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Legislative Time Capsule - 87th Legislature (2011-2012)

Session Dates (All Sessions)

  Convened Adjourned Calendar Days Legislative Days - House Legislative Days - Senate
2011
1/4/2011 5/23/2011 140 64 64
2011 1st Special Session
To complete the passage of budget bills.
7/19/2011 7/20/2011 2 1 1
  The special session began on July 19, 2011 and adjourned on Wednesday, July 20, 2011. A legislative day begins at seven o'clock a.m. and continues until seven o'clock a.m. of the following calendar day so the session was one legislative day and two calendar days in length.    
2012
1/24/2012 5/10/2012 108 54 55
  Since the sine die adjournment calendar date in the House occurred after midnight and before 7 a.m. on Thursday, May 10, 2012, the last 'legislative day' in the biennium was Wednesday, May 9, for a total of 118 legislative days. The Senate adjourned mid-afternoon on May 10, for a total of 119 legislative days.    
2012 1st Special Session
To provide disaster assistance for the flooded areas near Duluth.
8/24/2012 8/24/2012 1 1 1

Legislation (All Sessions)

  House - Bills Introduced Senate - Bills Introduced Laws Resolutions
2011 1761 Search 1477 Search 94   Search 0
2011 1st Special Session 27 Search 21 Search 12   Search 0
2012 1291 Search 1148 Search 150   Search 0
2012 1st Special Session 3 Search 3 Search 2   Search 0

Other Information

Vetoes (All Sessions)

  Full Bills Vetoed
(including pockets)
Pocket Vetoes Bills with Line Item Vetoes [# of lines vetoed] TOTAL
Full Bills Vetoed + Lines Vetoed
TOTAL
Full Bills Vetoed + Bills with Lines Vetoed
2011 23 0 0   [0] 23 23
2011 1st Special Session 0 0 0   [0] 0 0
2012 32 2 0   [0] 32 32
2012 1st Special Session 0 0 0   [0] 0 0

Leadership         

Speaker of the House Kurt Zellers  (Republican)
House Majority Leader Matt Dean  (Republican)
House Minority Leader Paul Thissen  (Democratic-Farmer-Labor)
President of the Senate Michelle L. Fischbach  (Republican)
Senate Majority Leader David H. Senjem  (Republican)
Amy T. Koch  (Republican)
Senate Minority Leader Thomas M. Bakk  (Democratic-Farmer-Labor)

Election Results

- Selected election results are available at this page.

Party Control of the House of Representatives (All Sessions)

Date Event Note Total Seats C/R/IR L/DFL Other Margin
1/4/2011 Convenes [Total seats possible = 134] 134 72 62 0 10
1/13/2011 Resignation Rep. Tony Sertich (DFL) from 5B resigned to become the Commissioner of the Minnesota Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board. 133 72 61 0 11
2/22/2011 Special election Carly Melin (DFL) won the special election for a House seat in District 5B on February 15, 2011. She was sworn in on February 22, 2011. 134 72 62 0 10
10/25/2011 Resignation Rep. Jeff Hayden (DFL, 61B) resigned effective October 25, 2011 in order to take the Senate District 61 seat he won in a special election on October 18, 2011. 133 72 61 0 11
1/19/2012 Special election Susan Allen (DFL) won a special election for a House seat in District 61B on January 10, 2012. She was sworn in on January 19, 2012. 134 72 62 0 10
1/24/2012 Convenes [Total seats possible = 134] 134 72 62 0 10
4/17/2012 Resignation Rep. Lyle Koenen (DFL, 20B) resigned on April 17, 2012 to take a Senate District 20 seat he won in a special election on April 10, 2012. His seat was not filled by a special election. 133 72 61 0 11
11/6/2012 Election 134 61 73 0 12
1/3/2013 Resignation Rep. Steve Gottwalt (R, 15A) resigned to take a job in the private sector before serving in District 14A in the 88th legislative session. 133 60 73 0 13
1/7/2013 Resignation Rep. Terry Morrow (DFL, 19A) announced his resignation on December 19, 2012 to take a job in the private sector. He finished his term with the 87th Legislature. 132 60 72 0 12
C=Conservative  R=Republican  IR=Independent Republican  L=Liberal  DFL=Democratic-Farmer-Labor

Party Control of the Senate (All Sessions)

Date Event Note Total Seats C/R/IR L/DFL Other Margin
1/4/2011 Convenes [Total seats possible = 67] 67 37 30 0 7
3/20/2011 Resignation Sen. Ellen Anderson (DFL, 66) resigned to chair the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. 66 37 29 0 8
4/18/2011 Special election Former House member Mary Jo McGuire (DFL) won the special election for a Senate seat in District 66 on April 12, 2011. She was sworn in on April 18, 2011. 67 37 30 0 7
6/15/2011 Death Sen. Linda Scheid (DFL, 46). 66 37 29 0 8
8/15/2011 Resignation Sen. Linda Berglin (DFL, 61) resigned to take a position with Hennepin County. 65 37 28 0 9
10/25/2011 Special election Rep. Jeff Hayden (DFL) won the special election for a Senate seat in District 61 on October 18, 2011. He was sworn in on October 25, 2011. 66 37 29 0 8
10/28/2011 Special election Chris Eaton (DFL) won the special election for a Senate seat in District 46 on October 18, 2011. She was sworn in on October 28, 2011. 67 37 30 0 7
11/7/2011 Resignation Sen. Larry Pogemiller (DFL, 59) resigned to become the Director of the Minnesota Office of Higher Education. 66 37 29 0 8
1/20/2012 Special election Kari Dziedzic (DFL) won the special election for a Senate seat in District 59 on January 10, 2012. She was sworn in on January 20, 2012. 67 37 30 0 7
1/24/2012 Convenes [Total seats possible = 67] 67 37 30 0 7
3/2/2012 Death Sen. Gary Kubly (DFL, 20). 66 37 29 0 8
4/18/2012 Special election Rep. Lyle Koenen (DFL, 20B) won the special election for a Senate seat in District 20 on April 10, 2012. He was sworn in on April 18, 2012. 67 37 30 0 7
9/3/2012 Resignation Sen. John Harrington (DFL, 67) resigned to become Metro Transit Police Chief. No special election was held. 66 37 29 0 8
C=Conservative  R=Republican  IR=Independent Republican  L=Liberal  DFL=Democratic-Farmer-Labor

House Committees

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Senate Committees

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