Minnesota State Legislature

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Minnesota State Legislature

Seal of Minnesota.svg
General information
Type:   State legislature
Term limits:   None
Session start:   February 12, 2024
Website:   Official Legislature Website
Leadership
Senate President:   Bobby Joe Champion (D)
House Speaker:  Melissa Hortman (D)
Majority Leader:   Senate: Erin Murphy (D)
House: Jamie Long (D)
Minority Leader:   Senate: Mark Johnson (R)
House: Lisa Demuth (R)
Structure
Members:  67 (Senate), 134 (House)
Length of term:   4 years (Senate), 2 years (House)
Authority:   Art IV, Minnesota Constitution
Salary:   $51,750/year + per diem
Elections
Last election:  November 8, 2022
Next election:  November 5, 2024
Redistricting:  Minnesota Legislature subcommittee has control

The Minnesota Legislature is the state legislature of Minnesota. It is a bicameral legislature, consisting of the lower Minnesota House of Representatives and the Minnesota State Senate.

The Legislature is located at the Minnesota Capitol in Saint Paul.

Minnesota has a Democratic trifecta. The Democratic Party controls the office of governor and both chambers of the state legislature.

See also: Minnesota House of Representatives, Minnesota State Senate, Minnesota Governor

Senate

The Minnesota Senate is the upper house in the Minnesota Legislature. There are 67 members. Each Senate district in the state includes an A and B House district (e.g. Senate district 32 contains House districts 32A and 32B). The Minnesota Constitution forbids a House district to divide a Senate district. Before the 1960s, Senators were apportioned by county, resulting in the underrepresentation of those in cities. From statehood through 1972, the Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota served as President of the Senate. In 1972, the voters approved a constitutional amendment that provided for the senate to elect the president from among its members effective January 1973.

Members are usually elected to four year terms except when districts are redrawn after the census, when they are elected to a two year term.

As of the 2020 Census, Minnesota state senators represented an average of 85,220 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 79,327 residents.


Party As of November 2024
     Democratic Party 34
     Republican Party 33
     Independent 0
     Vacancies 0
Total 67

Click here for a list of members of this chamber.

Democrats won a 34-33 majority in the Minnesota State Senate in 2022, gaining control of the chamber for the first time since 2012.

The table below shows the partisan history of the Minnesota Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2022. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

Minnesota State Senate election results: 1992-2022

Party 92 96 00 02 06 10 12 16 20 22
Democrats 45 42 39 35 44 30 39 33 31 34
Republicans 22 25 27 31 23 37 28 34 34 33
Other 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0

House of Representatives

The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house in the Minnesota State Legislature. There are 134 members elected to two-year terms, twice the number of members in the Minnesota Senate.

As of the 2020 Census, Minnesota state representatives represented an average of 42,610 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 39,663 residents.

Each Senate district is divided in half and given the suffix A or B (i.e. House district 32B is geographically within Senate district 32).


Party As of November 2024
     Democratic Party 68
     Republican Party 64
     Independent 0
     Vacancies 2
Total 134

Click here for a list of members of this chamber.

Democrats won control of the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2018. In 2022, they won a 70-64 majority.

The table below shows the partisan history of the Minnesota House following every general election from 1992 to 2020. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

Minnesota House of Representatives election results: 1992-2022

Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18 '20 '22
Democrats 87 71 70 63 65 52 66 85 87 62 73 62 57 75 70 70
Republicans 47 63 64 71 69 82 68 49 47 72 61 72 77 59 64 64

Elections

2026

See also: Minnesota State Senate elections, 2026 and Minnesota House of Representatives elections, 2026

Elections for the Minnesota State Senate will take place in 2026. The general election is on November 3, 2026.

Elections for the Minnesota House of Representatives will take place in 2026. The general election is on November 3, 2026.

2024

See also: Minnesota House of Representatives elections, 2024

Elections for the Minnesota House of Representatives took place in 2024. The general election was on November 5, 2024. The primary was August 13, 2024. The filing deadline was June 4, 2024.

2022

See also: Minnesota State Senate elections, 2022 and Minnesota House of Representatives elections, 2022

Elections for the Minnesota State Senate took place in 2022. The general election was on November 8, 2022. A primary was scheduled for August 9, 2022. The filing deadline was May 31, 2022.

Elections for the Minnesota House of Representatives took place in 2022. The general election was on November 8, 2022. A primary was scheduled for August 9, 2022. The filing deadline was May 31, 2022.

