Why Minnesota Republicans are bringing up bills that won't pass
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Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
A Monday vote at the Minnesota Legislature on trans youth playing girls' sports is the latest example of House Republicans using their temporary edge to hold votes on bills they know probably won't pass.
State of play: For the first weeks of this session, Republicans have used their 67-66 majority to bring forward proposals targeting a public records exemption used by the Attorney General, the governor's executive powers and funding for the Blue Line extension.
The catch: You need 68 votes to pass a bill and all three measures failed on party-line votes.
What they're saying: Republicans say they're using their power to advance and debate priority bills that were sidelined when Democrats had full control.
- "We're showing Minnesotans what we believe versus what the Democrats believe," Rep. Elliott Engen (R-White Bear Township) said of the agenda.
Friction point: Democrats have criticized Republicans for wasting time with political messaging bills instead of focusing on bipartisan proposals that will improve lives and lower the cost of living.
Flashback: The last time Minnesota had divided government, House Democrats used their majority to advance a number of priority bills that they knew had no chance of passing what was then a GOP-controlled Senate.
- Leaders later said that work — including the vetting and tweaking of legislation through the committee process — primed them to act quickly when they won a trifecta in 2022.
What's next: A March 11 special election for a vacant House seat in Roseville could restore the chamber to a 67-67 tie.
- After that, bills will need bipartisan support to get out of committee and to the floor, under the early February power-sharing deal that brought an end to a three-week stalemate that delayed the start of the session.
The bottom line: Any of these failed bills could be revived as part of a broader budget deal later this spring.
- Rep. Kristin Robbins (R-Maple Grove) told reporters recently that some Democrats have privately expressed an openness to vote aye on some of the measures down the road.