DFL Wins 40B Special Election

The most important event impacting the State Capitol this week occurred in parts of Roseville and Shoreview, where DFLer David Gottfried defeated Republican Paul Wikstrom by almost 6,000 votes in Tuesday’s District 40B special election. Gottfried is expected to be sworn in on Monday, March 17, at which time the House will be tied at 67-67 and will be at full strength for the first time in 2025. Beginning next week, DFLers and Republicans will co-chair all House committees except the Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy Committee, which will continue to be chaired by Rep. Kristin Robbins (R – Maple Grove) and maintain a 5-3 Republican majority. Bills will also need to have bipartisan support to be approved by committees and move to the House floor, where 68 votes are needed for passage.

State Collects More Revenue 

With the ink not even dry on the February Forecast issued late last week, Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) on Monday, March 10, announced that February revenue collections exceeded the February Forecast by $116 million. Net receipts from individual income, corporate franchise, and other taxes were above forecast, and net sales tax revenues were below.  While good news, this new $116 million was not recognized in the February Forecast and cannot be considered when crafting the upcoming biennial budget.

Ethics Panel Deadlocks Again

The ongoing saga stemming from a criminal complaint against Sen. Nicole Mitchell (DFL – Woodbury) continued at the legislature this week. Nearly a year ago, Sen. Mitchell was arrested inside her stepmother’s house, leading to charges of burglary. Since that time, she has faced pressure from her colleagues to step down from her role as a state senator. While she no longer serves on any committees, she is still allowed to vote on floor actions. The latest ethics allegation against her stems from her casting the tie-breaking vote on a procedural motion that effectively stopped the Senate from voting on her possible expulsion. Republicans claimed this resulted in a conflict of interest. Following discussion, no action was taken on the Ethics Committee complaint, as the members deadlocked on how to proceed.

Non-Compete Discussion Repeat

The House Workforce, Labor and Economic Development Committee met on Thursday, March 13, to advance a bill allowing non-compete provisions in certain circumstances. H.F. 1768, authored by Rep. Harry Niska (R – Ramsey), would make exceptions to Minnesota’s ban on non-competes for employees who meet an income threshold and whose duties include “creation, analysis or modification of confidential, proprietary, or trade secret information,” or employees with an “annual budgeted compensation of $500,000 or more regardless of the employee’s primary job duties.” The bill was passed out of committee and sent to the General Register where it is ready for a vote by the full House. There is no companion bill in the Senate.

Normal Enough to Care About State Fossil, Constellation

The House State Government Committee met this week with bills on the agenda to add to the list of various Minnesota state symbols. While some bemoan such legislative action, similar bills are brought forward nearly every year, and this year it seems to symbolize that the Minnesota Legislature is functioning normally following a very abnormal start. Specifically, the House heard legislation to designate both the giant beaver as the state fossil and Ursa Minor as the state constellation. Both bills are sponsored by Rep. Andrew Myers (R – Tonka Bay), have bi-partisan authors, and were laid over for possible inclusion in an omnibus bill.

March 14, 2025