2020

See also: Minnesota State Senate elections, 2020 and Minnesota House of Representatives elections, 2020

Elections for the office of Minnesota State Senate took place in 2020. The general election was held on November 3, 2020. A primary was scheduled for August 11, 2020. The filing deadline was June 2, 2020.

Elections for the office of Minnesota House of Representatives took place in 2020. The general election was held on November 3, 2020. A primary was scheduled for August 11, 2020. The filing deadline was June 2, 2020.

2018

See also: Minnesota House of Representatives elections, 2018

Elections for the Minnesota House of Representatives took place in 2018. The open primary election took place on August 14, 2018, and the general election was held on November 6, 2018. The candidate filing deadline was June 5, 2018.[1]

2016

See also: Minnesota State Senate elections, 2016 and Minnesota House of Representatives elections, 2016

Elections for the Minnesota State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election took place on August 9, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was May 31, 2016.

Elections for the Minnesota House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election took place on August 9, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was May 31, 2016.

2014

See also: Minnesota House of Representatives elections, 2014

Elections for the Minnesota House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election was held on August 12, 2014, and a general election took place on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 3, 2014.

2012

See also: Minnesota State Senate elections, 2012 and Minnesota House of Representatives elections, 2012

Elections for the office of Minnesota State Senate took place in 2012. The primary election was held on August 14, 2012, and the general election was held on November 6, 2012. The candidate filing deadline was June 5, 2012.

Elections for the office of Minnesota House of Representatives took place in 2012. The primary election was held on August 14, 2012, and the general election was held on November 6, 2012. The candidate filing deadline was June 5, 2012.

2010

See also: Minnesota State Senate elections, 2010 and Minnesota House of Representatives elections, 2010

Elections for the office of Minnesota State Senate took place in 2010. The primary election was held on September 14, 2010, and the general election was held on November 2, 2010. The candidate filing deadline was June 1, 2010.

Elections for the office of Minnesota House of Representatives took place in 2010. The primary election was held on August 10, 2010, and the general election was held on November 2, 2010. The candidate filing deadline was July 20, 2010.

Sessions

Article IV of the Minnesota Constitution establishes when the Legislature is to be in session. Section 12 of Article IV states that the Legislature is not to meet in regular session for more than 120 legislative days in each two-year period between legislative elections. Section 12 also does not allow the Legislature to meet in regular session after the first Monday following the third Saturday in May of any year. Within these limits, Section 12 allows the Legislature to decide its meeting dates by law.[2]

As such, MN Statute 3.011 establishes that on odd numbered years the legislature must convene on the first Monday in January, unless that lands on January 1, in which case the legislature must convene by the first Wednesday after the first Monday. The legislature is required to set its own date for even numbered years.

Section 12 of Article IV states that the Governor of Minnesota can call special sessions of the Legislature on extraordinary occasions.[2]

2024

See also: 2024 Minnesota legislative session and Dates of 2024 state legislative sessions

In 2024, the legislature was scheduled to convene on February 12, 2024, and adjourn on May 20, 2024.

2023

See also: 2023 Minnesota legislative session and Dates of 2023 state legislative sessions

In 2023, the legislature was scheduled to convene on January 3, 2023, and adjourn on May 22, 2023.


Role in state budget

See also: Minnesota state budget and finances
Minnesota on Public Policy Logo-one line-on Ballotpedia.png
Check out Ballotpedia articles about policy in your state on:
BudgetsCivil libertiesEducationElectionsEnergyEnvironmentHealthcarePensions

The state operates on a biennial budget cycle. The sequence of key events in the budget process is as follows:[20]

  1. Budget instructions are sent to state agencies between May and June of the year preceding the start of the new biennium.
  2. State agencies submit their budget requests to the governor by October 15.
  3. The governor submits his or her proposed budget to the state legislature on the fourth Tuesday in January. This deadline is extended to the third Tuesday in February for a newly elected governor.
  4. The legislature typically adopts a budget in May. A simple majority is required to pass a budget. The biennium begins on July 1 of odd-numbered years.[21]

Minnesota is one of 44 states in which the governor has line item veto authority.[20][22]

The governor is legally required to submit a balanced budget proposal. Likewise, the legislature is legally required to pass a balanced budget.[20]


