Minnesota Senate
93rd Minnesota Legislature
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
Term limits
None
History
New session started
January 3, 2023 (2023-01-03)
Leadership
Bobby Joe Champion (DFL)
since January 3, 2023
President pro tempore
Ann Rest (DFL)
since January 3, 2023
Kari Dziedzic (DFL)
since January 3, 2023
Mark Johnson (R)
since January 3, 2023
Structure
Seats67
Political groups
  •   DFL (34)
  •   Republican (33)
Length of term
4 years when elected in years ending in 2 and 6.
2 years when elected in years ending in 0.
AuthorityArticle IV, Minnesota Constitution
Salary$46,500/year + per diem[1]
Elections
First-past-the-post
Last election
November 8, 2022
Next election
November 3, 2026
RedistrictingLegislative control
Meeting place
Senate chamber
Minnesota State Capitol
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Website
www.senate.mn

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]

History

The Minnesota Senate held its first regular session on December 2, 1857.[4]

Powers

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]

Elections

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.

Leadership

Kari Dziedzic, Democrat from Minneapolis.

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 Kari Dziedzic, a Democrat from Minneapolis.[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.

Minnesota Senate Building

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]

Composition

Historical composition

Affiliation 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

Current composition

93rd Minnesota Legislature (2023–2025)
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%

Members, 2023-2027

Senate districts
  Republican
  DFL
District Name Party Residence First elected
1 Mark Johnson Republican East Grand Forks 2016
2 Steve Green Republican Fosston 2022
3 Grant Hauschild DFL Hermantown 2022
4 Rob Kupec DFL Moorhead 2022
5 Paul Utke Republican Park Rapids 2016
6 Justin Eichorn Republican Grand Rapids 2016
7 Robert Farnsworth Republican Hibbing 2022
8 Jen McEwen DFL Duluth 2020
9 Jordan Rasmusson Republican Fergus Falls 2022
10 Nathan Wesenberg Republican Little Falls 2022
11 Jason Rarick Republican Pine City 2019[nb 1]
12 Torrey Westrom Republican Alexandria 2012
13 Jeff Howe Republican Rockville 2018[nb 1]
14 Aric Putnam DFL St. Cloud 2020
15 Gary Dahms Republican Redwood Falls 2010
16 Andrew Lang Republican Olivia 2016
17 Glenn Gruenhagen Republican Glencoe 2022
18 Nick Frentz DFL North Mankato 2016
19 John Jasinski Republican Faribault 2016
20 Steve Drazkowski Republican Mazeppa 2022
21 Bill Weber Republican Luverne 2012
22 Rich Draheim Republican Madison Lake 2016
23 Gene Dornink Republican Brownsdale 2020
24 Carla Nelson Republican Rochester 2010
25 Liz Boldon DFL Rochester 2022
26 Jeremy Miller Republican Winona 2010
27 Andrew Mathews Republican Milaca 2016
28 Mark Koran Republican North Branch 2016
29 Bruce Anderson Republican Buffalo Township 2012
30 Eric Lucero Republican Saint Michael 2022
31 Cal Bahr Republican East Bethel 2022
32 Michael Kreun Republican Blaine 2022
33 Karin Housley Republican Stillwater 2012
34 John Hoffman DFL Champlin 2012
35 Jim Abeler Republican Anoka 2016[nb 1]
36 Heather Gustafson DFL Vadnais Heights 2022
37 Warren Limmer Republican Maple Grove 1995[nb 1]
38 Susan Pha DFL Brooklyn Park 2022
39 Mary Kunesh-Podein DFL New Brighton 2020
40 John Marty DFL Roseville 1986
41 Judy Seeberger DFL Afton 2022
42 Bonnie Westlin DFL Plymouth 2022
43 Ann Rest DFL New Hope 2000
44 Tou Xiong DFL Maplewood 2022
45 Kelly Morrison DFL Deephaven 2022
46 Ron Latz DFL St. Louis Park 2006
47 Nicole Mitchell DFL Woodbury 2022
48 Julia Coleman Republican Chanhassen 2020
49 Steve Cwodzinski DFL Eden Prairie 2016
50 Alice Mann DFL Edina 2022
51 Melissa Halvorson Wiklund DFL Bloomington 2012
52 Jim Carlson DFL Eagan 2006[nb 2]
53 Matt Klein DFL Mendota Heights 2016
54 Eric Pratt Republican Prior Lake 2012
55 Lindsey Port DFL Burnsville 2020
56 Erin Maye Quade DFL Apple Valley 2022
57 Zach Duckworth Republican Lakeville 2020
58 Bill Lieske Republican Lonsdale 2022
59 Bobby Joe Champion DFL Minneapolis 2012
60 Kari Dziedzic DFL Minneapolis 2012[nb 1]
61 Scott Dibble DFL Minneapolis 2002
62 Omar Fateh DFL Minneapolis 2020
63 Zaynab Mohamed DFL Minneapolis 2022
64 Erin Murphy DFL Saint Paul 2020
65 Sandy Pappas DFL Saint Paul 1990
66 Clare Oumou Verbeten DFL Saint Paul 2022
67 Foung Hawj DFL Saint Paul 2012

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Elected in a special election.
  2. ↑ Lost re-election 2010. Elected again in 2012.

References

  1. ↑ Van Oot, Torey. "Minnesota legislators set to get $1,500 pay raise". Star Tribune. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  2. ↑ Legislatures, National Conference of State. "Number of Legislators and Length of Terms in Years". www.ncsl.org. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Frequently Asked Questions - - Minnesota Legislature". www.leg.state.mn.us. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
  4. ↑ "Sessions of the Minnesota State Legislature and the Minnesota Territorial Legislature, 1849-present". Minnesota Legislative Reference Library. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  5. ↑ "Creation and Organization of Executive Branch Agencies". Minnesota House of Representatives Research Department. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Senate Confirmations: Problematic Governor Appointments - Minnesota Legislative Reference Library". www.leg.state.mn.us. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  7. ↑ "Minn. Const. art. IV, § 3". Constitution of the State of Minnesota. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Minn. Const. art. IV, § 4". Constitution of the State of Minnesota. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
  9. ↑ "President and President Pro Tempore of the Minnesota Senate, 1849-present". Minnesota Legislative Reference Library. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Minnesota Senate President and President Pro Tempore, 1849-present - Minnesota Legislative Reference Library". www.leg.state.mn.us. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  11. ↑ "Majority and Minority Leaders of the Minnesota Senate, 1933-present". Minnesota Legislative Reference Library. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  12. ↑ "Senate Member Information 2021 - 2022". Minnesota Legislature. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  13. ↑ Davis, Don (January 11, 2016). "Minnesota Senate Building quietly opens in spite of disagree..." Forum News Service. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  14. ↑ "After controversy, new Minnesota Senate Office Building finally opens". Twin Cities. January 11, 2016. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
  15. ↑ Stassen-Berger, Rachel E. (August 6, 2017). "How the newly restored Minnesota Capitol came to be". St. Paul Pioneer Press. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  16. ↑ "Party Control of the Minnesota Senate". Minnesota Legislative Reference Library. Retrieved December 30, 2022.

44°57′19″N 93°6′10″W / 44.95528°N 93.10278°W / 44.95528; -93.10278

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