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Minnesota Legislature
The Minnesota Legislature is the bicameral legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota, composed of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The legislature originally met at the old Territorial Capitol in Saint Paul and now convenes at the Minnesota State Capitol. The Senate currently has 67 seats and the House has 134 seats, a configuration in place since the 1970s. Minnesota legislators serve without term limits. House members are elected to two-year terms and Senators to four-year terms in years ending in 2 and 6 and two-year terms in years ending in 0, with all Senate seats up for election after each decennial redistricting.
Both houses of the legislature meet between January and the first Monday following the third Saturday in May each year, not to exceed 120 legislative days per biennium. Floor sessions are held in the Minnesota State Capitol in Saint Paul.
Minnesota’s state constitution was adopted in 1857, and the first state legislative session convened in late 1857, shortly before formal statehood in May 1858. That initial legislature was unusually large (80 representatives and 37 senators). After these first sessions, the legislature’s size was soon adjusted: by 1861 the House had only 42 members and the Senate 21. Legislative elections were partisan, and the Republican Party dominated state politics during and after the Civil War.
Early in Minnesota's statehood, 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 to enact municipal legislation were still made. For instance, the long-standing Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board and the city's now defunct 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 the 19th century, the Minnesota Legislature initially met annually. Early legislatures often met every year for several months at a time. A constitutional amendment approved in 1860 introduced a 60-day limit on each session, prompting the legislature to convene briefly each year. Beginning in 1879, the legislature met in regular session only in odd-numbered years. The biennial session pattern persisted for nearly a century, even as the allowed length of sessions was later extended to 90 legislative days in 1888 and to 120 days in 1962.
From 1913 until the mid-1970s, Minnesota legislators were elected on nonpartisan ballots. This was a historical accident that occurred when a bill to provide for no-party elections of judges, city, and county officers was amended to include the legislature in the belief that it would kill the bill. While Minnesota legislators were elected on a nonpartisan ballot, they caucused as "Liberals" or "Conservatives," roughly the 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 did the same.
Governor Jesse Ventura advocated the idea of changing the legislature to be unicameral 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, an opponent turned advocate of the line, was expected to request a special session but ended up helping the coordination of other funds to continue the 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 (DFL) minority grew from 53 to 66 and the Republican majority was reduced from 81 to 68.
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Minnesota Legislature
The Minnesota Legislature is the bicameral legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota, composed of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The legislature originally met at the old Territorial Capitol in Saint Paul and now convenes at the Minnesota State Capitol. The Senate currently has 67 seats and the House has 134 seats, a configuration in place since the 1970s. Minnesota legislators serve without term limits. House members are elected to two-year terms and Senators to four-year terms in years ending in 2 and 6 and two-year terms in years ending in 0, with all Senate seats up for election after each decennial redistricting.
Both houses of the legislature meet between January and the first Monday following the third Saturday in May each year, not to exceed 120 legislative days per biennium. Floor sessions are held in the Minnesota State Capitol in Saint Paul.
Minnesota’s state constitution was adopted in 1857, and the first state legislative session convened in late 1857, shortly before formal statehood in May 1858. That initial legislature was unusually large (80 representatives and 37 senators). After these first sessions, the legislature’s size was soon adjusted: by 1861 the House had only 42 members and the Senate 21. Legislative elections were partisan, and the Republican Party dominated state politics during and after the Civil War.
Early in Minnesota's statehood, 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 to enact municipal legislation were still made. For instance, the long-standing Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board and the city's now defunct 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 the 19th century, the Minnesota Legislature initially met annually. Early legislatures often met every year for several months at a time. A constitutional amendment approved in 1860 introduced a 60-day limit on each session, prompting the legislature to convene briefly each year. Beginning in 1879, the legislature met in regular session only in odd-numbered years. The biennial session pattern persisted for nearly a century, even as the allowed length of sessions was later extended to 90 legislative days in 1888 and to 120 days in 1962.
From 1913 until the mid-1970s, Minnesota legislators were elected on nonpartisan ballots. This was a historical accident that occurred when a bill to provide for no-party elections of judges, city, and county officers was amended to include the legislature in the belief that it would kill the bill. While Minnesota legislators were elected on a nonpartisan ballot, they caucused as "Liberals" or "Conservatives," roughly the 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 did the same.
Governor Jesse Ventura advocated the idea of changing the legislature to be unicameral 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, an opponent turned advocate of the line, was expected to request a special session but ended up helping the coordination of other funds to continue the 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 (DFL) minority grew from 53 to 66 and the Republican majority was reduced from 81 to 68.