Redistricting

See also: Redistricting in Minnesota

In Minnesota, congressional and state legislative district boundaries are drawn by the Minnesota State Legislature. These lines are subject to veto by the governor.[23]

The Minnesota Constitution requires "that state Senate districts be contiguous, and that Representative districts be nested within Senate districts." State statutes apply contiguity requirements to all congressional and state legislative districts. Furthermore, state statutes stipulate that political subdivisions should not be divided "more than necessary."[23]

2020

See also: Redistricting in Minnesota after the 2020 census

Minnesota enacted new legislative district boundaries on February 15, 2022, when a special judicial redistricting panel issued an order adopting final maps. Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea established the five-judge special redistricting panel in June 2021 to hear legal challenges regarding redistricting and adopt maps should the legislature not agree on them. The panel consisted of two state court of appeals justices and three state district court judges. Republican governors originally appointed two of the five justices, Democratic governors originally appointed two, and former Gov. Jesse Ventura (Reform) originally appointed one justice.

2010

See also: Redistricting in Minnesota after the 2010 census

Minnesota received its local census data on March 16, 2011. The state's population increased 7.8 percent, even though four of the five most populated cities showed slight decreases in population; only Rochester (pop. 106,769, up 24.4 percent) showed growth.[24]

At the time of redistricting, Republicans controlled the Legislature, and Democrats the governorship. Governor Mark Dayton (D) vetoed the legislative plan on May 19, 2011. In June 2011, a panel created by the Minnesota Supreme Court took over the process when it heard lawsuits over the matter, even though the Legislature's deadline of February 2012 had not yet come up. On February 21, 2012, the panel released a final map, pairing 30 incumbents in the House and 16 in the Senate.

Legislators

Salaries

See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
State legislative salaries, 2024[25]
SalaryPer diem
$51,750/yearFor senators: $86/day. For representatives: $66/day.

Swearing in dates

See also: When state legislators assume office after a general election

Minnesota legislators assume office on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January after the election. When the first Monday in January falls on January 1, legislators assume office on the first Wednesday after the first Monday.[26][27]

District maps

State Senate


State House


Veto overrides

Veto Override Graphic-No party.png

See also: Veto overrides in state legislatures

State legislatures can override governors' vetoes. Depending on the state, this can be done during the regular legislative session, in a special session following the adjournment of the regular session, or during the next legislative session. The rules for legislative overrides of gubernatorial vetoes in Minnesota are listed below.

How many legislators are required to vote for an override? Two-thirds of members in both chambers.

Two-thirds of members in both chambers must vote to override a veto, which is 90 of the 134 members in the Minnesota House of Representatives and 45 of the 67 members in the Minnesota State Senate. Minnesota is one of 36 states that requires a two-thirds vote from both of its legislative chambers to override a veto.

Authority: Article IV, Section 23 of the Minnesota Constitution.

"Every bill passed in conformity to the rules of each house and the joint rules of the two houses shall be presented to the governor. If he approves a bill, he shall sign it, deposit it in the office of the secretary of state and notify the house in which it originated of that fact. If he vetoes a bill, he shall return it with his objections to the house in which it originated. His objections shall be entered in the journal. If, after reconsideration, two-thirds of that house agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the governor's objections, to the other house, which shall likewise reconsider it. If approved by two-thirds of that house it becomes a law and shall be deposited in the office of the secretary of state."

History

Early on in the state's history, the legislature had direct control over the city charters that set the groundwork for governments in municipalities across the state. In the early period, many laws were written for specific cities. The practice was outlawed in 1881, though attempts were still made. For instance, the long-standing Minneapolis Park Board and the city's Library Board were both created by the legislature in the next several years. The Minnesota Constitution was amended in 1896 to give cities direct control over their own charters.

In 1913, Minnesota legislators began to be elected on nonpartisan ballots. Nonpartisanship was a historical accident that occurred when a bill to provide for no party elections of judges and city and county officers was amended to include the Legislature in the belief that it would kill the bill. Legislators ran and caucused as "Liberals" or "Conservatives" roughly equivalent in most years to Democratic or Farmer Labor (later Democratic-Farmer-Labor) and Republican, respectively. In 1974, House members again ran with party designation. In 1976, Senate members again ran with party designation.

In 1984, the Legislature ordered that all gender-specific pronouns be removed from the state laws. After two years of work, the rewritten laws were adopted. Only 301 of 20,000 pronouns were feminine. "His" was changed 10,000 times and "he" was changed 6,000 times.

