ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - The Minnesota House is about to get noisy again.
The incoming speaker says she plans to disconnect a GOP-installed mute button when Democrats take over that chamber in January.
DFL Rep. Melissa Hortman of Brooklyn Park tells Minnesota Public Radio News as soon as she is officially elected speaker, the mute button is history.
The presiding officer at the rostrum can use the button to shut off members' microphones in the House. The button was installed during state Capitol renovations and following the chaotic closing minutes of the 2015 session.
Many lawmakers were unaware the button existed until microphones went quiet during another chaotic close in 2016.
House Democrats argued they should not be silenced. But Republicans countered the mute was needed to control debates.
