Minnesota Senate | |
---|---|
93rd Minnesota Legislature | |
Type | |
Type | of the Minnesota Legislature |
Term limits | None |
History | |
New session started | January 3, 2023 |
Leadership | |
President Pro Tempore | |
Structure | |
Seats | 67 |
Political groups |
|
Length of term | 4 years when elected in years ending in 2 and 6. 2 years when elected in years ending in 0. |
Authority | Article IV, Minnesota Constitution |
Salary | $51,750/year + per diem [1] |
Elections | |
First-past-the-post | |
Last election | November 8, 2022 |
Next election | November 3, 2026 |
Redistricting | Legislative control |
Meeting place | |
Senate chamber Minnesota State Capitol Saint Paul, Minnesota | |
Website | |
senate | |
Rules | |
Temporary Rules of the Senate |
The Minnesota Senate is the upper house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. At 67 members, half as many as the Minnesota House of Representatives, it is the largest upper house of any U.S. state legislature. [2] Floor sessions are held in the west wing of the State Capitol in Saint Paul. Committee hearings, as well as offices for senators and staff, are located north of the State Capitol in the Minnesota Senate Building. Each member of the Minnesota Senate represents approximately 80,000 constituents. [3]
The Minnesota Senate held its first regular session on December 2, 1857. [4]
In addition to its legislative powers, certain appointments by the governor are subject to the Senate's advice and consent. As state law provides for hundreds of executive appointments, the vast majority of appointees serve without being confirmed by the Senate; only in rare instances does the Senate reject appointees. [5] It has rejected only nine executive appointments since 2000. [6]
Each Senate district is split between an A and B House district (e.g., Senate District 41 contains House districts 41A and 41B). The Minnesota Constitution forbids House districts that are within more than one Senate district. [7]
To account for decennial redistricting, members run for one two-year term and two four-year terms each decade. Senators are elected to four-year terms in years ending in 2 and 6, and to two-year terms in years ending in 0. [8] Districts are redrawn after the decennial United States Census in time for the primary and general elections in years ending in 2. The most recent election was held on November 8, 2022.
From statehood through 1972, the lieutenant governor served as president of the Senate. In 1972, voters approved a constitutional amendment that provided for the Senate to elect its own president beginning January 1973. [9] The president, who presides over official Senate proceedings, also acts as the parliamentarian and oversees the secretary of the senate. [10] The majority leader is responsible for managing and scheduling the business of the Senate and oversees partisan and nonpartisan staff. The current majority leader is Erin Murphy, a Democrat from Saint Paul. [11] The current minority leader is Mark Johnson, a Republican from East Grand Forks. [12] Each caucus also selects its own leaders and deputy leaders.
Committee hearings mostly take place in the Minnesota Senate Building, a 293,000-square-foot (27,200 m2) office building that opened in January 2016. [13] The $90 million office building, which is north of the State Capitol across University Avenue, includes three committee hearing rooms, offices for all senators and staff, a raised terrace overlooking the State Capitol, and a 264-space underground parking facility. [14]
The 2016 session was held in the newly constructed Minnesota Senate Building due to an extensive restoration at the State Capitol. It was the first time the Senate held a regular session outside the Capitol since it opened in 1905. [15]
Years | Party [16] (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Total | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic– Farmer–Labor | Republican | Independent | Vacant | ||
2001–2003 | 41 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 67 |
2003–2007 | 35 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 67 |
2007–2011 | 44 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 67 |
2011–2013 | 30 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 67 |
2013–2017 | 39 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 67 |
2017-2021 | 33 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 67 |
2021–2023 | 31 | 34 | 2 | 0 | 67 |
2023–2027 | 34 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 67 |
Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Total | Vacant | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Independent | Democratic– Farmer–Labor | |||
End of the previous Legislature | 34 | 1 | 31 | 66 | 1 |
Begin 2023 | 33 | 0 | 34 | 67 | 0 |
Latest voting share | 49% | 0% | 51% |
Constitution |
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The seventy-fifth Minnesota Legislature first convened on January 6, 1987. The 67 members of the Minnesota Senate and the 134 members of the Minnesota House of Representatives were elected during the General Election of November 4, 1986.
The seventy-fourth Minnesota Legislature first convened on January 8, 1985. The 67 members of the Minnesota Senate were elected during the General Election of November 2, 1982, and the 134 members of the Minnesota House of Representatives were elected during the General Election of November 6, 1984.
The 1st Minnesota Legislature first convened on December 2, 1857. The 37 members of the Minnesota Senate and the 80 members of the Minnesota House of Representatives were elected during the General Election of October 13, 1857. Although the Constitution of the State of Minnesota, which had been adopted by the voters at the 1857 general election, was not ratified by the United States Senate until May 11, 1858, this was the first legislature of the State of Minnesota to convene in conformity with the state constitution.
The seventieth Minnesota Legislature first convened on January 4, 1977. The 67 members of the Minnesota Senate and the 134 members of the Minnesota House of Representatives were elected during the General Election of November 2, 1976. It was the first Minnesota Legislature since the thirty-eighth Minnesota Legislature whose members of the Minnesota Senate were chosen in partisan elections.
The sixty-ninth Minnesota Legislature first convened on January 7, 1975. The 67 members of the Minnesota Senate were elected during the General Election of November 7, 1972, while the 134 members of the Minnesota House of Representatives were elected during the General Election of November 5, 1974. The sixty-ninth Legislature was the first Minnesota Legislature to sit after the repeal of the requirement that Minnesota legislators be chosen in legally nonpartisan elections.
The 2022 Minnesota Senate election was held in the U.S. state of Minnesota on November 8, 2022, to elect members of the Senate of the 93rd Minnesota Legislature. A primary election was held in several districts on August 9, 2022. The election coincided with the election of the other house of the Legislature, the Minnesota House of Representatives, and all other statewide elections.