Skip to main content Skip to office menu Skip to footer
Capital IconMinnesota Legislature
Minnesota House of Representatives

Focus on the Legislature

PART 1

" No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those others that have been tried from time to time."
-- Winston S. Churchill, British statesman, prime minister, 1940-45; 1951-55.

BACKGROUND

Armchair critics may think the democratic system of government is inefficient, but, as Winston Churchill said, it's the best of what we've known so far. One way to make the system better is to educate our youth so that they can participate in the process. Since people rarely become involved in something they know nothing about, we think an informed electorate is the key to preserving and nurturing what we have.

Three branches of government

In order to understand how the Legislature works, it's helpful to study governmental structure as a whole.

On both federal and state levels, there are three branches of government: the legislative branch, the executive branch, and the judicial branch. The legislative branch is made up of two bodies -- the Senate and the House of Representatives -- which make the laws for the state and its people; they also propose changes to the state constitution. The executive branch is comprised of administrators who carry out the laws the Legislature passes; they also see that government runs efficiently and correctly. The judicial branch is made up of judges who interpret the meaning of the law and decide when the law has been broken. Though all three branches are important, this guide focuses heavily on the legislative branch. Discussions on the executive and judicial branches center on how they relate to the legislative branch (see Appendix D-8).

The legislative branch

Because the Legislature has two bodies, it's called a bicameral legislature. All but one state in the United States have bicameral legislatures. Nebraska is the only state that has a unicameral legislature, or a legislature with just one house.

In the Minnesota House of Representatives, there are 134 representatives whom the people elect to two-year terms. In the Senate, there are 67 senators whom the people elect to four-year terms. Senators and representatives come from all walks of life (see Appendix C-11).

In the state of Minnesota, there are 67 legislative districts. Each district is divided into two sections, A and B. Approximately 32,650 people live in each section, making the total population for one district 65,300.

Voters in each district elect one senator per district, one representative for section A, and one representative for section B. So every Minnesotan is represented by one senator and one representative at the Capitol in St. Paul. Senate districts are numbered from 1 to 67; House districts are numbered from 1A and 1B to 67A and 67B (see Appendix D-4).

To ensure equality of representation, and to take into account any shifts in population area, the state undergoes reapportionment every 10 years when the census is taken (see Appendix C-1).

The Legislature meets in two-year time blocks. One of these time blocks is called a biennium. A biennium corresponds with the state's two-year spending cycle. During the first, or odd, year of the cycle, the Legislature typically meets from the beginning of January to the middle of May. During the second, or even year of the cycle, the Legislature meets from February to middle or late April. The Legislature is said to be in session at these times, but the term "session" has other meanings as well. The second year of the biennium often is called the "short year." For an explanation of the varying lengths of sessions, see Appendix E-3.

Majority and minority caucuses

In both the House and the Senate, the majority (the party, either Democratic-Farmer-Labor or Independent-Republican, having the greater number of representatives or senators) controls the leadership offices (speaker of the House, majority leader, Senate president) and committee assignments. And because of that control, the majority party has much more power than the minority party. The speaker of the House appoints committee chairs, vice chairs, and names members of both parties to committees. The Senate nominates and votes on their committee chairs.

The House and Senate majority leaders head the majority caucuses. Several assistant majority leaders help in providing leadership and direction to the rest of the members of the majority party. Majority caucus divisions, with their own staff members, handle matters relating to research, constituent services, and media relations from the majority caucus' point of view.

Likewise, the House and Senate minority leaders, along with several assistant minority leaders, head the minority caucuses. One of the roles of a minority leader is to offer alternatives to the majority party's initiatives and to improve upon that party's legislation. Minority caucuses have divisions that handle research and media relations from the minority caucus' point of view, but their allotted staff is much smaller.

It's interesting to note that in 1978, voters elected 67 DFL representatives and 67 IR representatives to the Minnesota House. It is the only time an even split has occurred in the history of the Legislature.

Service offices

One of a legislator's most important jobs is to pass judgment on the many proposed laws that are considered each session at the Capitol. It may sound a bit odd, but sometimes the Legislature as a whole is judged by what it doesn't pass, rather than what it does.

Exercising sound judgment on the numerous proposals that come before the Legislature has become much more difficult as society has become more complex. Thirty years ago, there were only a handful of full-time Minnesota House employees, and the Legislature was largely dependent upon executive agencies and lobbyists for information. Some people maintain that legislatures of a generation ago were 18th century relics that were incapable of performing the job before them.

Today, there are about 260 full-time House employees that perform a variety or tasks, ranging from research to keeping track of bills as they move through the process, and from answering constituent questions to informing the public of developments at the Legislature. In addition, there are also several joint, non-partisan offices to help House and Senate members perform their jobs.

The Legislative Reference Library, for example, maintains vast clipping files on public policy issues, and has resources available to research how other states have dealt with a particular issue (see Appendix B-2). And the Office of the Revisor of Statutes translates ideas for bills into the proper legal form so they can be introduced in either the House or Senate (see Appendix B-3).

There are also 14 major legislative commissions that have been created by the Legislature -- each of which is empowered to study a particular issue in-depth. The Legislative Commission on Minnesota Resources, for example, provides the Legislature with the background information necessary to evaluate programs proposed to preserve, develop, and maintain the natural resources of the state.

More information about other service offices is contained in the appendices. For a description of the House Research Department, see Appendix B-1; for the Chief Clerk's Office, see Appendix B-4; for the Sergeant at Arms Office, and the High School Page and College Intern programs the office coordinates, see Appendices B-5, C-8, and C-9; and for the House Public Information Office, see Appendix B-6.

Now that you have an overview of the basic structure of the legislative branch of state government, you're ready to take a step-by-step look at the process of how a bill becomes law.

NEW TERMS

SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES

Beginning

A general discussion about the state of Minnesota could serve as a stepping off point for studying the legislative process. All eight of the "D" appendices would be a good place to start.

Appendix D-2 explains Minnesota's unique symbols, ranging from the blueberry muffin to the agate. How were the Minnesota symbols selected and why? How did the popular loon get its name? Examine the state flag and determine what its various images represent? Remember that it was the Legislature that officially adopted all of these symbols. Do students have any ideas about other potential state symbols that could be adopted? It's interesting to note that the blueberry muffin was adopted in 1988 as part of a class project on how bills become laws.

Another fun activity would be to explore how Minnesota counties got their names (Appendix D-3). What better way to get a feel for the diversity of the state? What is the derivation of the word "kanabec," as in Kanabec County? What about the etymologies of several other Minnesota place names?

For a slightly more advanced discussion, teachers could draw on information contained in "State Profile," an overview of Minnesota's history, geography, and economy (see Appendix D-1).

The "Publications List" (Appendix E-5) also may be of help. It contains a list of publications that are available from various government offices.

Intermediate

Students could conduct a mock election for governor, state senator, and two state House of Representatives positions. Students could create their own political parties -- each with its own platform -- and hold an election. The election of these key people will set the stage for other role-playing activities that will be explained in more detail in succeeding chapters. Other students can assume the roles of lobbyist, reporter, interest group partisan, or any number of key players in the political process.

Advanced

Students could identify for themselves who their elected representatives are, and find out a bit of biographical information about each of them. This can be done by calling the House Public Information Office, or by calling your county auditor. The local chapter of both major political parties (DFL and IR) could assist in providing biographical information about the elected officials.

Introduction
Next Chapter
Terms