Legislative Advocacy: Minnesota Legislative Documents

• Online: 1995-present
  Current session bills are also available from the Office of the Chief Clerk
• Microfilm: 1957-2006 — Legislative Reference Library
• Print: Prior to 1957 — Contact the Minnesota Historical Society Library

• Online: 1995-present
  Current session bills are also available from the Secretary of the Senate
• Microfilm: 1957-2006 — Legislative Reference Library
• Print: Prior to 1957 — Contact the Minnesota Historical Society Library

What to expect

The detail in committee minutes, audio, and video varies, but they may include:

• List of the bills that were heard each day in committee
• Action taken on bills heard, such as passage, tabling, or referral to a subcommittee
• Name of the subcommittee(s) to which a bill was referred
• Names of attending members
• Names of people testifying before the committee
• Paperwork related to the bill (amendments, vote tallies, research or informational documents, etc.)
• Testimony

• Online: 2005-2006 | 2007-2008 | 2009-2010 | 2011-2012 | 2013-2014 | 2015-2016 | 2017-2018
• Print: 1999-2016 — Legislative Reference Library
• Print: 1919-1998 — Minnesota Historical Society Library
• Microfiche: 1957-1988 — Legislative Reference Library
• Print: 1883-1918 — (Judiciary) Minnesota Historical Society Library
  Contact the Minnesota Historical Society Library to determine if a particular record exists.

• Online: 2004-present — complete audio coverage
  Online: 1998-2003 — select coverage
• Audiotape: 1991-2003 — The tapes are currently being digitized as part of a project to provide permanent online access. Digital files of tapes may be available for a fee during this project. For more information, contact the legislative Reference librarian

• Online: 2017-2018
  Go to the "upcoming meeting schedules" of the committee to find the minutes. If the word "Minutes" doesn't appear as a link in the schedule, then that committee did not post minutes online.
• Print: 1999-2017 — Legislative Reference Library
• Print: 1911-1998 — Minnesota Historical Society Library
• Microfiche: 1973-1988 — Legislative Reference Library
• Print: 1883-1910 — (Judiciary) Minnesota Historical Society Library
  Contact the Minnesota Historical Society Library to determine if a particular record exists.

• Online: 2004-present — complete audio coverage; selected video coverage. The original 2004 cassettes were transferred to digital files in 2010 through a grant from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
  Online: 2001-2003 — select coverage
• Audiotape: 1999-2004 —  The tapes are being digitized as part of a project to provide permanent online access. Digital files of tapes may be available for a fee during this project. For more information, contact the legislative reference library.

Committee Minute Books:

Minnesota Historical Society Library: House: 1919-1998, Senate: 1911-1998.
Minnesota Legislative Reference Library: 1999 to the present (Senate and House).

The House and Senate Journals record the action of the legislative bodies' floors, as well as information on which committee(s) heard bills and when the House or Senate referred a bill to a committee. They also record reports of conference committees and other actions on the bill. ​

Once you have the page numbers or have accessed the digital Journal search, you will need to read the Journal entries to determine:

• The committee(s) to which the bill was referred
• Date of referral to committee(s)
• Date of bill's return to the floor from committee(s)
• All floor actions taken on the bill

• Online: 1994-present
• Print: 1858-present - Legislative Reference Library. Also available at the Minnesota Historical Society Library.

• Online: 1996-present
• Print: 1858-present - Legislative Reference Library. Also available at the Minnesota Historical Society Library .