On Monday, Aug. 18, the Second Judicial District Court of Minnesota severed and struck down part of the 2024 omnibus tax bill for violating the single-subject clause of the Minnesota Constitution.
“In the final minutes of the 2024 legislative session, Democrats pushed through a 1,400-page omnibus bill,” said Sen. Jordan Rasmusson (R-Fergus Falls). “At the time, I called it a ‘shocking display of one-party control.’ The bill was pushed through without debate or time to review its contents. This is not the transparent, accountable legislating Minnesotans deserve.”
Judge Castro, in his decision, did not hold back disapproval of how the bill was passed, writing:
But make no mistake, during the late hours of May 19, 2024, lawmaking did not “occur within the framework of the constitution.” 47 This Court respectfully suggests that if there has ever been a bill without a common theme and where “all bounds of reason and restraint seem to have been abandoned,” 48 this is it; and if there has ever been a time for the “draconian result of invalidating the entire law,” 49 that time is now.
On May 22, 2024, Republican minority leaders authored a letter to Governor Walz urging him to veto the omnibus tax bill, emphasizing that “signing this bill will be an endorsement of a process that will have serious consequences for both chambers for years to come.”
"The recent district court ruling shows why Minnesota has a single-subject requirement in our constitution. We need to put Minnesotans first in all our legislative decisions, not block their elected representatives from debating key policy issues. Legislators should heed the court’s warning on unconstitutional bills,” Rasmusson concluded.
47 See Associated Builders, 610 N.W.2d at 303.
48 Id. at 302 (quoting Mattson, 391 N.W.2d at 784 (Yetka, J., concurring)).
49 Id. at 305.