2022 Minnesota legislative session
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2022 Minnesota legislative session |
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General information |
Session start: January 31, 2022 Session end: May 23, 2022 |
Leadership |
Senate President David Osmek (R) House Speaker |
Elections |
Next Election: November 8, 2022 Last Election: November 3, 2020 |
Previous legislative sessions |
2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 |
Other 2022 legislative sessions |
In 2022, the Minnesota State Legislature was scheduled to convene on January 31, 2022 and adjourn on May 23, 2022.
The legislators serving in this session took office following the 2020 elections. Republicans won a 34-31 majority in the Senate, while Democrats won a 69-64 majority in the House. Democrats controlled the governorship and lower chamber of the legislature, while Republicans controlled the upper chamber. This created one of 13 divided state governments. At the start of the 2022 session, Minnesota was one of 26 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.
Leadership in 2022
Minnesota State Senate
- Senate president: David Osmek (R)
- Majority leader: Jeremy Miller (R)
- Minority leader: Melisa Franzen (D)
Minnesota House of Representatives
- Speaker of the House: Melissa Hortman (D)
- Majority leader: Ryan Winkler (D)
- Minority leader: Kurt Daudt (R)
Partisan control in 2022
- See also: State government trifectas
Minnesota was one of 13 divided governments at the start of 2022 legislative sessions. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.
Minnesota was also one of 26 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.
The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the Minnesota State Legislature in the 2022 legislative session.
Minnesota State Senate
Party | As of January 2022 | |
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Democratic Party | 31 | |
Republican Party | 34 | |
Independent | 2 | |
Total | 67 |
Minnesota House of Representatives
Party | As of January 2022 | |
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Democratic Party | 69 | |
Republican Party | 64 | |
Independent | 1 | |
Total | 134 |
Regular session
The list below shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation met these criteria. This information is provided by BillTrack50.
Standing legislative committees
A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.
At the beginning of the 2022 legislative session, there were 61 standing committees in Minnesota's state government, including two joint legislative committees, 30 state Senate committees, and 29 state House committees.
Joint legislative committees
- Driver and Vehicle Systems Oversight Committee
- MNsure Legislative Oversight Committee
Senate committees
- Aging and Long-Term Care Policy Committee
- Agriculture and Rural Development Finance and Policy Committee
- Civil Law and Data Practices Policy Committee
- E-12 Finance and Policy Committee
- Education Finance and Policy Committee
- Energy and Utilities Finance and Policy Committee
- Environment and Natural Resources Finance Committee
- Environment and Natural Resources Policy and Legacy Finance Committee
- Family Care and Aging Committee
- Finance Committee
- Health and Human Services Finance and Policy Committee
- Human Services Licensing Policy Committee
- Human Services Reform Finance and Policy Committee
- Jobs and Economic Growth Finance and Policy Committee
- Judiciary and Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee
- Labor and Industry Policy Committee
- Local Government Committee
- Local Government Policy Committee
- Mining and Forestry Policy Committee
- Rules and Administration Committee
- Senate Capital Investment Committee
- Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Finance and Policy Committee
- Senate Higher Education Finance and Policy Committee
- Senate Housing Finance and Policy Committee
- Senate Redistricting Committee
- Senate Taxes Committee
- Senate Transportation Finance and Policy Committee
- State Government Finance and Policy and Elections Committee
- Technology and Reform Policy Committee
- Veterans and Military Affairs Finance and Policy Committee
House committees
- Agriculture Finance and Policy Committee
- Climate and Energy Finance and Policy Committee
- Commerce Finance and Policy Committee
- Early Childhood Finance and Policy Committee
- Education Finance Committee
- Education Policy Committee
- Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy Committee
- Ethics Committee
- Health Finance and Policy Committee
- House Capital Investment Committee
- House Higher Education Finance and Policy Committee
- House Housing Finance and Policy Committee
- House Redistricting Committee
- House Taxes Committee
- House Transportation Finance and Policy Committee
- Human Services Finance and Policy Committee
- Industrial Education and Economic Development Finance and Policy Committee
- Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Committee
- Labor, Industry, Veterans and Military Affairs Finance and Policy Committee
- Legacy Finance Committee
- Legacy Funding Committee
- Public Safety and Criminal Justice Reform Finance and Policy Committee
- Public Safety and Security Committee
- Rules and Legislative Administration Committee
- State Government Committee
- State Government Finance and Elections Committee
- Transportation Committee
- Ways and Means Committee
- Workforce and Business Development Finance and Policy Committee
Legislatively referred 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 by which the Minnesota Constitution can be amended:
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.[1]
Legislature
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
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 partisan control
The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of Minnesota.
