(ABC 6 News) — Nearly one week into the Minnesota legislative session, DFL leaders are sharing the proposal for power sharing they laid on the table ahead of the session.

DFL speaker designate Melissa Hortman released the agreement Thursday, and called GOP Leader Lisa Demuth to either accept the offer or present a counter offer.

This comes after Democrats filed a lawsuit against their GOP counterparts, alleging their election of a speaker went against the Minnesota State Constitution because they were outside of a quorum.

“It’s against the will of the people, they are directly in my view assaulting the will of the people when they voted for a tie in the Minnesota House in November,” Rep. Andy Smith (DFL – Rochester), said.

But Republicans say since there were 133 members entering the House at the start of session, they were in line with rules and regulations.

“The possible votes as stated by the Secretary of State was 133. 67 is a majority of 133, its above 50 percent, so its a quorum,” Rep. Duane Quam (R – Byron) said.

The agreement outlines how the House would operate over the first three weeks until the special election in District 40B takes place.

The DFL is predicting a win in 40B, which would bring the House back to a 67-67 split.

The agreement states for the first three weeks of session, House Republicans would be able to elect their speaker, chair all committee hearings, retain existing committees, retain “majority of all appointed members of a committee” required for committee action but one DFL member will be non-voting.

During those first three weeks, there would be no rule changes, no policy changes unless jointly
agreed by Leader Demuth and Leader Hortman.

The already negotiated agreement would kick in on Feb. 3 if a DFL representative wins the election.

The agreement would allow for the creation of an oversight committee, which would be Republican controlled for the next two years, Republican chaired, and Republicans would keep a permanent one-seat majority in the committee.

In a statement, Rep. Quam said:

“There are some similarities with the senate agreement, but it’s the details that matter, and I trust my leadership to understand the details and make the appropriate agreement. This appears to be a reasonable starting point for negotiations.” 

Local DFL representatives said this agreement gives the GOP exactly what they wanted, and the DFL is working by the will of the people.

“Democrats are responsible, and we want to follow the will of the which is a tie. We’re not advocating for us to be in charge, because again that foundational principle that is expressed in a free and fair election is a cornerstone of the state,” Rep. Smith said.

The full agreement can be read below.