2024 Minnesota legislative session

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2024 Minnesota legislative session
General information
Scheduled session start:    Feb. 12, 2024 Scheduled session end:    May 20, 2024
Leadership
Senate President Bobby Joe Champion (D) House Speaker Melissa Hortman (D) Majority Leader Senate: Kari Dziedzic (D) House: Jamie Long (D) Minority Leader Senate: Mark Johnson (R) House: Lisa Demuth (R)
Elections
Next Election:    November 5, 2024 Last Election:    November 8, 2022
Previous legislative sessions
2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018
Other 2024 legislative sessions
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In 2024, the Minnesota State Legislature was scheduled to convene on February 12 and adjourn on May 20.

The legislators serving in this session took office following the 2022 elections. Democrats won a 34-33 majority in the Senate and a 70-64 majority in the House. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Democratic state government trifecta. At the start of the 2024 session, Minnesota was one of 21 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.

At the beginning of the 2024 legislative session:

Democrats held a majority in the Minnesota state House and state Senate.

Minnesota was one of 17 Democratic state government trifectas.

Minnesota's governor was Democrat Tim Walz.

Leadership in 2024

Minnesota State Senate

• Senate president: Bobby Joe Champion (D)
• Majority leader: Kari Dziedzic (D)
• Minority leader: Mark Johnson (R)

Minnesota House of Representatives

• Speaker of the House: Melissa Hortman (D)
• Majority leader: Jamie Long (D)
• Minority leader: Lisa Demuth (R)

Partisan control in 2024

See also: State government trifectas

Minnesota was one of 17 Democratic state government trifectas at the start of 2024 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 21 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 2024 legislative session.

Minnesota State Senate

Party		As of January 2024
	Democratic Party	34
	Republican Party	33
Total		67

Minnesota House of Representatives

Party		As of January 2024
	Democratic Party	70
	Republican Party	64
Total		134

Standing legislative committees

See also: Standing committee and List of committees in Minnesota state government

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 2024 legislative session, there were 51 standing committees in Minnesota's state government, including two joint legislative committees, 20 state Senate committees, and 29 state House committees.

Joint legislative committees

• Driver and Vehicle Systems Oversight Committee
• MNsure Legislative Oversight Committee

Senate committees

• Agriculture, Broadband and Rural Development Committee
• Capital Investment Committee
• Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee
• Education Finance Committee
• Education Policy Committee
• Elections Committee
• Energy, Utilities, Environment and Climate Committee
• Environment, Climate and Legacy Committee
• Finance Committee
• Health and Human Services Committee
• Higher Education Committee
• Housing and Homelessness Prevention Committee
• Human Services Committee
• Jobs and Economic Development Committee
• Judiciary and Public Safety Committee
• Labor Committee
• Rules and Administration Committee
• State and Local Government and Veterans Committee
• Taxes Committee
• Transportation Committee

House committees

• Agriculture Finance and Policy Committee
• Capital Investment Committee
• Children and Families Finance and Policy Committee
• Climate and Energy Finance and Policy Committee
• Commerce Finance and Policy Committee
• Economic Development Finance and Policy Committee
• Education Finance Committee
• Education Policy Committee
• Elections Finance and Policy Committee
• Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy Committee
• Ethics Committee
• Health Finance and Policy Committee
• Higher Education Finance and Policy Committee
• Housing Finance and Policy Committee
• Human Services Finance Committee
• Human Services Policy Committee
• Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Committee
• Labor and Industry Finance and Policy Committee
• Legacy Finance Committee
• Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee
• Rules and Legislative Administration Committee
• State and Local Government Finance and Policy Committee
• Sustainable Infrastructure Policy Committee
• Tax Committee
• Property Tax Division Committee
• Transportation Finance and Policy Committee
• Veterans and Military Affairs Finance and Policy Committee
• Ways and Means Committee
• Workforce Development Finance and Policy Committee

Legislation

Enacted legislation

The list below shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2024 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 in 2024. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

Election administration legislation

State election laws are changing. Keeping track of the latest developments in all 50 states can seem like an impossible job. Here's the solution: Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker.

Ballotpedia's Election Administration Tracker sets the industry standard for ease of use, flexibility, and raw power. Ballotpedia's election experts provide daily updates on bills and other relevant political developments, translate complex bill text into easy-to-understand summaries written in everyday language, and, because it's from Ballotpedia, our Tracker is guaranteed to be neutral, unbiased, and nonpartisan.

