SF 335

as introduced - 80th Legislature (1997 - 1998) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to state government; providing for the size 
  1.3             of the legislature; providing conditions for the 
  1.4             organization of legislative committees; limiting the 
  1.5             service of legislature leaders; providing term limits; 
  1.6             proposing an amendment to the Minnesota Constitution, 
  1.7             articles IV, section 4; and V, sections 2 and 4; 
  1.8             amending Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 2.021; 
  1.9             proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, 
  1.10            chapter 3. 
  1.11  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.12     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 2.021, is 
  1.13  amended to read: 
  1.14     2.021 [NUMBER OF MEMBERS.] 
  1.15     For each legislature, until a new apportionment shall have 
  1.16  been made, the senate is composed of 67 members and the house of 
  1.17  representatives is composed of 134 members.  For each 
  1.18  legislature elected to serve in 2003 and thereafter, the senate 
  1.19  shall be composed of six times as many members as the number of 
  1.20  representatives in Congress apportioned to Minnesota and the 
  1.21  house of representatives shall be composed of 12 times as many 
  1.22  members as the number of representatives in Congress apportioned 
  1.23  to Minnesota.  A state senate district may include only 
  1.24  territory that is in one congressional representative district.  
  1.25     Sec. 2.  [3.061] [COMMITTEES; CHAIRS; COMPOSITION.] 
  1.26     A member may serve as the chair of the same committee of 
  1.27  the house of representatives or senate during no more than two 
  1.28  successive sessions of the legislature.  The house of 
  2.1   representatives and senate shall each choose a number of chairs 
  2.2   of committees from each caucus in the same proportion as the 
  2.3   numbers of members who join each caucus in the house or senate 
  2.4   respectively.  
  2.5      Each committee shall be composed of an equal number of 
  2.6   members who represent territory in each of the several 
  2.7   congressional districts in the state.  Each committee of the 
  2.8   house or senate shall be composed of members of the majority and 
  2.9   minority caucuses in the same proportion as the numbers of 
  2.10  members who join each caucus in the house or senate 
  2.11  respectively.  Each joint legislative commission shall be 
  2.12  composed of equal numbers of representatives who represent 
  2.13  territory in the several congressional districts and two 
  2.14  senators from the majority caucus and two senators from the 
  2.15  minority caucus.  This section supersedes any inconsistent 
  2.16  provision of the laws that establish the joint legislative 
  2.17  commissions. 
  2.18     Sec. 3.  [3.062] [LEADERSHIP POSITIONS; LIMITS TO SERVICE.] 
  2.19     No person may serve as the presiding officer of either 
  2.20  house or as the leader of a caucus of members of either house 
  2.21  for more than four years. 
  2.22     Sec. 4.  [CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.] 
  2.23     An amendment to the Minnesota Constitution, article IV, 
  2.24  section 4, and article V, sections 2 and 4, is proposed to the 
  2.25  people.  
  2.26     If the amendment is adopted, article IV, section 4, will 
  2.27  read: 
  2.28     Sec. 4.  Representatives shall be chosen for a term of two 
  2.29  years, except to fill a vacancy. and senators shall be chosen 
  2.30  for a term of four years, except to fill a vacancy and except 
  2.31  there shall be an entire new election of all the senators 
  2.32  members at the first election of representatives after each new 
  2.33  legislative apportionment provided for in this article.  As 
  2.34  nearly as possible, one-half of the members of each body elected 
  2.35  at the first election after a new apportionment shall be elected 
  2.36  from odd-numbered districts and serve two-year terms and 
  3.1   one-half shall be elected from even-numbered districts and serve 
  3.2   four-year terms.  No person may file to be a candidate for 
  3.3   election to a term that would cause the person to serve more 
  3.4   than ten consecutive years in the house of representatives or 
  3.5   ten consecutive years in the senate.  The governor shall call 
  3.6   elections to fill vacancies in either house of the legislature. 
  3.7      article V, section 2, will read: 
  3.8      Sec. 2.  The term of office for the governor and lieutenant 
  3.9   governor is four years and until a successor is chosen and 
  3.10  qualified.  No person may file to be a candidate for election to 
  3.11  a third consecutive term as governor or to a third consecutive 
  3.12  term as lieutenant governor.  Each shall have attained the age 
  3.13  of 25 years and, shall have been a bona fide resident of the 
  3.14  state for one year next preceding his election, and shall be a 
  3.15  citizen of the United States. 
  3.16     and article V, section 4, will read: 
  3.17     Sec. 4.  The term of office of the secretary of state, 
  3.18  treasurer, attorney general and state auditor is four years and 
  3.19  until a successor is chosen and qualified.  No person may file 
  3.20  to be a candidate for election to a third consecutive term in 
  3.21  one of the offices of secretary of state, state treasurer, 
  3.22  attorney general, or state auditor.  The duties and salaries of 
  3.23  the executive officers shall be prescribed by law. 
  3.24     Sec. 5.  [SCHEDULE AND QUESTION.] 
  3.25     The amendment shall be submitted to the people at the 1998 
  3.26  general election.  
  3.27     Terms served pursuant to elections in 1998 or prior years 
  3.28  shall be disregarded in the determination of the limits imposed 
  3.29  by the amendment.  The question submitted to the people shall be:
  3.30     "Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to limit and 
  3.31  change certain terms of office of state legislators and 
  3.32  executive officers? 
  3.33                                     Yes .......
  3.34                                     No ........"