House GOP sues secretary of state, accusing him of overstepping authority as presiding officer
Minnesota House Republicans filed a lawsuit with the state Supreme Court on Thursday, accusing Secretary of State Steve Simon of overstepping his authority as presiding officer of the House.
The lawsuit comes in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling last week that declared a quorum in the House of Representatives is a static 68 members.
House Democrats boycotted the legislative session since its start on Jan. 14. Simon — who, under state law, presides over the House until a quorum is reached — has adjourned the chamber each day since the Supreme Court’s ruling, finding that the 67 Republican members in attendance are not enough to conduct business.
House Republican leaders Lisa Demuth and Harry Niska, the petitioners, now say in a court filing that Simon has ignored their constitutional right to “compel the attendance of absent members” and has “unilaterally” convened and adjourned the House without recognizing any motions.
“The effect of these actions is obvious: Simon is extending our constitutional crisis by ensuring that there is no way for House Members to exercise their constitutional authority to compel the attendance of absent legislators,” the lawsuit states.
Simon’s office provided the following statement to 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS:
“Secretary Simon’s position has not changed from his letters of January 10, 2025 and January 13, 2025. Absent a quorum and an organized House of Representatives, the only item in order is adjournment. This conclusion is based on the analysis outlined in the letters, as well as consultation with counsel and nonpartisan staff.”
Demuth and Niska want the court to issue a writ declaring Simon cannot adjourn the House without a motion and that he “has no authority to ignore or refuse to recognize properly raised motions.”
“I had sent an email to Secretary of State Simon’s office just saying that we would like to be at least recognized as being part of the body of the House of Representatives,” Demuth said. “It was not a surprise. It was nothing that we were going to be unruly about. It was very professional in wanting to be recognized. The Secretary of State chooses not to recognize Leader Niska.”
One motion that Republicans want to take up would impose penalties on lawmakers who don’t show up for work. Niska said that would mean stripping boycotting Democrats of their daily salary and disqualifying them from per diem for the entire session.
“We have had motions at the desk every single day that are specifically within the power of a lesser number than a quorum to do under the Minnesota Constitution,” said Niska. “He has overstepped his authority as the presiding officer and so today we initiated legal action against Secretary Simon in the Minnesota Supreme Court asking the Minnesota Supreme Court to tell him he is exceeding his authority as an executive branch official. As a ceremonial presiding officer.”
And while there’s no precedent for this situation in Minnesota, Niska said his party is looking at actions taken up by other state legislatures when lawmakers have intentionally denied a quorum.
In Indiana, House Democrats who walked out to block a quorum in 2011 and 2012 were forced to pay daily fines. And in Texas, arrest warrants were issued for Democrats who didn’t show up to the Capitol in 2021.
Unless the Supreme Court weighs in or the DFL and GOP reach a compromise, the stalemate is on pace to continue until the winner of a special election in House District 40B is seated, which likely won’t happen until March.
DFL Speaker-designate Melissa Hortman says she is still open to negotiating a power-sharing agreement with Demuth.
“I was at the Capitol ready to negotiate at 9:00 AM this morning, but Representative Demuth refused to meet with me,” Hortman said in a statement. “I’ll be at the Capitol ready to negotiate at 9:00 AM tomorrow as well, and I hope she will join me.”
Demuth, meanwhile, says she hadn’t heard from Hortman in the past two days but was amenable to meeting with her.
“I’m open to conversations if she actually has something to offer,” Demuth told reporters on Thursday.
You can view the letter from Hortman to Demuth below: