Minnesota State Legislature - What's New
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Football Stadiums and the Minnesota Vikings
Quick! In what year was the Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington demolished? The Legislative Reference Library's newest Minnesota Issue guide, "Football Stadiums and the Minnesota Vikings" includes a great timeline, and the answer to that question, 1985. We think the football guide will prove as useful as our other sports stadium guides, "Baseball Stadiums," "NHL Hockey in Minnesota and the Xcel Energy Center," "Target Center Arena and the Minnesota Timberwolves," and "Financing Professional Sports Facilities."
2009 Statutes Published Online
The Office of the Revisor of Statutes has published the 2009 statutes online.
State Fair Opinion Poll Results Online
This year's state fair opinion poll results from the House of Representatives poll and from the Senate poll have been posted.
New Laws Effective Aug. 1, 2009
House Public Information Services has published a recap of selected new laws passed during the 2009 legislative session that take effect Aug. 1, 2009.
House Public Information Services and Legislative Reference Library on Twitter
House Public Information Services and Legislative Reference Library on Twitter
You can now follow House Public Information Services' news posts on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MnHouseInfo. The Legislative Reference Library also began contributing Twitter posts last session. The Library will tweet on a regular basis as state documents, or reports comparing states, arrive, alerting readers to interesting facts and resources.
Kurt Zellers House Republican Leader
House Public Information Services has published a press release announcing Kurt Zellers chosen to lead House Republicans.
2009 Session Laws
The Revisor's Office has published the 2009 Minnesota Session Laws to the web.
New Laws Effective July 1, 2009 Press Release
House Public Information Services has made the New Laws Effective July 1, 2009 press release, a listing of selected new laws passed during the 2009 legislative session that take effect July 1, 2009, available on their site.
New Laws
House Public Information Services has published the 2009 New Laws, summarizing "newly enacted laws, vetoed bills and some proposals that did not pass into law during a given legislative session." Older issues of New Laws are also available.
Unallotment Issues Guide
The Legislative Reference Library has published a guide to the unallotment process in Minnesota, including legislative history and links to current and historical documents.
Veto Information
More detailed information on vetoes is now available from the Legislative Reference Library's veto database. Improvements include searching by year or governor, more line item veto details, and links to additional veto messages.
Budget Comparison Documents
You can find budget comparison documents discussed at the Legislative Planning and Fiscal Policy meetings on their website. See also the House budget tracking documents and the Senate budget tracking documents.
Revised Laws of 1905 Online
The Office of the Revisor of Statutes has made the Revised Laws of 1905 available online from the history notes accompanying statutes. See the history note at the bottom of Minnesota Statute 2.01 Names and Boundaries for an example.
Links to Audio and Video from House Minutes
In another step in the continuing effort to make legislative information readily accessible, the House of Representatives is linking to audio and video of hearings from committee minutes. See these K-12 Education Finance Division/Taxes minutes for an example. Handouts are also linked to from minutes when available (near the bottom of the page).
Legislative Networking Group (LNET) Wins Website Accessibility Award
The Commission of Deaf, DeafBlind and Hard of Hearing Minnesotans has given the Minnesota Legislative Networking Group (LNET) its Website Access Award. According to Mary Hartnett, Commission Director, "The work [LNET has] done voluntarily to improve access on the web is impressive and shows a commitment to including all citizens in the legislative process." An award ceremony will take place at the Deaf, Hard of Hearing and DeafBlind Lobby Day at the capitol rotunda on March 4 at noon.
Statements of Need and Reasonableness (SONARs)
Statements of Need and Reasonableness (SONARs) back to 2006 have been published by the Legislative Reference Library. Part of the rulemaking process, SONARs provide background on the proposed rule or amendment for decision makers and citizens. This electronic SONAR archive will ensure that the documents will be widely accessible via the Web and be available for future researchers.
LCCMR 2010 Request for Proposal
For funding from the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund beginning July 1, 2010, go to the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR) site for forms and information.
Federal Stimulus Funds Telecast Today
The Legislative Commission on Planning and Fiscal Policy conducts a video teleconference with Washington, D.C. officials to learn about the federal stimulus funds. To access this webcast today at 12:30 p.m. go to the Legislative Commission on Planning and Fiscal Policy page.
Legislative Television Broadcasting
For an explanation of the nationwide digital television transition's impact on legislative television broadcasting, see the House & Senate Broadcast Television Schedule.
2009 Committee Deadlines
The 2009 committee deadlines have been announced.
Senate Budget Discussion Website
The Senate has created a budget discussion website welcoming ideas from the public regarding the state budget.
Minnesota Legislators Past & Present
Minnesota Legislators Past & Present, from the Legislative Reference Library, is the only comprehensive list of legislators who have served in the Minnesota Legislature since territorial times. You can search for legislators by session, county represented, birth place, occupation, and more. New search features have been added to this historical resource, providing easy access to information such as legislative family connections, leadership positions, special elections, committees, and committee chairs. The database continues to be a work in progress and is by no means complete. We welcome additional information or corrections.
2009-2010 Senate Committee Structure
A document outlining the 2009-2010 Senate committee structure has been published. See the Senate's Committee Information page for more information, including jurisdiction, schedules and membership.
2009-2010 House Committee Structure
Speaker of the House Margaret Anderson Kelliher announced the new House committee structure.
Minnesota State Budget Comment Line
The Minnesota House of Representatives has set up a webpage to allow citizens to have a say in how we confront Minnesota's projected budget deficit.
Portions of Legislative Website Unavailable Tuesday
Due to a scheduled power outage, portions of the legislative website will be unavailable Tuesday, November 11th. Normal service will resume that evening.
Women in the Minnesota Legislature
The Office on the Economic Status of Women has published a new fact sheet on women in the Minnesota legislature.
2008 Election Directory of the Minnesota House and Senate
House Public Information Services has published the 2008 Election Directory of the Minnesota House and Senate and the 2008 Members-elect roster. Also see the 2008 election results press release for a list of new House members-elect.
A New Feature in the Online Minnesota Statutes
View a 2008 Minnesota Statute online and you will notice a new search feature that brings up additional related statute topics, with links to those topics in the statutes index. For example, searching for the specific words "pedestrian crossings" brings up MS 169.2151, Pedestrian Safety Crossings. The topics list links to Pedestrian Crossings as a topic, leading to many other statutes dealing with the issue. The new feature will also be helpful when someone does a keyword search with a word that isn't commonly used; for instance, handicapped. One of the few sections in the search results is MS 248.061. The topics list leads the user to Disabled Persons which brings up many more sections. This new feature is just one of many designed by programmers in the Office of the Revisor of Statutes to help users find the information they need, no matter where they begin their searches.
New Legislative Home Page
Based on great ideas from staff members and citizens (and usability tests), we have redesigned the legislature's home page to be more accessible and user-friendly. We have also enhanced the accessibility of the legislative website generally, with the happy side effect of increasing its usability in mobile devices.
2008 Minnesota Statutes Are Online
The 2008 Minnesota Statutes are on the Web.
New Interactive Capitol Map
Geographic Information Services has created an interactive map of the Capitol area, with driving directions and parking locations.
Legislative Websites Unavailable Due to Scheduled Power Outage
Due to a scheduled power outage, legislative websites will be unavailable from September 12th to September 15th.
Senate State Fair Poll Results
2008 state fair poll results from the Senate poll have been posted.
House of Representatives State Fair Poll Results
2008 state fair poll results from the House of Representatives poll have been posted.
