing agreement in the Senate and a feud over control of the House.

The Minnesota Legislature convened as scheduled on Jan. 14 without the traditional power structure that puts the partisan majority in control of leadership and those in the minority without control over proceedings and committee gavels. Due to unexpected circumstances that occurred between the November election and the first day of session, caucus leaders in both the House and Senate are jockeying for control.

Senate temporarily evenly split

The Senate was not up for election but has one new member due to a special election to fill the seat of former Sen. Kelly Morrison (DFL-Deephaven) who resigned to successfully run for U.S. Congress. She was replaced by Sen. Ann Johnson Stewart (DFL-Minnetonka), who already served in the Minnesota Senate from 2020 to 2022 before she was paired with Sen. Morrison during redistricting.

The Senate DFL had been positioned to keep the one-seat majority they held in the 2023-2024 biennium, but due to the untimely passing of former Majority Leader Sen. Kari Dziedzic (DFL-Minneapolis) on Dec. 27, 2024, the chamber is now evenly split with 33 Republicans and 33 DFLers. A special election to fill Sen. Dziedzic’s seat will be held Jan. 28, and the seat is expected to remain in DFL control.

The body is currently operating under a power-sharing agreement that has DFLers and Republicans sharing control of leadership, including presiding over sessions and committees.

Although the power-sharing agreement is set to expire when Sen. Dziedzic’s seat is filled, also hanging over the body is the upcoming jury trial of Sen. Nicole Mitchell (DFL-Woodbury) who, as has been widely reported, is facing a trial on burglary charges stemming from an arrest in spring 2024.

On Jan. 17, a judge granted a continuance of her multiday trial, which was scheduled to begin Jan. 27. Although the trial will now occur after the May 19 constitutional deadline, there will likely be lengthy Senate Floor debates, like last session, over whether Sen. Mitchell should be voting on legislation.

House in uncharted territory

All House seats were on the ballot in 2024, resulting in an initial 67-67 tie between Republicans and DFLers. This led to negotiations and an early agreement to share control of the body. However, a legal challenge over the residency of the DFL winner for District 40B (Roseville) led to the elected candidate being deemed ineligible to serve. As a result, the session began with 67 Republicans and 66 DFLers.

A special election to fill the District 40B seat was initially scheduled for Jan. 28, the same day as the Senate special election. However, on Jan. 17, a judge ruled that Gov. Tim Walz (DFL) had called the special election prematurely, postponing it to a yet-to-be-determined date. Based on the November election results, the DFL candidate is expected to win, restoring the 67-67 tie.

In the meantime, the temporary imbalance has set off significant changes in the House. Republicans, now claiming a simple majority, terminated the power-sharing agreement. This has sparked disputes over how many members are needed to establish a quorum, an issue that has become central to upcoming legal arguments.

Democrats argue that the state constitution requires 68 members for a quorum to convene and pass legislation. Sworn in on Jan. 12, before the session officially began, they have since stayed away from the Capitol, maintaining their absence prevents a quorum. They aim to avoid participating in proceedings in which a quorum is present but they are without enough votes to withstand the election of Republican leaders who would potentially maintain control for the entire biennium.

Meanwhile, the Republican Caucus has been holding House Floor sessions and committee hearings and has elected Rep. Lisa Demuth (R-Cold Spring) Speaker of the House and Rep. Harry Niska (R-Ramsey) as Majority Leader. It’s unclear what will happen if/when the partisan tie resumes. The situation became more complicated due to the delay in filling the Roseville seat.

There is an additional wrinkle in the House that stems from the reelection of Rep. Brad Tabke (DFL-Shakopee). Rep. Tabke won reelection by 14 votes as determined in a recount, but in the process of auditing the election, Scott County staff discovered that 20 absentee ballots cast in the City of Shakopee were missing. Although a judge determined Rep. Tabke won the race and can serve as his district’s elected representative, Republicans have continued to call the election results into question and have been demanding a special election for the seat. Leaders of the Republican Caucus have publicly stated they will vote to refuse to seat Rep. Tabke. Legislators have authority to do this with a simple majority; however, they must have a quorum to legally convene.

Litigation pending

In addition to judicial proceedings related to Sen. Mitchell’s charges, the Roseville candidate’s residency, and Rep. Tabke’s close election in Shakopee, there are multiple additional legal actions pending over other disputes. These have been covered by multiple media outlets in recent days and weeks. The following are some examples of news articles related to legal challenges:

Gov. Walz’s proposed budget

Gov. Walz is back to work in Minnesota after running on the presidential ticket in 2024. He is refining his legislative priorities, recently unveiled his proposed biennial budget, and will propose a capital investment package in the coming weeks. He has publicly refused to acknowledge that the House is constitutionally organized and has reportedly ordered state agency staff to not participate in hearings being chaired and attended by House Republicans.

What does it all mean for cities?

Legislators on both sides of the aisle are busy meeting with constituents and advocates. City officials are encouraged to continue building relationships with their local legislators and sharing local legislative priorities. Given the partisan wrangling, there may be a delay in having bills heard in committees.

The Legislature is obligated to pass a two-year budget before the July 1, 2025, start of the next fiscal biennium. The League is hopeful there will not be delays in enacting the next budget. The League’s Intergovernmental Relations team is at the Capitol every day and is meeting with legislators, monitoring developments and advocating for the interests of cities.

Read more news articles.