Minnesota Supreme Court dismisses petitions to recall DFL lawmakers
DFL, GOP reach deal to end MN House standoff
The standoff at the Minnesota House could soon be over as Democrats and Republicans have reached a power-sharing agreement. FOX 9's Bill Keller has more on the story.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - The Minnesota Supreme Court has dismissed petitions to recall DFL lawmakers from their seats in the Minnesota House of Representatives, filed as a result of a power struggle in the state legislature last month.
The state’s Supreme Court dismissed the petitions "for failure to allege specific facts that, if proven, would constitute grounds for recall."
The allegations
Why you should care:
The petitions, which were filed against 29 lawmakers, stem from a holdout earlier in the session as part of the effort to deny a House quorum in order to halt business until a power-sharing agreement was reached between the DFL and GOP.
The lawmakers who were petitioned to be recalled included Rep. Melissa Hortman (DFL-Brooklyn Park), Rep. Brion Curran (DFL- White Bear Lake), Rep. Kristin Bahner (DFL- Maple Grove), Rep. Lucy Rehm (DFL-Chanhassen), Rep. Julie Greene (DFL-Edina), Rep. Steve Elkins (DFL-Bloomington).
According to the Supreme Court, an elected state official may be subject to recall "for serious malfeasance or nonfeasance during the term of office in the performance of the duties of the office."
The petitions state the basis for the recall that DFL lawmakers "engaged in nonfeasance by failing to attend a single session of the House of Representatives." Failure to attend resulted in the lack of a quorum, and it caused the House to be unable to transact business.
The petitions also allege DFL lawmakers "failed to perform basic requirements of their office by being unavailable to create a quorum and engage in the legislative process." The petitions raise an allegation that DFL lawmakers "engaged in malfeasance" on the basis that they took oath on Jan. 12 to represent their voters, and were sworn in unlawfully by failing to present proper documentation that they were in the Minnesota House.
The move signified the first step in what would be a lengthy and difficult process for a recall of an elected official.
The Supreme Court ruled the petitions did not meet the criteria to recall an elected official.
GOP recall also rejected
What we know:
The Supreme Court rejected a similar petition filed against GOP lawmaker Duane Quam out of Byron. He was accused of malfeasance,
There was a similar petition for Rep. Duane Quam, (R-Byron), with a malfeasance accusation based on the GOP holding court as if they had a legitimate state House. Supreme Court officials ruled it did not meet the threshold for a recall.