The two leaders in the Minnesota House are keeping a close eye on recounts in Sherburne and Scott counties, which could determine which party is in control during the next legislative session.
As things sit, the House is tied at 67 seats apiece following last week’s election.
Current DFL Speaker Melissa Hortman shared with WCCO’s Blois Olson on the Sunday Take that if the tie holds, committees will function like conference committees, which occur after a bill passes, and she says that wouldn’t be a bad thing.
“If we have essentially co-chairs and we have even numbers of members on each committee and we kind of require a vote similar to a conference committee, that has to be a majority of a committee,” Hortman said. “And if no one party has a majority of the committee. Then everything that comes to the floor will be bipartisan at the outset.”
Hortman says she anticipates a more relaxed approach to the budget this year.
“I think that the amount of change that got pushed through in 2023 was the result of a lot of gridlock for the prior ten years. So since we broke through that gridlock, it’s maybe okay that we have a slower pace here for two years than a divided government will bring,” Hortman said.
Republican House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth says they’re looking forward to balanced and good-faith negotiations.
“Everything to have a fair negotiation is on the table right now. And it’s very, very important for people to remember that we are going into this as equals,” Demuth said.
Demuth says cutting spending is a top priority after last year’s record $18 billion surplus and a large increase in state spending under the DFL trifecta.
“Increase to state spending over the last two years, 38% increase in the state budget. Knowing we added over 6,000 new government [full-time employees]. We have to get a hold of what is actually going on in the agencies and the state budget. So that’s going to be top of mind,” Demuth said.
The 2025 Minnesota Legislative session begins Jan. 14, two months from this Wednesday.