Watch live: Minnesota Legislature gavels in, lawmakers will honor Hortmans

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - The 2026 Minnesota legislative session kicks off at noon on Tuesday, with the House and Senate slated to honor Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, who were assassinated last year. 

Watch live coverage of the first day of the legislative session in the player above, and additional coverage in the player below.

Honoring the Hortmans

Local perspective:

The House and Senate will gavel in at noon on Tuesday for brief sessions. Then, there will be a remembrance ceremony for DFL Leader Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, in the House Chamber. 

A joint resolution honoring the Hortmans will be read by members of the House and Senate, and then Gov. Tim Walz, Senate Majority Leader Murphy, House Speaker Demuth and House DFL Leader Stephenson will offer remarks in recognition of the Hortmans' service. There will be string music in the rotunda and therapy dogs in the Capitol as well.

This comes eight months after they were shot and killed in a politically motivated attack at the couple's home. 

Sen. John Hoffman and his wife were shot numerous times but survived the assassination attempt. 

The plot to kill the lawmakers has led to stepped up security at the Minnesota Capitol in St. Paul. 

It could be a sharply divided session

MN Legislature gavels in Tuesday: What to expect

The 2026 Minnesota Legislative Session kicks off at noon on Tuesday, with the House and Senate slated to honor Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, who were assassinated last year. 

Why you should care:

For the second year in a row, both chambers have razor-thin margins when it comes to party membership. In the Senate, the DFL holds a narrow one-seat advantage, 34-33. In the House, it's tied 67-67, so the power-sharing agreement from last year will remain in effect, making Republican Lisa Demuth the speaker of the House. 

Passing a bonding bill is the most important item on lawmakers' to-do list this year. But in the wake of Operation Metro Surge, there are at least a half-dozen bills ready to go focused on limiting where ICE agents can go and the tactics they can use. 

With the House and Senate so evenly divided, lawmakers say bipartisan bills will have the best shot at passing this year, so they're hoping for both cooperation and compromise. 

DFL, GOP priorities

Dig deeper:

Republican priorities include addressing fraud prevention and creating an Office of Inspector General. They also want more tax cuts, and a task force to understand why property taxes are so high. 

Meanwhile, Democrats on Monday condemned what they call an "abuse of power" by President Donald Trump. They say his administration's immigration crackdown has violated the constitutional rights of Minnesotans. They are proposing several bills to increase transparency in ICE operations and urge Republicans to support the measures. 

The session begins at noon on Tuesday and runs until May 18, giving lawmakers 90 days to get all their work done. 

ICE enforcement, fraud among big topics to start 2026 legislative session

The 2026 Minnesota legislative session starts Tuesday at the State Capitol, and two big topics likely to drum up a lot of discussion are ICE enforcement and ongoing fraud in the state. FOX 9's Tim Blotz has more.