The 2024 Legislature session came to a chaotic end Sunday night when Democrats loaded a tax bill with a panoply of proposals, turning it into a massive 1,400-page ship containing provisions involving higher education, energy, transportation and Greater penalties for firearm straw buyers.
Tempers flared on the state House floor just after 11 p.m. when the Democratic chairman suspended debate and called for a vote on the massive bill before members could fully review it. In response, Republicans shouted “tyranny” and “communism!”
“This is a horrible way to govern!” Republican House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth shouted to DFL House Speaker Melissa Hortman.
The Senate began suspending debate shortly after to force a vote on the remaining bills, causing a similar disruption in the House. Democratic senators were ready to pass a bill setting minimum pay standards for Uber and Lyft drivers in an attempt to prevent companies from leaving parts of the state. If approved, it would go to Gov. Tim Walz’s desk.
Democrats and Republicans have pointed fingers at each other in recent hours. DFLers accused Republicans of prolonging debates to prevent bills from passing. In return, the GOP said DFL Senate leaders excluded them from all negotiations and failed to manage the flow of legislation.
“This has to be one of the most disgusting ends of sessions I’ve seen in the 12 years I’ve been here,” said Sen. Bill Weber, R-Luverne. “The reality is that there were several days when action could have been taken, but I have never seen such mismanagement of a legislative session as I have seen this year.”
Unlike the Senate, the Chamber approved a broad equal rights electoral initiative it would ask Minnesota voters in the 2026 general election whether they want to enshrine equal rights and abortion protections in the state Constitution. The Senate did not adopt the measure with an hour to go.
The prospect of a guarantee law for infrastructure projects also seemed highly unlikely, as did a belated attempt to legalize mobile sports betting.
“We are working hard to carry out what is left of our work,” said the Senate majority leader. Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paulo, said Sunday afternoon. She accused Republicans of “putting up roadblock after roadblock” to prolong the debates. Murphy said she believes her caucus had the votes to pass the Equal Rights Amendment, but not enough time.
The Senate, which Democrats control by a single vote, trailed the House and tried to catch up on Sunday. The Senate was at a standstill for 11 hours on Saturday while Sen. Omar Fateh, DFL-Minneapolis, was absent from the floor while negotiating the Uber/Lyft bill. His absence meant the Senate was unable to pass bills for much of the day.
Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, said Democrats mismanaged the process by not doing more on Saturday. He called it “disingenuous” for the majority to criticize Republicans for seeking longer debates.
“The games that have been played lately in this chamber are unbelievable,” Johnson said. “Yesterday, we sat for 11 hours. We could be doing a bail law right now.”
Republicans were outraged Sunday morning when DFL Senate leaders, in an attempt to act more quickly, halted debate over cannabis regulations. Johnson said party relations got “much worse” on the final day of the session.
Murphy defended the lawsuit. She said the discussion It had been about five hours and Republicans were “adding more names to the list to continue a debate that really wasn’t about policy.”
The cannabis bill passed and headed to Walz’s desk. The Legislature also sent the governor a bill with $24 million in one-time funding for struggling emergency medical providers in greater Minnesota.
Throughout the night, the House and Senate passed a series of routine and larger bills with supplemental funding for various agencies and programs. But a bill to allow cities to implement ranked-choice voting failed in the House; Democratic Reps. Rick Hansen of South St. Paul, Michael Nelson of Brooklyn Park and Gene Pelowski of Winona joined Republicans in opposing it.
The prospect of a bipartisan bill seemed unlikely. Republicans said they didn’t have enough voice in the process this year. A three-fifths majority vote is needed for the state to borrow money with a bond bill, so DFLers need Republican votes to pass it.
“Everything is still at risk because we have been completely shut out of the process,” said House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring.
Both chambers approved and sent to Walz the Historic Horse Racing (HHR) ban, a rebuke to the state Racing Commission, which voted to legalize it this year. Opponents say the games amount to video slots and violate gaming compacts with the state’s Native American tribes.
State Rep. Zack Stephenson, DFL-Coon Rapids, said on social media Sunday night that lawmakers “were going to fall a little short on the sports betting bill this year.”
“But in the last few days we proved that we could find an agreement that all the major stakeholders could live with. Tribes, trails, charities… This is significant progress that could be a foundation for the future,” Stephenson said.
