Capitol View for January 27

Good morning. Is it day one all over again?

The state Supreme Court kept its involvement in the House dispute as limited as possible. It might not be the only time justices are pressured to weigh in because of the way they decided the quorum cases. As was expected, the court issued a very short ruling for now with an extensive legal explanation to come later on. The three-page ruling said 68 members are required for a quorum in the House because 134 seats make up the body – vacancies or not. The six justices behind the unsigned opinion stopped there and wrote: “We assume that the parties will now conform to this order without the necessity of issuing a formal writ.” The two Democratic lawsuits asked for a writ that specifically invalidated everything done so far. Democrats read the quorum ruling to effectively do that even if it doesn’t say that on the four corners of the order’s pages. If that court assumption of action isn’t heeded, one or both sides could be back asking for additional clarity or precise remedies. Democrats haven't said if they'll show up today or anytime soon so there is a chance that Republicans take some action to try to compel attendance.

What does Patrick Murphy do? We’ll know that Republicans are honoring the Supreme Court’s quorum decision if the longtime House chief clerk, a nonpartisan position, isn’t in his usual spot at the front of the chamber today. The slick-voiced clerk with the shining silver hair was re-installed as clerk when Republicans were holding 67-member floor sessions. Now that the Supreme Court has ruled there must be 68, it seems to call for a do-over. Anyone put in posts when Republicans held the disputed sessions – from Murphy to the Sergeant at Arms Lori Hodapp – are presumably in limbo now. The sergeant’s office is the one that controls floor access and is supposed to bring in absent members during a call of the House. An aside about Murphy, he’s a heck of a softball player with a big bat and fleeter on foot than you might expect.

A slate of House committee hearings planned for today were called off. They include the new House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy Committee that was due to hold its initial meeting. Senate committees are moving ahead as planned because that chamber is duly organized. The folks who broadcast House activities also seem a bit unsure of what will transpire. They’ve added “anticipated” before the 3:30 p.m. convening time for the House.

Gov. Tim Walz said he’s not recognizing House committee hearings as legitimate and has told his agency heads not to attend until a traditional organizational start. While commissioners have sat down for one-on-one conversations with legislators and attended Senate hearings, the governor says they’re bypassing the House committee hearings for the time being. "We're not going to go to a show hearing when there's this attempt to try and overthrow the, you know, the will the people, which is a split House,” Walz told MPR News on Friday GOP members had voiced frustration about not being able to bring in commissioners to ask pressing questions. Rep. Kristin Robbins is in line to lead that new House anti-fraud panel. She invited outgoing Department of Human Services Commissioner Jodi Harpstead but got a “No” on the RSVP. “We're looking for systemic change. We're looking for cultural change, and hearing from the person who was at the helm of the largest agency where most of the fraud seems to have occurred is really important,” Robbins told MPR News. “So I'm very disappointed at that. The invitation still stands.” The governor released a new statement this morning urging a return to negotiations: "The only lawful path forward is a power sharing agreement that's fair and reflects the will of the voters."

Politics Friday offered robust back-and-forth between two House leaders and keen legal analysis from two constitutional scholars. Its shelf life was reduced by the Supreme Court’s mid-afternoon ruling Friday. But we covered more ground than just this case, so if you missed the episode you can find it here. As always, Matt Alvarez and Ellie Roth did a great job with the voices segment, featuring some choice soundbites. Rep. Jim Nash has the early edge for quote of the session.

Election Day is tomorrow for the Senate seat that will break a 33-33 tie. Candidates running in the Minneapolis-area Senate District 60 special election are DFLer Doron Clark and Republican Abigail Wolters. The election will fill the vacancy left by DFL Sen. Kari Dziedzic, who died last month. This district includes the northeastern part of Minneapolis and the University of Minnesota campus. A quick MPR News voter guide can be found here.

Still no word on when exactly the House will fill its vacant seat. Gov. Tim Walz hasn’t scheduled a new special election after his first attempt for a Jan. 28 election was halted by the Supreme Court. The working premise is that the election will be in mid-March. As a reminder, this was the seat that came open after DFLer Curtis Johnson was found to be in violation of residency rules. He opted against appealing a judge’s ruling and didn’t take the Roseville-Shoreview seat. The entire blunder is what precipitated the power-standoff and the cutoff to gavel-sharing discussions. The Star Tribune went over how it came to be and what parties might do to prevent candidate recruitment problems in the future. It’s worth noting that Minnesota does have a new law that requires more documentation of residency at the time a candidate files for office.