Minnesota Secretary of State to file petition with Supreme Court regarding legislative session
Roughly half of the Minnesota House seats remain empty as Democrats fail to show up after the legislative session gaveled in on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025, in St. Paul, Minnesota. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave)
Minnesota Secretary of State Steven Simon announced Tuesday, January 14, that he would be filing a petition with the Supreme Court after House Republicans proceeded to reconvene the legislative session after he had adjourned the body.
RELATED: House Democrats boycott opening day of Minnesota’s legislative session
Simon presided over the opening session of the House of Representatives for the start of the 2025-26 session that House Democrats boycotted. Following a roll call, Simon determined a quorum was not met under the standards established by the Minnesota Constitution and state law and adjourned the body.
“Minnesota’s Laws and Constitution are clear on the Secretary of State’s authority to preside over the House of Representatives until it establishes a quorum to and elects a speaker,” explained Simon. “I have no interest in being part of a partisan struggle, but the authority granted by state law to the Secretary of State was violated today after the house adjourned.I have made very clear to both caucuses and the public ahead of convening my legal conclusion that 68 members are required for the House to conduct business. I anticipate that the courts will provide clarity both on that issue and on the understanding that the person who holds the Secretary of State’s office is the presiding officer until a Speaker is legally elected – an event which has not yet occurred.”
Governor Tim Walz also weighed in on the proceedings of the first day of the 2025 legislative session.
“As much as House Republicans may want to govern as a single party, the law is the law and the House is not in session,” said Walz. “House Republicans need to assure Minnesotans that they won’t overturn an election or take power voters didn’t give them. Once that common sense commitment is made, the important work that the House has in front of them can move forward.”
The polarization in the House raises interesting and unresolved legal questions, said David Schultz, professor of political science at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota.
“We are in uncharted legal territory,” Schultz said, because language in the state’s constitution and laws is ambiguous and there aren’t any definitive answers.
It’s also not clear whether the state’s courts can intervene to resolve the infighting of the legislative branch of government, Schultz said, or whether Republicans would have to abide by a judicial opinion if they did so.