The state constitution limits the number of days the legislature can meet in a biennium to a total of 120 days. On March 29, 2010, the Minnesota Legislature established a record for most legislative days in session during a decade at the time. The new record of 582 days set by the 82nd-86th Legislatures superseded the previous record of 581 legislative days set between 1971 and 1980 in the 67th through 71st Legislatures.[28]

Partisan balance 1992-2013

Who Runs the States Project
See also: Ballotpedia:Who Runs the States and Ballotpedia:Who Runs the States, Minnesota
Partisan breakdown of the Minnesota legislature from 1992-2013

Minnesota State Senate: From 1992 to 2013, the Democratic Party was the majority in the Minnesota State Senate for 20 years while the Republicans were the majority for two years. The Minnesota State Senate is one of 16 state Senates that were Democratic for more than 80 percent of the years between 1992 and 2013. For the final year of the study, Minnesota was under a Democratic trifecta.

Across the country, there were 541 Democratic and 517 Republican state Senates from 1992 to 2013.

Minnesota House of Representatives: From 1992-2013, the Democratic Party was the majority in the Minnesota State House of Representatives for 12 years while the Republicans were the majority for 10 years. For the final year of the study, Minnesota was under a Democratic trifecta.

Across the country, there were 577 Democratic and 483 Republican state Houses of Representatives from 1992 to 2013.

Over the course of the 22-year study, state governments became increasingly more partisan. At the outset of the study period (1992), 18 of the 49 states with partisan legislatures had single-party trifectas and 31 states had divided governments. In 2013, only 13 states had divided governments, while single-party trifectas held sway in 36 states, the most in the 22 years studied.

The chart below shows the partisan composition of the Office of the Governor of Minnesota, the Minnesota State Senate and the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1992 to 2013.

Partisan composition of Minnesota state government(1992-2013).PNG

SQLI and partisanship

To read the full report on the State Quality of Life Index (SQLI) in PDF form, click here.

The chart below depicts the partisanship of the Minnesota state government and the state's SQLI ranking for the years studied. For the SQLI, the states were ranked from 1-50, with 1 being the best and 50 the worst. Minnesota has been under divided government for the entirety of the study (1992-2012) until the state elected a Democratic trifecta in 2012. Minnesota also ranked in the top-5 of the SQLI ranking for the entirety of the study, reaching its lowest ranking (5th) in four separate years. The state hit the top spot twice, in 2011 and 2012, under divided government.

  • SQLI average with Democratic trifecta: N/A
  • SQLI average with Republican trifecta: N/A
  • SQLI average with divided government: 3.14
Chart displaying the partisanship of Minnesota government from 1992-2013 and the State Quality of Life Index (SQLI).

Joint legislative committees

See also: Public policy in Minnesota

The Minnesota State Legislature has two joint standing committees, as well as a number of commissions and task forces.[29]

Constitutional amendments

In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.

The methods in which the Minnesota Constitution can be amended:

See also: Article IX of the Minnesota Constitution and Laws governing ballot measures in Minnesota

The Minnesota Constitution provides two mechanisms for amending the state's constitution— a legislative process and a state constitutional convention. Ratification of amendments proposed by a convention require a 60% supermajority of those voting on the amendment question, while an amendment proposed by the legislature requires a simple majority (50%+1) of those voting in the election.[30]

Legislature

See also: Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

A simple majority vote is required during one legislative session for the Minnesota State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 68 votes in the Minnesota House of Representatives and 34 votes in the Minnesota State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

Ratifying an amendment requires a 'Yes' vote from a simple majority of all voters casting a ballot in the election, rather than a simple majority of those voting on the question.

Convention

See also: Convention-referred constitutional amendment

According to Section 3 of Article IX of the Minnesota Constitution, a two-thirds (66.67%) vote in each chamber during one legislative session is required to send a constitutional convention question to voters. A simple majority vote by the electorate is required to call the convention. Any proposed amendments approved by the convention require a 60% vote of the electorate to be ratified.



Historical context:

See also: List of Minnesota ballot measures

In Minnesota, a total of 10 ballot measures appeared on statewide ballots between 1996 and 2022. Eight ballot measures were approved, and tw ballot measures were defeated.

