As Minnesota House Republicans roll out their top priorities this year, much of the focus is on what’s in the rearview mirror.

With a majority on committees and control of the House agenda, they’ve had a stage to vent about laws passed under full DFL control the prior two years

Time could be fleeting for Republicans to revisit the laws while they’re assured a chamber edge. A special election on March 11 could reset political control. But for now, GOP leaders say it’s important to air their ideas after Republicans struggled to get a say in the past.

“Our votes weren’t needed, so then our voices weren’t listened to,” House Speaker Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, said. “This is our opportunity to maybe look at some either fixes or tweaks or changes that might need to be made.”

Looking at a rundown of House committee agendas — it reads like a direct rebuke of the last two years of DFL control in St. Paul:

• There is a bill to restore funding for crisis pregnancy centers that got cut in 2023 and another to make other changes to state abortion policy.

• Republicans want to reopen clean energy goals for electric utilities and drop a moratorium on nuclear energy.

• They’re seeking to strike curriculum requirements for ethnic studies and health education.

• There are moves to delay the rollout of a paid family and medical leave program.

• And bills have advanced to bar people in the country without proper authorization from accessing state insurance or college scholarship funds.

The proposals are among bills that have passed through committees on party-line votes and could come up for floor votes in coming weeks.

Rep. Jim Nash, R-Waconia, said Democrats overstepped when they had full control. Now, he said, Republicans are attempting a redo.

“Minnesota should work for all Minnesotans. And those sorts of policies that were passed under the DFL trifecta are simply they're very derogatory towards people of faith, and they are very anti-religious liberty,” Nash said. “So we're going to work on that and many of the other things that we have to fix from the last two years.”

While the discussions can influence headlines or campaign literature for 2026, they’re not likely to yield much change — if any. To pass a bill in the House, it takes 68 votes. Right now, Republicans have 67 and Democrats have 66.

Their first two bills to reach floor votes have fallen short and been left for possible consideration later. The proposals would also have a tough time passing the DFL-led Senate and getting signed into law by DFL Gov. Tim Walz.

The dynamic could shift next month when a Ramsey County special election is held. It will determine whether the House is tied or if the GOP gets the coveted 68th seat.

Democratic leaders said the move to bring up these bills now is a political stunt. Minneapolis Rep. Jamie Long, one of the caucus leaders, said he’s happy to defend the DFL-enacted laws.

“I think if the public were to vote, we know how they would vote. The polls show that those are all extremely popular policies. And unfortunately, rather than working together with us on policies to help improve lives for Minnesotans, they're putting these partisan attacks up,” Long said.

Rep. Melissa Hortman, who leads the DFL caucus and is a former House speaker, agreed. She said lawmakers could make better use of their time working on bipartisan proposals.

“They have a one-vote majority on the committees, and they are sending things to the floor which they cannot then pass,” said Hortman, of Brooklyn Park. “I wish that we were spending this time getting ready to do the budget together, but they are getting some things out of their system that they would do if they had an actual majority.”

House Majority Leader Harry Niska, R-Ramsey, said he thinks it’s important to get lawmakers on the record about policies voters care about even if the bills don’t pass.

“Republicans, with the control and the committees, are talking about the priorities that the people of Minnesota talk to us about on the campaign trail,” Niska said. “And we think that the Democrats are out of touch on a lot of these issues, and it's important that the people of Minnesota see that.”

Lawmakers have to get one thing done this year: That’s passing a two-year state budget. With about three months left in the legislative session, they’ll have to work together — across party lines — to make that happen.

If they fail, the state government could shut down.

Collected from Minnesota Public Radio News. View original source here.