Minnesota Legislature
Encyclopedia
The Minnesota Legislature is the legislative branch
of government in the U.S. state
of Minnesota
. It is a bicameral
legislature located at the Minnesota Capitol
in Saint Paul
and it consists of two houses: the lower Minnesota House of Representatives
and the Minnesota Senate
. The House has 134 seats, the Senate has 67.
Early on in the state's history, the legislature had direct control over the city charter
s 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 State 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 pronoun
s 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 legislature oversees the funding for the University of Minnesota
and Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) systems.
Former Governor Jesse Ventura
advocated the idea of changing the legislature to a unicameral
system while he was in office, but the concept did not obtain widespread support.
In 2004, the legislature ended its regular session without acting on a majority of the planned legislation, largely due to political divisiveness on a variety of issues ranging from education
to same-sex marriage
(See same-sex marriage in the United States
for related events during the year). A proper budget
failed to pass, and major anticipated projects such as the Northstar Corridor
commuter rail line were not approved. Governor Tim Pawlenty
, currently an advocate of the line (formerly an opponent), was expected to request a special session
, but ended up helping the coordination of other funds to continue development of the line.
The lack of action in the 2004 session is said to be one reason why a number of Republican
House members lost their seats in the November election. The Democratic-Farmer-Labor
minority grew from 53 to 66 and the Republican majority was reduced from 81 to 68.
The Senate was not up for election in 2004 so the DFL was able to maintain its 5 seat majority in the upper house. One State Senator was an Independence Party
member until December 2005, Sheila Kiscaden
of Rochester
, she caucuses with the DFL today, although she had been a Republican in the past. The DFL majority increased to six Senators when Sen. Kiscaden announced her re-affiliation with the DFL in preparation to run for Lieutenant Governor on a ticket with DFLer Kelly Doran
.
There is a mandatory adjournment date specified in the state constitution: "The legislature shall not meet in regular session, nor in any adjournment thereof, after the first Monday following the third Saturday in May of any year." In 2005, the regular session ended without passage of an overall budget
, and a special session opened. No overall budget passed by the end of the fiscal year on June 30, and much of the government shut down for the first time in state history. However, some essential services remained in operation, and some departments received funding in legislation. A compromise budget was approved and signed into law two weeks later, but state offices remained closed over a highly publicized and strongly criticized Fourth of July
weekend.
When the legislature is in session, it is broadcast on television
via KTCI channel 17 to the Twin Cities region.
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
of government in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. It is a bicameral
Bicameralism
In the government, bicameralism is the practice of having two legislative or parliamentary chambers. Thus, a bicameral parliament or bicameral legislature is a legislature which consists of two chambers or houses....
legislature located at the Minnesota Capitol
Minnesota State Capitol
The Minnesota State Capitol is located in Minnesota's capital city, Saint Paul, and houses the Minnesota Senate, Minnesota House of Representatives, the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the Governor...
in Saint Paul
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
and it consists of two houses: the lower Minnesota House of Representatives
Minnesota 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. Each senate district is divided in half and given the suffix A or B...
and the Minnesota Senate
Minnesota Senate
The Minnesota Senate is the upper house in the Minnesota Legislature. There are 67 members, half as many as are in the Minnesota House of Representatives. In terms of membership, it is the largest upper house of any state legislature. Each Senate district in the state includes an A and B House...
. The House has 134 seats, the Senate has 67.
Early on in the state's history, the legislature had direct control over the city charter
Charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...
s 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 State 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
Wrecking amendment
In legislative debate, a wrecking amendment is an amendment made by a legislator who disagrees with the principles of a bill and who seeks to make it useless rather than directly opposing the bill by simply voting...
. 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 pronoun
Gender-specific pronoun
A language has 'gender-specific pronouns' when personal pronouns have different forms according to the gender of their referents.The English language has three gender-specific pronouns in the 3rd. person singular, whose declined forms are also gender-specific: he , she , and it...
s 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 legislature oversees the funding for the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
and Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) systems.
Former Governor Jesse Ventura
Jesse Ventura
James George Janos , better known as Jesse Ventura, is an American politician, the 38th Governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003, Navy UDT veteran, former SEAL reservist, actor, and former radio and television talk show host...
advocated the idea of changing the legislature to a unicameral
Unicameralism
In government, unicameralism is the practice of having one legislative or parliamentary chamber. Thus, a unicameral parliament or unicameral legislature is a legislature which consists of one chamber or house...
system while he was in office, but the concept did not obtain widespread support.
