67th Minnesota Legislature

The sixty-seventh Minnesota Legislature first convened on January 5, 1971. The 67 members of the Minnesota Senate and the 134 members of the Minnesota House of Representatives were elected during the general election of November 3, 1970. The session is considered notable for the passage of the "Minnesota Miracle",^[1] a legislative package aimed at lowering local property taxes and eliminating wide fiscal disparities between school districts and local governments caused by differences in property wealth. This was achieved by raising state income, business, and sales taxes by $580 million (not inflation adjusted), while the share of school operating costs covered by the state increased from 43% to 65%.^[2] The laws earned Minnesota's Governor a spot on the cover of Time Magazine,^[3] while also serving as the start to a broader period of statewide reform and DFL dominance of state politics in the 1970s.^[4]

Sixty-seventh Minnesota Legislature
← 66th Minnesota Legislature 68th Minnesota Legislature →
Overview
Legislative body	Minnesota Legislature
Jurisdiction	Minnesota, United States
Meeting place	Minnesota State Capitol
Website	www.leg.state.mn.us
Minnesota State Senate
Members	67 Senators
President	Rudy Perpich
Majority Leader	Stanley W. Holmquist
Minority Leader	Nick Coleman (politician)
Party control	Republican Party of Minnesota
Minnesota House of Representatives
Members	134 Representatives
Speaker	Aubrey W. Dirlam
Majority Leader	Ernest A. Lindstrom
Minority Leader	Martin Olav Sabo
Party control	Republican Party of Minnesota
Sessions
1971 January 5, 1971 (1971-01-05) – May 24, 1971 (1971-05-24)
Special sessions
1971, 1st May 25, 1971 (1971-05-25) – October 30, 1971 (1971-10-30)

Sessions

The legislature met in a regular session from January 5, 1971, to May 24, 1971. After the DFL Governor and Republican legislature failed to reach an agreement on a tax bill, a special session was called. It was held from May 25 to October 30 of 1971 and is still the longest in Minnesota history.^[5]

Major legislation

• July 23, 1971: Fiscal Disparities Act^[6] (Laws 1971, Special Session chapter 24)
• August 3, 1971: Constitutional amendment allowing for flexible legislative sessions (Laws 1971, Special Session chapter 26)
• October 30, 1971: "Minnesota Miracle" – Omnibus Tax and Education Act^[7][8] (Laws 1971, Special Session chapter 31)

Party summary

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

Senate

	Party[9] (Shading indicates majority caucus)		Total	Vacant
	R	DFL
End of previous Legislature	45	22	67	0
Begin	34	33	67	0
Latest voting share	51%	49%
Beginning of the next Legislature	30	37	67	0

House of Representatives

	Party[9] (Shading indicates majority caucus)		Total	Vacant
	R	DFL
End of previous Legislature	85	50	134	0
Begin	70	65	134	0
Latest voting share	52%	49%
Beginning of the next Legislature	57	77	134	0

Leadership

Senate

• President: Rudy Perpich (DFL)^[10]
• Majority Leader: Stanley W. Holmquist (R–Grove City)^[11]
• Minority Leader: Nicholas D. Coleman (DFL–Saint Paul)^[11]

House of Representatives

• Speaker of the House: Aubrey W. Dirlam (R–Redwood Falls)^[12]
• Majority Leader: Ernest A. Lindstrom (R–Richfield)^[13]
• Minority Leader: Martin Olav Sabo (DFL–Minneapolis)^[13]

Members

Senate

House of Representatives

See also

• 1970 Minneapolis teachers' strike, an illegal strike by public employees that preceded the reform laws