Minnesota Party Control: 1992-2024
Four years of Democratic trifectas • No Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
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Governor | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | I | I | I | I | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
Senate | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D |
House | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | R | R | D | D | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D |
Historical Senate control
Between 1992 and 2010, the Minnesota State Senate was controlled by Democrats. Partisan control of the chamber fluctuated between the Democratic and Republican parties between 2010 and 2012. Since the 2016 elections, Republicans have controlled the chamber. The table below shows the partisan history of the Minnesota State Senate 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 State Senate election results: 1992-2020
Party | 92 | 96 | 00 | 02 | 06 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 20 |
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Democrats | 45 | 42 | 39 | 35 | 44 | 30 | 39 | 33 | 31 |
Republicans | 22 | 25 | 27 | 31 | 23 | 37 | 28 | 34 | 34 |
Other | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Between 1992 and 2020, majority control of the state Senate changed three times. Democrats controlled the chamber from 1973 until the 2010 elections.[2] In the 2010 elections, Republicans picked up 16 seats and held a 37-30 majority. That Republican majority held until the 2012 elections, when Democrats gained nine seats. Democrats held that majority until the 2016 elections, when Republicans retook control of the chamber. In the 2016 elections, Democrats went from having a 39-28 majority to a 33-34 minority.
Democrats went from having a 23-seat advantage following the 1992 elections to being at a three-seat disadvantage after the 2020 elections. The last time that Democrats or Republicans held the 45 seats required to override a gubernatorial veto was after the 1992 elections. Democrats lost that veto-proof majority in a special election in December 1994.[2]
Historical House control
Between 1992 and 2020, partisan control of the Minnesota House of Representatives fluctuated between the Democratic and Republican parties. Democrats regained control of the chamber after the 2018 elections. The table below shows the partisan history of the Minnesota House of Representatives 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: 1992-2020
Year | '92 | '94 | '96 | '98 | '00 | '02 | '04 | '06 | '08 | '10 | '12 | '14 | '16 | '18 | '20 |
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Democrats | 87 | 71 | 70 | 63 | 65 | 52 | 66 | 85 | 87 | 62 | 73 | 62 | 57 | 75 | 70 |
Republicans | 47 | 63 | 64 | 71 | 69 | 82 | 68 | 49 | 47 | 72 | 61 | 72 | 77 | 59 | 64 |
Between 1992 and 2020, majority control of the state House changed seven times. Democrats controlled the chamber from 1987 until the 1998 election.[3] In 1998, Republicans picked up seven seats in the election. That Republican majority held until the 2006 elections, when Democrats gained 19 seats. The chamber returned to a Republican majority in 2010 after Republicans picked up 25 seats. Democrats regained control of the chamber in the 2012 elections when the party picked up 11 seats. Democrats held that majority until the 2014 elections when Republicans retook control of the chamber. In the 2014 elections, Democrats went from having a 73-61 majority to a 62-72 minority. Republicans increased their majority in the 2016 elections from 73-61 to 77-57 but lost their gains in the 2018 elections as a 75-59 Democratic majority regained control.
Democrats went from having a 40-seat advantage following the 1992 elections to holding a 6-seat advantage after the 2020 elections. From 1992 to 2020, neither Democrats nor Republicans held more than the 90 seats required to override a gubernatorial veto.
See also
Elections | Minnesota State Government | State Legislatures | State Politics |
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External links
Footnotes