After ‘incredibly unusual’ start, Minnesota lawmakers just want to get back to normal
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In a Minnesota legislative session full of drama, lawmakers are craving something normal.
Can’t we just fight over ideas and the budget? That seems to be the sentiment among top leaders and Capitol veterans.
They’re in for another reset Monday following a week when Justin Eichorn resigned his Senate seat under intense pressure. That came days after an arrest that led to a federal charge of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor.
It was the latest twist in a session that’s seen its fair share of them. The Legislature is (once more) down a member until a special election can fill the open Senate seat.
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Since the Legislature gaveled in in January, it’s only been at full force three of 70 days. It could be quite a while longer until the body is back up to its full 201-member complement, which is also split nearly down the middle by party affiliation.
Even veteran lawmakers struggled to make sense of the series of events that led to the open seats and shake-ups of partisan control at the Capitol.
“Nobody’s ever been through a session like this before,” said Rep. Paul Torkleson, R-Hanska. “we’re plowing new ground every day, to use a farmer term.”
While Senate leaders were prepared to take an unprecedented step last week and expel Eichorn, the Grand Rapids Republican stepped down before that became necessary. He’ll be back in court on Wednesday. The Senate returns to action with 34 Democrats and 32 Republicans.
Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, said his caucus was united in calls to remove Eichorn. With his resignation, he hopes lawmakers can move to the meat and potatoes work of the legislative session: passing a budget.
“This would have been a cloud hanging over the Senate. We don't need another one of those,” Johnson said. “So now we’re able to get back to work.”
Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul, agreed she was grateful to move on from the episode.
“I think this was going to consume a lot of attention and energy, and we don’t have that to give right now. This has already been an incredibly unusual session with a lot of alterations, if you will,” Murphy said.
Signs of a more typical legislative week are on the horizon — though that’s never guaranteed. Committee agendas are packed with briefings from agency heads and stacked with bills that need to move before deadlines next week.
House DFL Leader Jamie Long, of Minneapolis, said it’s a sign that things are getting back into a normal pattern. The session began with Democrats boycotting for weeks and Republicans pushing forward a slate of priority bills that failed to pass. Almost three dozen recall petitions were filed and, last week, finally dismissed.
Under a power-sharing deal, bipartisan support is needed to move things along.
“We’re now at a stage where Democrats and Republicans have to agree to put bills on the calendar. So we’re at a stage where we’re actually going to pass things,” Long said.
The Legislature received the revised budget from Gov. Tim Walz on Friday. Legislative leaders will consider it as they keep negotiating how much the state should spend in different areas. They’ll send those targets to committees so lawmakers can decide what they might be able to fund this year.
The House Ways and Means Committee will get an update Monday on how federal budget changes could hit the state’s budget.
Leaders at the Department of Minnesota Management and Budget and the National Conference of State Legislatures will touch on how much money the state receives from the federal government and how that could reshape Minnesota’s spending should it dry up.
The state had been expected to take in $23 billion in federal funds this year, some of which is merely passed onto to dedicated programs or recipients.
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