The table below lists 2024 election-related legislation in Minnesota. The following information is included for each bill:

• Bill number
• Official name or caption
• Most recent action date
• Legislative status
• Topics dealt with by the bill

Bills are organized by bill number. The table displays up to 100 results by default. To view additional results, use the arrows in the upper-right corner of the table. For more information about a particular bill, simply click the bill number. This will open a separate page with additional information.

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:

See also: Article IX of the Minnesota Constitution and Laws governing ballot measures in Minnesota

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.

Legislature

See also: Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

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

See also: Convention-referred constitutional amendment

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 context:

See also: List of Minnesota ballot measures

In Minnesota, a total of 10 ballot measures appeared on statewide ballots between 1996 and 2022. Eight ballot measures were approved, and tw ballot measures were defeated.

Minnesota statewide ballot measures, 1996-2022
Total number	Annual average	Annual minimum	Annual maximum	Approved		Defeated
				#	%	#	%
10	0.8	0	3	8	80.0	2	20.0

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
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

Democrats won a 34-33 majority in the Minnesota State Senate in 2022, gaining control of the chamber for the first time since 2012.

The table below shows the partisan history of the Minnesota Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2022. 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: 1992-2022

Party	92	96	00	02	06	10	12	16	20	22
Democrats	45	42	39	35	44	30	39	33	31	34
Republicans	22	25	27	31	23	37	28	34	34	33
Other	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	2	0

Historical House control

Democrats won control of the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2018. In 2022, they won a 70-64 majority.

The table below shows the partisan history of the Minnesota House 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: 1992-2022

Year	'92	'94	'96	'98	'00	'02	'04	'06	'08	'10	'12	'14	'16	'18	'20	'22
Democrats	87	71	70	63	65	52	66	85	87	62	73	62	57	75	70	70
Republicans	47	63	64	71	69	82	68	49	47	72	61	72	77	59	64	64

Noteworthy events

Nicole Mitchell Arrest, burglary charge (2024)

On April 22, 2024, District 47 Senator Nicole Mitchell was arrested on suspicion of burglarizing a home in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota.

On April 23, 2024, the Becker County Attorney's Office charged Mitchell with one count of first-degree burglary.

Mitchell responded to the allegations on social media, denying that she had stolen from the home, which is owned by her stepmother.

"Like so many families, mine is dealing with the pain of watching a loved one decline due to Alzheimer's and associated paranoia," Mitchell said. "Over the weekend, I learned of medical information which caused me grave concern and prompted me to check on that family member. I entered a home I have come and gone from countless times in the past 20 years, where my son even once had his own room. Unfortunately, I startled this close relative, exacerbating paranoia, and I was accused of stealing, which I absolutely deny."

"Thank you to all my friends (and colleagues of both parties) for the kind words of support and for trusting my character even before I had a chance to respond. This has been a true tragedy for our family and my hope is it can return to being a private matter."

Mitchell made her first court appearance related to the charges on April 23, 2024. Her next hearing is scheduled for June 10, 2024.

On April 25, 2024, Mitchell indicated that she did not intend to resign from the Minnesota State Senate.

On April 28, 2024, Minnesota State Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy indicated that Sen. Mitchell would be removed from her committee assignments while her case is being reviewed.

“This is a tragic situation, and there are still questions that need to be answered. The legal investigation is ongoing, and last week, we referred her case to the Senate Subcommittee on Ethical Conduct. While the case is under review both in the Senate and in the courts, Senator Mitchell will be relieved of her committee assignments and removed from caucus meetings.”

On April 30, 2024, a motion in the Minnesota State Senate to call for Mitchell's resignation failed along party lines, with Mitchell casting a vote against the motion.

See also

Elections	Minnesota State Government	State Legislatures	State Politics
Minnesota State Senate elections, 2026 Minnesota House of Representatives elections, 2024	Minnesota State Legislature Minnesota House of Representatives Minnesota State Senate Governor of Minnesota Minnesota Supreme Court	State legislative elections, 2024 State legislative special elections, 2024 State legislative elections, 2022 State legislative elections, 2020	State government trifectas State government triplexes Veto overrides in state legislatures State executives State courts Ballot measures The State Legislative Decade

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Minnesota State Legislature homepage

Footnotes

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