The seventy-first

Minnesota Legislature The Minnesota Legislature is the bicameral legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota consisting of two houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Senators are elected from 67 single-member districts. In order to account for decennia ...

first convened on January 3, 1979. The 67 members of the Minnesota Senate were elected during the General Election of November 2, 1976, and the 134 members of the Minnesota House of Representatives were elected during the General Election of November 7, 1978. The seventy-first legislature is noteworthy for the partisan composition of the House of Representatives. Until

Bob Pavlak Robert L. "Bob" Pavlak, Sr. (July 18, 1924 – October 9, 1994) was an American police officer and politician. Early life Born in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1924, Pavlak grew up in Catholic orphanages in Milaca, Minnesota. His fatherLeo Pavlak ...

was unseated for unfair campaign practices, the House was equally divided between the DFL and the Independent-Republicans. Due to the tie, the DFL and the Independent-Republicans were forced to forge a compromise by which the Independent-Republicans were to elect the Speaker from among their own ranks, while the DFL would be given the chairmanship of, and one-vote majorities on, the rules and tax committees. This agreement was superseded for the 1980 continuation of the regular session, by which time the DFL had gained a slim majority in the House.

Sessions

The legislature met in a regular session from January 3, 1979, to May 24, 1979. A special session was convened on May 24, 1979, to consider three bills regarding workers' compensation, energy, and transportation appropriations. A continuation of the regular session was held between January 22, 1980, and April 12, 1980. No special sessions were held in 1980. The legislature met for a total of 99 legislative days during the 1979-80 biennium.

Party summary

:''Resignations and new members are discussed in the "Membership changes" section, below.''

Senate

House of Representatives

Leadership

Senate

;President of the Senate : Edward J. Gearty (DFL-Minneapolis) ;Senate Majority Leader : Nick Coleman (DFL-St. Paul) ;Senate Minority Leader :

Robert O. Ashbach Robert Otto Ashbach (July 18, 1916 – October 23, 1990) was an American politician, businessman, and farmer. Biography Ashbach was born in Waconia, Minnesota and grew up in Roseville, Minnesota. He went to the public schools and to Bethel A ...

(IR-St. Paul)

House of Representatives

;Speaker of the House :1979: Rod Searle (IR-Waseca) :1980: Fred C. Norton (DFL-St. Paul) ;House Majority Leader :1979:

Irv Anderson Irvin Neil Anderson (June 18, 1923 – November 17, 2008) was a Minnesota politician and member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1965 to 1983, and again from 1991 to 2007. From International Falls, Anderson entered politics at app ...

(DFL-International Falls) and

Jerry Knickerbocker Gerald C. "Jerry" Knickerbocker (born October 20, 1943) was an American politician and businessman. Knickerbocker was born in Cloquet, Carlton County, Minnesota and graduated from Cloquet High School. He received his bachelor's degree in business ...

(IR-Minnetonka) :1980:

(DFL-International Falls) ;House Minority Leader :1979: ''None'' :1980: Rod Searle (IR-Waseca)

Members

Senate

House of Representatives

Membership changes

Senate

House of Representatives

Notes

References

Minnesota Legislators Past & Present - Session Search Results (Session 71, Senate)

Minnesota Legislators Past & Present - Session Search Results (Session 71, House)
{{Minnesota Legislatures 71st 1970s in Minnesota 1980s in Minnesota 1979 in Minnesota 1980 in Minnesota 1979 U.S. legislative sessions 1980 U.S. legislative sessions