Hello from the State Capitol,
“Opening Day” took place at the State Capitol on Tuesday, as I once again took the oath of office to serve as your state representative. It remains such an honor to serve your interests in the Minnesota House, and I am excited to once again fight for your needs in St. Paul.
Unfortunately, the only representatives that chose to show up on Day 1 were Republicans.
Photo courtesy: Minnesota StarTribune
Democrats, in a secret off-site gathering that the press didn’t even know about, were “sworn in” two days prior to session beginning. Even they admit that has never happened before in the history of this state, and in doing so violates the following state law.
As I’ve said before, House Democrats are upset that they are now in the minority because they were caught cheating. One of their candidates won an election in a district in which he did not live. A court found that he violated state law, and he resigned. This created a situation where Republicans now hold a 67-66 majority in a House that currently has 133 members.
Democrats believe 68 members constitutes quorum. If you do not have quorum, you cannot conduct official business in the Minnesota House. Under a 134-seat House, 68 would constitute quorum, as that number represents half of the Minnesota House, plus one. As it stands today, there are only 133 representatives that can be sworn into office. One half of 133, plus one, equals 67. Which happens to be the total number of Republicans in the Minnesota House. In the past, there have been two instances where a House Speaker has been elected with 67 votes.
Democrats in the House do not want to work under a Republican majority. It’s that simple.
While Democrats are refusing to show up for work, Republicans are here to work for the people of Minnesota. We elected a House speaker this week and have begun committee hearings. In response, Democrats have filed a lawsuit saying the House is not lawfully organized.
The whole situation is truly sad. I am hearing from people on both sides of this debate who are outraged.
Here is what I will tell you. I am in St. Paul to do the job you elected me to do. I am going to fight for your needs. I am going to bring your priorities to the forefront. I am not going to wait for the results of a special election to determine if I should come into work or not.
House Republicans understand session began on January 14, and we are not going to sit on our hands. We are getting to work stopping the fraud, making life more affordable for families, raising standards and reducing mandates for our schools, making our communities safer, and building for the future by making Minnesota a better place to invest and create jobs.
A majority of members are present and are ready and willing to work for the State of Minnesota, and that’s just exactly what we’re going to do.
COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS
Recently I received my Minnesota House committee assignments. I’ve been named vice-chair of the Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy committee, and will also serve on the Agriculture Finance and Policy and Legacy Finance committees over the next two years.
LOCAL VISITORS
Environment Chair Josh Heintzman and I were glad to find a few minutes to visit with Sabrina Claeys, a Grazing Biologist for Ducks Unlimited in Thief River Falls. Sabrina and the folks from Ducks Unlimited updated us on some of the work we do right in District 1A and all across the state.
KEEP IN TOUCH
Please contact me this session if you have any legislative questions or concerns. You can call me at 651-296-9635 or email at rep.john.burkel@house.mn.gov.