Capitol View for January 23

Good morning. We have a 1 p.m. court date so keep the news to a minimum at that time, please.

The Minnesota Supreme Court is the place to watch today for clues on how the Minnesota House might get its way out of an early-session rut. The court will hear arguments in a pair of cases that challenge the Republican decision to press ahead in the absence of boycotting Democrats. The cases revolve around what constitutes a quorum and who gets to dictate when that threshold is met. Watch the 1 p.m. hearing through a livestream on mprnews.org. And get up to speed on the contours of the case, the arguments being made and who will sit in judgment, compiled by Dana Ferguson and Clay Masters. One point of interest in the brief filed yesterday on behalf of Secretary of State Steve Simon. His attorney, Solicitor General Liz Kramer, cited last week’s special election case ruling to note that the presumed vacancy wasn’t realized until session began and that 134 election certificates were presented ( page 8 of this brief). In essence, they say the ruling set the House at 134 members on Day 1, meaning it would take 68 no matter what to convene the chamber. Watch for that to be a central theme of today’s arguments.

Before the court convenes, House Republicans hold a hearing today on a package that would withhold some pay from Democratic absentees and dictate how a possible election challenge might go. The House Rules and Administration Committee, which so far this year has only involved Republican lawmakers, will weigh a set of chamber rules . Most are carried over from prior sessions but there are changes. Among them is a clause that per diem – daily allowances for meals and such – are denied for members who are absent. The rules package also underscores that lawmakers subject to an election challenge are not permitted to vote on any “procedural or substantive matter related to the challenge.” If it is applied to the contest around DFL Rep. Brad Tabke, it would put Democrats another vote short of defending his standing and give Republicans greater ability to remove him.

House Republicans approved a resolution yesterday urging the governor to call in the State Patrol to bring in Democratic members. GOP Leader Harry Niska says it’s important to send the message to the DFL governor to make sure he’s not in cahoots with Democratic representatives as they stay away from the Capitol. Gov. Tim Walz has so far said he doesn’t think Republicans had the votes they needed to take the speaker’s gavel and committee chair posts. Democrats say they’re exercising a form of legitimate protest with their denial of a quorum. They’re holding events in their districts.

We’re still watching for an official notice of a special election in House District 40B but it’s looking increasingly likely that it will come close to the midway point in the legislative session. House DFL Leader Melissa Hortman told reporters on Tuesday that it would likely take place March 11, given the timeframes laid out in statute. That is just shy of the session midpoint on March 17. She didn’t say whether Democrats will continue to boycott the Capitol until then but said she remains optimistic that lawmakers can wrap up a budget before the session concludes. “So I think all this is definitely, very certainly, going to be resolved by March 11, when the House is again tied, so we'll have plenty of time to get the budget done after that,” Hortman said.

Republicans and Democrats have also expressed an openness to reviewing whether the House chamber should have its current structure that can lead to an even split with no tiebreaker. Hortman and Niska have said it’s worth revisiting the idea and setting up a chamber where the current power struggle could be avoided.

Meanwhile, in the state Senate the power deal brokered by leaders has held and the political temperature remains low. Catharine Richert spoke to lawmakers about what’s working there and why – and whether those good feelings can remain even after next week’s special election that will break a tie. She notes: “There have been no showdowns, shouting or antics on the floor. Almost 500 bills have been introduced, many of them with bipartisan sponsorship; that’s compared to just 193 in the House, all by Republicans. And while Democrats are heavily favored to win a special election in Minneapolis next Tuesday, some DFLers say they want to keep their Republican colleagues in the fold.” Republicans have made the most of their time in a shared structure, using committee hearings to shed light on their priorities.

Could the relatively new delivery fee on online purchases and the automatic inflator to the gas tax be on the way out? Maybe… but it would take a bipartisan effort. Two recently imposed taxes and fees that feed road construction and other transportation projects are being targeted by House Republicans. They want to drop a retail delivery charge and prevent future automatic increases to the gas tax . House Republicans say they’re getting fair hearings despite no Democrats being present. A hearing Wednesday brought groups for and against the rollbacks: a sign that interest groups are taking the Republican-led hearings seriously even though the state’s high court hasn't weighed in yet and Democrats are staying away.

One aspect of the Gov. Tim Walz budget that could get bipartisan buy-in relates to airline fuel. Specifically, it pertains to sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF. The Walz budget calls for tax credits and other accommodations to help the budding industry develop in Minnesota. Because it involves use of crops, there is incentive for lawmakers from farm country to get on board. Environmentally minded lawmakers are also taking interest because aviation is responsible for about 3 percent of global carbon emissions. MPR’s Kirsti Marohn goes into some of the research being done in this space