In 2004, the legislature ended its regular session without acting on a majority of the planned legislation, largely due to political divisiveness on a variety of issues ranging from education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
to same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
(See same-sex marriage in the United States
Same-sex marriage in the United States
The federal government does not recognize same-sex marriage in the United States, but such marriages are recognized by some individual states. The lack of federal recognition was codified in 1996 by the Defense of Marriage Act, before Massachusetts became the first state to grant marriage licenses...
for related events during the year). A proper budget
Budget
A budget is a financial plan and a list of all planned expenses and revenues. It is a plan for saving, borrowing and spending. A budget is an important concept in microeconomics, which uses a budget line to illustrate the trade-offs between two or more goods...
failed to pass, and major anticipated projects such as the Northstar Corridor
Northstar Corridor
The Northstar Line is a commuter rail route in the U.S. state of Minnesota, which began service on November 16, 2009. The rail line serves part of the Northstar Corridor between Minneapolis and St. Cloud, and has been in planning since the Northstar Corridor Development Authority formed in 1997...
commuter rail line were not approved. Governor Tim Pawlenty
Tim Pawlenty
Timothy James "Tim" Pawlenty , also known affectionately among supporters as T-Paw, is an American politician who served as the 39th Governor of Minnesota . He was a Republican candidate for President of the United States in the 2012 election from May to August 2011...
, currently an advocate of the line (formerly an opponent), was expected to request a special session
Special session
In a legislature, a special session is a period when the body convenes outside of the normal legislative session. This most frequently occurs in order to complete unfinished tasks for the year , such as outlining the government's budget for the next fiscal year, biennium, or other period...
, but ended up helping the coordination of other funds to continue development of the line.
The lack of action in the 2004 session is said to be one reason why a number of Republican
Republican Party of Minnesota
The Republican Party of Minnesota is the Minnesota branch of the United States Republican Party. Elected by the party’s state central committee in June 2009, its chairman is Tony Sutton, and its deputy-chairman is Michael Brodkorb.-Early history:...
House members lost their seats in the November election. The Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party
The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party is a major political party in the state of Minnesota and the state affiliate of the Democratic Party. It was created on April 15, 1944, with the merger of the Minnesota Democratic Party and the Farmer–Labor Party...
minority grew from 53 to 66 and the Republican majority was reduced from 81 to 68.
The Senate was not up for election in 2004 so the DFL was able to maintain its 5 seat majority in the upper house. One State Senator was an Independence Party
Independence Party of Minnesota
The Independence Party of Minnesota , formerly the Reform Party of Minnesota, is the third largest political party in Minnesota, behind the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and Republican Party . It is the political party of former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura , and endorsed former U.S...
member until December 2005, Sheila Kiscaden
Sheila Kiscaden
Sheila Kiscaden is a United States politician. She is a former Minnesota State Senator from District 30, which includes much of Rochester and nearby rural areas. She was first elected to the Senate in 1992 as a Republican. In 2002, after being denied the Republican endorsement at the senate...
of Rochester
Rochester, Minnesota
Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on both banks of the Zumbro River, The city has a population of 106,769 according to the 2010 United States Census, making it Minnesota's third-largest city and the largest outside of the...
, she caucuses with the DFL today, although she had been a Republican in the past. The DFL majority increased to six Senators when Sen. Kiscaden announced her re-affiliation with the DFL in preparation to run for Lieutenant Governor on a ticket with DFLer Kelly Doran
Kelly Doran
Kelly J. Doran is a Minnesota businessman. He ran for Governor as a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, but ended his bid in March 2006, stating that the campaign was too difficult for his family.-Background:...
.
There is a mandatory adjournment date specified in the state constitution: "The legislature shall not meet in regular session, nor in any adjournment thereof, after the first Monday following the third Saturday in May of any year." In 2005, the regular session ended without passage of an overall budget
Budget
A budget is a financial plan and a list of all planned expenses and revenues. It is a plan for saving, borrowing and spending. A budget is an important concept in microeconomics, which uses a budget line to illustrate the trade-offs between two or more goods...
, and a special session opened. No overall budget passed by the end of the fiscal year on June 30, and much of the government shut down for the first time in state history. However, some essential services remained in operation, and some departments received funding in legislation. A compromise budget was approved and signed into law two weeks later, but state offices remained closed over a highly publicized and strongly criticized Fourth of July
Independence Day (United States)
Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain...
weekend.
When the legislature is in session, it is broadcast on television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
via KTCI channel 17 to the Twin Cities region.