The Minnesota Legislative Session will convene on February 12, 2024 at 12:00pm. This is the second year of the 93rd Legislature biennium, which is considered a policy year. Major finance bills are the focus of the first session of the biennium, referred to as the budget year. The legislature will adjourn on May 20, 2024.
LEADERSHIP & REPRESENTATION
House of Representatives
| Role | Representative | Party | District |
| Speaker of the House | Melissa Hortman | DFL | 34B |
| Majority Leader | Jamie Long | DFL | 61B |
| Minority Leader | Lisa Demuth | R | 13A |
Senate
| Role | Senator | Party | District |
| President of the Senate | Bobby Joe Champion | DFL | 59 |
| Majority Leader | Erin Murphy | DFL | 64 |
| Minority Leader | Mark Johnson | R | 01 |
The House of Representatives is made up of 134 elected officials. The Democrat party currently holds a 70-67 majority. Elections for House seats occur every two years. All House seats will be up for election in 2024.
The Minnesota Senate is made up of 67 elected officials. The Democrat party currently holds a 34-33 majority. Elections for Senate seats occur every four years. However, in election years ending in 0, such as 2020, Senators serve for a two-year term in order to provide for the redistricting process done in conjunction with the US census. The next election for all Senate seats will take place in 2026.
LEGISLATIVE PROCESS
The legislature may take action on any bill that was not passed in the first year of the biennium without having to be reintroduced. Over 3,300 bills were introduced in each body last year. Of these, only a small number of bills were passed resulting in many bills that can still be acted upon. New bills will be introduced and will add to the total number of bills up for consideration.
A bill goes through many steps to become law. It all begins in the Office of the Revisor of Statutes which receives works with legislators and their staff to take an idea and put it into proper legal form introduction. A bill now exists.
Each bill must have a legislator to sponsor and introduce the bill. This legislator is the chief author. Up to 34 coauthors from the House and four from the Senate may sign on to a bill. Bills are introduced in both bodies. Similar bills are commonly introduced in both bodies and become companion bills.
Once introduced, a bill will be referred to a committee. It is at the Committee level that bills are discussed in detail and testimony from the public is heard. Bills heard and acted upon favorable in Committee are referred to full House or Senate for further consideration. Not all bills referred to Committee will be heard. The hearing of bills is at the discretion of the Committee Chair.
Bills may be re-referred to another committee for discussion and input. In order to continue on the path to adoption, a bill must meet deadlines. Deadlines are dates on which bill must be acted favorably upon in both bodies. The first deadline is the date on which a committee must act favorably on a bill in the body of origin. Second deadline is for committees to act favorably on bills, or companion bills, that met the first deadline in the other body. Third deadline is for committees to act favorably on major appropriation and finance bills.
Bills that have made their way through the committee process generally have two paths they take. Bills that are identical and agreed upon can be passed off each body’s floor and sent to the Governor to be signed into law. Bills can be held over for inclusion in an omnibus bill. Omnibus bills are one large bill that includes many other bills that a committee has heard. Examples of common omnibus bills are the Health Finance and Policy Bill, Human Services Finance and Policy Bill and the Omnibus Tax Bill.
Omnibus bills passed from each body commonly have differences that need to be worked out. These bills are referred to the conference committee. A conference committee is made up by legislators from each body’s committee that worked on the original omnibus bill. This smaller group of legislators will work on a compromise. The final bill, agreed upon by the conference committee, will go back to the House and Senate for final discussion and approval. Omnibus Bills passed off the floor of each body will be sent to the Governor to be signed into law.
2024 CALENDAR
February 12, 2024 Session Begins
March 22, 2024 1st and 2nd Committee deadlines
- Committees in both bodies must act favorably on bills that are not major appropriation or finance bills before 5:00pm on March 22nd.
March 28 – April 2 (noon) Easter recess
April 10 – April 11 (noon) Eid recess
April 19, 2024 3rd Committee deadline
- Committees in both bodies must act favorably on major appropriation and finance bills before the end of the day on April 19th.
April 22 – April 24 (noon) Passover recess
May 20, 2024 Session adjourns