Shortly after the Minnesota House gaveled in for the day on Monday, DFL Rep. David Gottfried was sworn in after winning a special election last week.

His victory puts the Minnesota House in a 67-67 tie. That’s important because it will take 68 votes to pass any legislation.

“I kind of liken this to this legislative session 3.0,” Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuth said before the Monday afternoon House session. “You know we started with a tie, and then we went to a one-seat advantage and now we’re back to the tie.”

Demuth says she knows it will be a challenge for Republicans to pass legislation without one Democratic vote and vice versa. She hoped a bill on the House floor Monday would be a good first test.

“The one big bill that is up today is really important. We are hoping that our Democrat colleagues will join us helping to return any potential future surplus back into the hands of the taxpayers of Minnesota.”

However, the author of the bill to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot asking voters for lawmakers to return a portion of any future budget surplus to taxpayers acknowledged he didn’t have assurances of any Democrat votes. 

Debate on the bill from Rep. Wayne Johnson (R-Cottage Grove) broke along party lines. House GOP leader Rep. Harry Niska said, “Republicans are here with a simple message. Minnesota taxpayers deserve tax relief.”

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DFL House Leader Jamie Long countered by saying, “This bill just doesn’t work. It is not a serious bill.”

Ultimately, it failed to pass as Republicans and Democrats deadlocked 67-67.

Meanwhile, there is more partisan discord in the Minnesota Senate.

Republicans proposed a series of bills that would eliminate funding for North Star Commuter Rail, light rail and a new train line from the Twin Cities to Duluth, along with funding for health care and tax credits for non-U.S. citizens living in Minnesota.

“We’ve identified over $640 million in immediate and future savings,” said GOP Republican Minority Leader Sen. Mark Johnson. “These are real dollars waiting to be spent on things that just don’t make sense and don’t put Minnesotans first.”

Senate DFL Majority Leader Erin Murphy issued a statement criticizing the proposals. “It is increasingly clear that Republicans see programs that help people as ‘waste’: economic development, labor rights, support for farmers, Medicaid and Social Security for children and seniors,” she said. “Their budget priorities are tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy, paid for by everyone else. The DFL will fight for good-paying jobs, families and seniors, and the education and healthcare Minnesotans count on.”

Lawmakers have just two months left to reach an agreement on a two-year state budget.