ST. PAUL, MN –Today the Minnesota Senate reconvened at noon for the 2022 session, with ceremony and pomp and without a lot of politics. Top on the list of things to do: pass a resolution to allow remote voting, install a new Sergeant of Arms, and vote on a new Senate President. The chamber, unlike previous years, was relatively full of members and staff on the floor greeting friends and colleagues after months away from the capitol.
Before the session even started, the Senators burst into applause for Senator David Tomassoni (D-Chisholm), who is fighting an ALS diagnosis, upon his arrival to the chamber. Tomassoni is in his seventh term in the Senate and serves as the President Pro Tem and as Chair of the Higher Education Committee. Once Senator Warren Limmer (R- Maple Grove), acting President of the Senate, gaveled the Senate into order, things took a more formal tone with prayer and recitation of the pledge of allegiance.
Majority Leader Jeremy Miller (R-Winona) introduced the first resolution to allow remote voting. Due to COVID, the Senate has allowed remote voting for bills on the floor and in committee hearings. The body adopted continuing this practice for the 2022 session by a voice vote of the members present in the chamber. Members not present could then vote on the remaining items for the day.
First up was a vote on Senate President. The president oversees the operations of Senate Floor sessions and manages decorum. The presidency was opened when Senator Jeremy Miller (R- Winona) announced he was stepping down as Senate President after being elected as Senate Majority Leader in August last year.
Senator Dave Osmek (R- Mound) was elected as Senate President and sworn in by G. Barry Anderson, Associate Supreme Court Justice. Osmek then took his place on the rostrum, the elevated desk at the front of the chamber to run the rest of the session. Osmek made brief remarks thanking his family and colleagues, and concluded by saying he hoped to serve with, “fairness and the decorum this body had come to expect.”
Next was a vote on installing a new Sergeant of Arms. The Sergeants maintain access to the Senate floor and viewing galleries. The Senate floor has always been restricted to just Senators, staff, or credential press, but the viewing gallery on the third floor to the capitol is open to the public whenever the Senate is in session. The capitol building remains open to the public during regular business hours, and whenever the House or Senate is in session.
Photo: Majority Leader Jeremy Miller kicks off the first day of the 2022 Legislative Session
