The seventy-second Minnesota Legislature first convened on January 6, 1981. The 67 members of the

Minnesota Senate The Minnesota Senate is the upper house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. At 67 members, half as many as the Minnesota House of Representatives, it is the largest upper house of any U.S. state legislature. Floor sessions are h ...

and the 134 members of the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. There are 134 members, twice as many as the Minnesota Senate. Floor sessions are held in the north wing of the State Capitol in Saint ...

were elected during the general election of November 4, 1980.

Sessions

The legislature met in a regular session from January 6, 1981, to May 18, 1981. Three special sessions were also convened in 1981. The first of these special sessions was convened on June 6 to consider the state budget, appropriations, and a tax bill. The second of the special sessions was convened on July 1 and July 2 to consider a short-term borrowing law and to correct errors in the laws enacted during the regular session. The third special session of 1981 was convened from December 1, 1981, to January 18, 1982, to consider reducing appropriations. A continuation of the regular session was held between January 12, 1982, and March 19, 1982. Three additional special sessions were also held in 1982. The first of these special sessions was convened on March 30 to consider changes to the state's

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the refere ...

and

workers' compensation Workers' compensation or workers' comp is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her emp ...

laws. The second was convened on July 9 to consider authorizing

Albert Lea Albert Lea may refer to: *Albert Lea, Minnesota, U.S. * Albert Lea Township, Freeborn County, Minnesota, U.S. *Albert Miller Lea Albert Miller Lea (July 23, 1808 – January 16, 1891) was an American engineer, soldier, and topographer with th ...

to spend federal revenue sharing funds, and to consider providing employment aid to the

Iron Range The term Iron Range refers collectively or individually to a number of elongated iron-ore mining districts around Lake Superior in the United States and Canada. Much of the ore-bearing region lies alongside the range of granite hills formed by ...

from the Northeast Minnesota Economic Protection Fund. The final special session of the 72nd Minnesota Legislature met from December 7, 1982, to December 10, 1982, and considered reductions in appropriations, reducing employer and increasing employee contributions to various retirement funds, adding two members to the investment advisory board, and so forth.

Party summary

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

Senate

House of Representatives

Leadership

Senate

;President of the Senate : John T. Davies (DFL-Minneapolis) ;Senate Majority Leader : Roger Moe (DFL-Ada) ;Senate Minority Leader : Robert O. Ashbach (IR-St. Paul)

House of Representatives

;Speaker of the House : Harry A. Sieben (DFL-Hastings) ;House Majority Leader : Willis Eken (DFL-Twin Valley) ;House Minority Leader :Until February 1982 Glen Sherwood (IR-Pine River) :From February 1982 David M. Jennings (IR-Truman)

Members

Senate

House of Representatives

Membership changes

Senate

House of Representatives

Notes

References

Minnesota Legislators Past & Present - Session Search Results (Session 72, Senate)

Minnesota Legislators Past & Present - Session Search Results (Session 72, House)
{{Minnesota Legislatures 72nd 1980s in Minnesota 1981 in Minnesota 1982 in Minnesota 1981 U.S. legislative sessions 1982 U.S. legislative sessions