It’s been nearly a month since Gov. Tim Walz and legislative leaders began publicly posturing over the possibility of a special session this fall.
And depending on who you ask, that special session could focus on gun control, school safety, mental health or a little of each. There’s also a possibility that a special session might not happen at all.
On Tuesday, Walz and leaders from the House and Senate gathered at the Capitol to discuss the parameters for what a potential special session — in the wake of the Aug. 27 deadly attack on students at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis –- would look like and when it might take place.
In an offer released Tuesday, Walz and DFL caucus leaders proposed starting the special session on Oct. 6 and concluding by Oct. 12. Their special session offer called for passage of an “assault weapons and high-capacity magazines ban,” a “binary trigger ban,” expanded funding for mental health and school security, and more.
But according to Republicans at Tuesday’s meeting, the discussion “broke down” just minutes after it began.
Senate Republicans allege that their DFL colleagues “abruptly ended the meeting and indicated they would no longer work with Republicans to find agreement for a special session.”
DFL leaders contend that’s not the case, and that Republicans in both the House and Senate are not willing to sign on to new gun control bills.
A 67-67 tie among GOP and DFL members in the House, and a razor-thin 33-32 DFL advantage in the Senate, along with two Senate special elections coming up next month, further clouds the picture of whether a special session is even possible.
Dueling press conferences following breakdown in negotiations
During a press conference last month, Walz held up sweeping gun control measures in Scotland and Australia as models for how Americans should respond in regulating firearms after mass shootings occur.
His DFL allies in the legislature held a press conference Tuesday to explain the breakdown in special session talks.
“There are people serving in the legislature that want to protect our communities from weapons of war, and we’re willing to do it by making a compromise with our Republican colleagues,” said Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul, adding that Republicans “are not.”
Senate Republican Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, said the press conference DFL leaders held in combination with their abrupt departure from the closed-door meeting amounted to political theater.
“If Gov. Walz wants a special session, which only he can do, Senate Republicans will be there to do the important work to keep our kids and communities safe,” Johnson said.
“Minnesotans deserve better than slogans and press conferences, they need solutions. Democrats and Governor Walz are avoiding the regular committee process that invites public scrutiny and stakeholder input. Only through the full legislative process can Minnesotans truly have a voice and a seat at the table, ensuring their will and not backroom deals, shapes our public policy.”
House Speaker Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, said she has been pushing Democrats to cut a deal that would ensure any bills proposed during a special session would “work through the committee process.”
“Trying to force agreement to an unwritten bill that has never been seen in committee is not how we govern,” said Demuth, who wants the legislature to consider bipartisan bills on “improving student safety, mental health access, and public safety.”
House DFL Caucus Leader Zack Stephenson of Coon Rapids told reporters, “I think what the governor wants and we want is to pass meaningful gun violence prevention measures at the earliest possible opportunity and we will continue to work to do that.”
Republicans argue that they made a “fair offer” for what a special session would look like, and Walz rejected it.
“Evidently, the DFL idea of a fair offer is for Republicans to commit to supporting a final product that Democrats haven’t even decided on yet,” said House Floor Leader Harry Niska, R-Ramsey.
“This is a pathetic attempt to engineer a predetermined outcome over the right of the public to know what their legislature is doing,” Niska added. “Holding up policies that will help keep Minnesotans safe just to push an undefined gun ban is irresponsible, and it’s frankly a bizarre way to lead in a state that has been rocked by tragedy multiple times just this summer.”
Greater Minnesota rep says Walz is reducing legislature to a ‘rubber stamp’
Away from the closed-door leadership discussion, rank-and-file Republican legislators said they have expressed their frustration directly to the governor.
On Monday, Rep. Mike Wiener, R-Long Prairie, wrote a letter to Walz, criticizing him for “closed-door” tactics that “undermine the state’s constitution,” which spells out that the executive branch has the power to call a special session, but that the bills addressed are vested in the power of the legislature.
“You are demanding that legislative leaders have deals cut behind closed doors and that the legislature drafts agreements that spell out which bills will be considered and which ones won’t before a theoretical special session even begins,” said Wiener, a two-term House member. “These prepackaged arrangements effectively reduce the legislature to a rubber stamp.”
“When leadership scripts the outcome in advance, the people’s representatives are sidelined, and transparency is lost,” he added.
Alpha News reached out to the governor’s office for comment but has not yet received a response.
Hank Long
Hank Long is a journalism and communications professional whose writing career includes coverage of the Minnesota legislature, city and county governments and the commercial real estate industry. Hank received his undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota, where he studied journalism, and his law degree at the University of St. Thomas. The Minnesota native lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and four children. His dream is to be around when the Vikings win the Super Bowl.