Minnesota statewide ballot measures, 1996-2022
Total number Annual average Annual minimum Annual maximum Approved Defeated
# % # %
10
0.8
0
3
8
80.0
2
20.0

2025 measures:

See also: 2025 ballot measures

Certified:

The following measures were certified for the ballot.

No measures to list



2024 measures:

Below is a list of measures that were referred to the 2024 ballot by the legislature.

See also: Minnesota 2024 ballot measures

Certified:

The following measures were certified for the ballot.
Minnesota Continue to Provide Lottery Revenue to Environment and Natural Resources Fund AmendmentDemocratsRepublicans
Senate:Required: 34Yes votes: 36 (53.73%)No votes: 29 (43.28%)Yes: 34; No: 0Yes: 2; No: 29
House:Required: 68Yes votes: 89 (66.41%)No votes: 41 (30.60%)Yes: 69; No: 0Yes: 20; No: 41

See also

Elections Minnesota State Government State Legislatures State Politics
Ballotpedia Elections Badge-VOTE-no shadow-Square.jpg
Flag of Minnesota.svg
State Houses-Tile image.png
State Courts-Tile image.png

External links

Footnotes

  1. Minnesota Secretary of State, "Elections Calendar," accessed June 15, 2017
  2. 2.0 2.1 Minnesota Legislature, "Constitution of the State of Minnesota," accessed February 15, 2021
  3. Redwood Falls Gazette, "Minnesota state legislature suspends its business until April 14," March 22, 2020
  4. Post Bulletin, "Minnesota Legislature to return Thursday to take up COVID-19 response," March 25, 2020
  5. CBS Minnesota, "Gov. Dayton Says He’s ‘Genuinely Undecided’ On All Budget Bills," May 26, 2017
  6. 6.0 6.1 StarTribune, "Dayton signs 10 budget bills and tax cuts, but defunds Legislature," May 31, 2017
  7. StarTribune, "Judge strikes down Gov. Mark Dayton's veto of Legislature's budget; Dayton plans appeal," July 19, 2017
  8. KSTP 5, "Dayton Says He Will Appeal Judge's Ruling his Veto was Unconstitutional," July 19, 2017
  9. CBS Minnesota, "Arguments In Supreme Court Case Between Legislature, Dayton Begin Monday," August 27, 2017
  10. Twin Cities, "Legislature restores its $130M budget, concluding legal battle with Dayton," February 22, 2018
  11. CBS Minnesota, "Gov. Dayton Signs Legislative Budget Into Law," February 26, 2018
  12. Daily Globe, "Lawmakers face long list of issues," January 4, 2015
  13. Twin Cities Daily Planet, "Previewing the 2014 Minnesota legislative session: Issues and contrasting agendas," February 24, 2014
  14. KXLT, "Minnesota Legislature now in session," February 25, 2014
  15. minnesota.publicradio.org, "Minnesota Legislature preview: 10 issues to watch," January 4, 2013
  16. Minnesota House of Representatives, "Property tax relief, new fourth tier rate highlight conferred tax bill," May 20, 2013
  17. Wall Street Journal, "States' Rift on Taxes Widens," May 23, 2013
  18. CNNMoney, "Minnesota shutdown: It's over," July 20, 2011
  19. Minneapolis Star-Tribune, "138 legislators are collecting paychecks during shutdown," July 10, 2011
  20. 20.0 20.1 20.2 National Association of State Budget Officers, "Budget Processes in the States, Spring 2021," accessed January 24, 2023
  21. Minnesota Management and Budget, "Minnesota's Budget Process," accessed January 24, 2024
  22. National Conference of State Legislatures, "Separation of Powers: Executive Veto Powers," accessed January 26, 2024
  23. 23.0 23.1 All About Redistricting, "Minnesota," accessed May 4, 2015
  24. U.S. Census Bureau, "U.S. Census Bureau Delivers Minnesota's 2010 Census Population Totals, Including First Look at Race and Hispanic Origin Data for Legislative Redistricting," March 16, 2011
  25. National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
  26. Minnesota.gov, "Minnesota Statute 3.05," accessed February 12, 2021
  27. Minnesota.gov, "Minnesota Statute 3.011," accessed November 1, 2021
  28. Smart Politics, "Hard at Work? Minnesota Legislature Sets Record for Decade-Long Days in Session," April 5, 2010
  29. Minnesota Legislature, "Joint Departments and Commissions," accessed February 15, 2021
  30. The Pink Ballot Statute, 204D.15