House Research Mission
Minnesota House Research Department is nonpartisan: its services are available to all members of the House. The department
strives to be politically neutral and impartial on issues.
Our Mission:
- To help legislators and committees make informed legislative decisions, by providing
information and analysis that is credible, accurate, and useful for legislative decisions.
- To help legislators and committees develop legislation that carries out their legislative
decisions, by providing expert and experienced help in developing and drafting legislation and
in evaluating and understanding the effects of legislation.
- To advise the House on legal matters arising from the conduct of House business.
Attorneys in House Research serve as legal counsel to the House as a government agency.
How House Research Delivers Services
- We handle requests from individual House members, ranging from answering research or policy
questions to drafting bills and amendments. We treat all such requests as confidential, meaning
that in fulfilling a request for services, the request, the member making the request, and the
response will not be revealed to individuals outside House Research. House Research will
occasionally cooperate with House Fiscal staff and the Office of the Revisor, on a confidential basis.
- We provide legal and research staff support for each
House committee. House Research
staff are present at committee hearings and are available to answer questions, investigate policy
issues, and provide amendment drafting services.
- We summarize pending and enacted legislation:
- We create publications and other web-based materials that provide
information and analysis for use by all members of the House, legislative staff, the executive branch, and the general public.
Legislative Ethics
Minnesota House Research Department serves as counsel to the
Ethics Committee. The department also maintains
publications related to ethics issues.
The Minnesota Constitution assigns responsibility for the disciplining of a
member of the House of Representatives to the body of members, acting together. The Ethics Committee receives complaints about
member behavior from the members, under oath. The Committee deliberates and may recommend actions to be considered by the
House, as a body.
The Minnesota House Research Department role as committee counsel prevents House Research from working with other members
or the public on complaints regarding member behavior. The Ethics Committee deliberations are confidential, as is any advice
given by a House Research staff member.