In a blow to Republicans, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that the presence of 68 members of the Minnesota House of Representatives is required for the House to conduct its legislative business.
This ruling follows weeks of arguing between Democrats and Republicans over how many legislators constitute a quorum in the Minnesota House.
Last week, the House DFL and Secretary of State Steve Simon, a Democrat, filed a lawsuit in the Minnesota Supreme Court against the House GOP. In their lawsuit, the Democrats alleged that the GOP illegally conducted legislative business when a House quorum was not present.
In a 6-0 decision that was handed down Friday afternoon, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Democrats; one justice did not participate in the case. All seven justices of the Minnesota Supreme Court were appointed by Democratic governors.
How did we get here?
When the 2024 elections concluded, the 134-member state House appeared to be tied with 67 Republicans and 67 Democrats. As such, Republicans and Democrats began working on a power-sharing agreement.
However, one of the Democrats was ruled ineligible to serve before the new legislative session started on Jan. 14. Given their new one-seat advantage, Republicans abandoned the power-sharing agreement and said they could take control of the House with their “organizational majority.”
In turn, Democrats threatened to not show up at the State Capitol unless the Republicans agreed to a power-sharing agreement. By not showing up, the Democrats were attempting to deny the GOP a quorum.
The Minnesota Constitution requires a majority of the House to be present in order for the chamber to conduct legislative business. As such, the DFL argued that 68 members need to be present in order for the 134-member House to conduct its business.
Conversely, Republicans argued that their 67 members was enough for a quorum because only 133 members were currently serving in the House.
On the first day of the 2025 legislative session, only 67 Republicans were present in the chamber. Tasked with presiding over the first day, Secretary Simon ruled that a quorum was not present. Disagreeing with Simon’s determination, the House GOP proceeded to elect Rep. Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, as the speaker of the House.
In the 10 days that followed, Republicans operated under the assumption that they controlled the House and were legitimately conducting legislative business. Meanwhile, House Democrats have refused to show up at the State Capitol thus far.
The lawsuits from Simon and the House DFL were filed shortly after the first day of session.
The Minnesota Supreme Court sides with the Democrats
In its ruling, the Supreme Court wrote that “vacancies do not reduce the number required for a majority of each house to constitute a quorum.” Thus, the court ruled that 68 House members must be present in order to satisfy the quorum requirement.
Furthermore, the Supreme Court did not give any specific instructions to either party on where to go from here. Instead, the body wrote “we assume that the parties will now conform to this order without the necessity of issuing a formal writ.”
Rep. Melissa Hortman, the leader of the House DFL, issued a statement after the ruling was handed down.
“Republicans tried to seize power that the voters did not give them,” said Hortman. “Now that it is clear Republicans must work with Democrats for the House to operate, I am hopeful we will be able to shortly negotiate an acceptable path forward. We’re ready to roll up our sleeves and return to the negotiating table immediately.”
Hortman has noted that the Democrats are prepared to end their boycott if the GOP agrees not to oppose the seating of Rep. Brad Tabke, a Shakopee Democrat whose election has been the subject of significant controversy.
Following the court’s ruling, Rep. Demuth, the leader of the House GOP, also issued a statement.
“This decision drives home the fact that House Democrats are disrespecting not just their own constituents, but the entire state of Minnesota by refusing to do their jobs,” said Demuth. “House Republicans will be showing up to work on Monday—it’s time for the Democrats’ walkout to end and for the legislature to get on with its work.”
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
