Minnesota lawmakers in the state House have reached a bipartisan power-sharing agreement that ended a weeks-long political stalemate in the closely divided legislative body. Under the agreement, Republicans will control the speakership in the House, where they currently hold a one-seat advantage. The Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party secured assurances that Republicans wouldn’t block one of their members from being seated and would share power if the chamber returns to a tie after a special election next month.
The Minnesota House had been unable to conduct any business for the last three weeks due to a quorum issue. The tied chamber requires a quorum of 68 to conduct business, but with a residency challenge and discarded ballots causing uncertainty over the makeup of the chamber, Republicans planned to take control until a court ruled that the discarded ballots wouldn’t change the outcome of the election.
Under the agreement, if Democrats win the special election next month, the parties will co-chair committees with an equal number of Democrats and Republicans on each committee, requiring bipartisan support to advance legislation. The agreement also places limitations on the speaker in a tied chamber.
House Democratic Leader Melissa Hortman hailed the agreement as protecting the will of the voters and ensuring bipartisan power-sharing in a tied chamber. State Rep. Lisa Demuth, expected to be elected speaker, praised the agreement for putting Republicans in a strong position to push for legislative priorities. Democrats narrowly control the state Senate and the governorship in Minnesota.
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