Minnesota Senate

About Minnesota Senate

This article is part of the series:

Politics and government of

Minnesota

The Minnesota Senate is the upper house in the Minnesota Legislature. There are 67 members, half as many as are in the Minnesota House of Representatives. Each Senate district in the state includes an A and B House district (e.g. Senate district 32 contains House districts 32A and 32B). The Minnesota Constitution forbids a House district to divide a Senate district. Before the 1960s, Senators were apportioned by county, resulting in the underrepresentation of those in cities. From statehood through 1972 the Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota served as President of the Senate. In 1972 the voters approved a constitutional amendment that provided for the senate to elect its own president from among its members effective January 1973.

Members are usually elected to four year terms except when districts are redrawn after the census, when they are elected to a two year term. The state legislature is located in the Minnesota State Capitol building in Saint Paul, Minnesota.