In the late hours of Sunday night, the legislative session came to a close. About 30 minutes before adjournment, Senate Democrats brought forward a mega-omnibus bill comprised of 8 other omnibus bills, including other unrelated provisions. The Senate President did not entertain debate or questions from Republican senators. Senator Jeff Howe (R-Rockville) released the following statement in response:

“What we saw on Sunday night was a brazen disregard for half of the state. Every single senator in that chamber holds the same election certificate – we were all sent to the Capitol to be the voice of our constituents. Yet Democrats completely silenced opposition during the final hour of the legislative session. Democrats have a one seat majority in the Senate, which means their actions ignored the will of 49% of Minnesota.

We were asked to vote on a 1431-page bill that we couldn’t even see! There is no excuse for that. It will take weeks just to comb through the bill to see what’s in it. This bill is crammed full of laws that will affect every Minnesotan every single day, and it was not even allowed to be seen before we adjourned. I’m appalled by their actions.

This is no way to govern. Minnesotans should be ashamed of what the Democrats did. It undermines the integrity of our institution, which may not be able to recover from the lack of trust and sends a clear message to greater Minnesota that their input doesn’t matter.  It is an abandonment of democracy! Folks need to remember their reprehensible actions and hold them accountable.”