Minnesota Governor Tim Walz was inaugurated into his second term in January of 2023, at the start of the state’s legislative session. Governor Walz packaged his priority proposals into the One Minnesota Budget. The budget focuses on:
- Childhood education
- The economy
- Public health
- Public safety
- Economic investment
The Minnesota legislature has 201 members. Sixty-seven members serve in the Senate, of which 34 are Democrat and 33 are Republican. Of the 134 members in the House of Representatives, 70 are members of the Democrat-Farmer-Labor (Minnesota’s Democratic Party) and 64 are Republicans. For the first time since 2013, Democrats control the executive branch and both chambers of the state legislature.
Minnesota’s major political parties published this session’s legislative goals in two reports. The Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) shared its Action Agenda for the state in the Fall of 2022. The Republican party last shared its goals as a party in May of 2022, in their Statement of Principals.
Minnesota Legislature: Key 2023 Session Data
This year’s legislative session lasted from early January until late May. Minnesota passed 75 bills into law out of the 6,709 introduced bills. These included measures focused on: abortion, elections, public safety, education, guns and the LGBTQ+ community.
The passage rate from the first year of the 2023-2024 session nearly matches the number of bills passed in the full 2021-2022 session. During that session, the Minnesota legislature passed 99 bills out of 9,775 introduced. Bills passed primarily focused on the biennial budget, education, public safety and COVID-19 response.
Legislative Trends in Minnesota
In 2023, legislative trends in Minnesota include:
- Abortion
- Elections and Voting
- Environment
- Education
- Guns
- LGBTQ+ community
- Anti-discrimination laws
Read our team’s full analysis of the 2023 legislative session in Minnesota below.
