Understanding the Minnesota State Legislature (repeat post)
The state legislature can be a complicated place. With the legislature out of session, this is an opportunity to have a quick refresher about the basics of the Minnesota Legislature.
The state of Minnesota is comprised of 201 legislators. The state legislature is divided into 67 senate districts, and 134 house districts. Each senate district elects one senator and each house district elects one representative. Senators are elected to 4-year terms, and Representatives for 2 year terms.
The Minnesota Legislature convenes in regular session each odd-numbered year on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January. Although it is not required to do so, the Legislature also meets in even-numbered years, starting on a date agreed to by both bodies, usually in January or February. In total, between the two years, the Legislature may not meet for more than 120 legislative days and may not meet in regular session after the first Monday following the third Saturday in May of any year.
In a traditional legislative biennium, the first year of the biennium is a they year in which legislators are charged with passing the budget. This is the year that major spending bills will be passed to keep the government functioning. In the even years of the biennium the legislature is focused on policy, bonding, and small finance items called the supplemental budget. All bills introduced in the first year of the biennium will remain active for the whole biennium. This means the Legislature may act in the second year on bills that were not passed in the first year, without having to reintroduce them.
Bills may be introduced at any time, but must meet committee deadlines in the process in order to remain viable. There are usually three deadlines. By the “first deadline,” a bill must have passed through all of the required policy committees in one of the bodies. By the “second deadline,” its companion must have passed through all of the policy committees in the other body. By the “third deadline,” an omnibus appropriations bill and its companion must have passed through the required finance divisions in both bodies.
The House and Senate have many committees that hold hearings on bills related to the topics assigned to them. The number of committees in each house and the number of members serving on each committee varies from session to session. In addition to the work they do during each legislative session, committees may hold informational hearings between legislative sessions. When the legislature reconvenes in 2024 it will be the second year of the biennium.