MINNESOTA HOUSE PROFILE '91


The Minnesota Legislature began the 77th Session with 23 new
members, but the balance of power between the two major parties
remains virtually unchanged from the 76th Session.

The Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party controls the House by a 79-53
margin over Independent-Republicans, with two seats still open.
Before the November elections, DFLers held control by an 80-54
margin. 

Likewise, the rankings of the most common professions among House
members remained about the same, although the number of farmers
has decreased slightly from earlier levels.

And the number of women serving in the House has reached an
all-time high, with 29 members -- up from 27 a year ago.

Farming, the traditional number one occupation in the House, is
now tied for first as the most common occupation among members. A
total of 20 members listed farming as their main job this year--
down from 23 a year ago.

That's a pronounced drop from the 27 members who cited farming in
1987, but still above the all-time low for farmers in 1977, when
only 18 members listed it as their occupation.

Business was also cited by 20 members as their occupation, which
was in second place a year ago. That gives farmers and business
30 percent of House membership, or 15 percent each.

Farming and business were followed by educator (19) and full-time
legislator (19) among occupations. The number of full-time
legislators remains unchanged from a year ago, but the ranks of
educators increased by two during that time. 

The biggest change in the makeup of the House was in the number
of attorneys. There are now 18 attorneys serving in the House, up
from 15 in 1990.

That's a significant increase from the 12 attorneys who served in
the House in 1987, but still below the 27 attorneys who served in
1963. At that time, when the Legislature met every other year, it
was easier for attorneys, as it was for many other professions,
to take time off to serve. 

Many other occupations remained relatively stable between 1990
and 1991. Homemaker was cited by seven members, followed by
trades/labor (4), real estate (3), and auctioneers (2).

Occupations that showed an increase over 1990 are consultants (5
to 7) and government workers (2 to 4).

Among other occupations cited were banker, counselor, pharmacist,
engineer, certified public accountant, loan officer, securities
representative, executive director for a non-profit organization,
and a social issues program director.

Many of the occupations were somewhat difficult to categorize,
however. For example, seven additional members listed legislator
as a secondary occupation and eight listed it as their primary
job, while also citing a secondary occupation. But these members
were not included in the count of full-time legislators.

There have also been some shifts in the educational makeup of the
House.

The number of legislators who hold some kind of college
undergraduate degree has increased significantly from 31 in 1990
to 48 in 1991. However, those who have done some graduate work
has declined from 27 to 17, as have those with vo-tech or some
college (32 in 1990 compared to 25 in 1991). Members holding
graduate degrees dropped sightly from 31 to 29.

The average age of House members is 47, with the youngest member
at 26 and the oldest at 79. The largest group of legislators are
the 27 who are currently serving their third term. The next
largest group is the 21 who are in their first term (the two
other members elected in November had previously served in the
House). 
There are 16 fifth-term members, 15 second-term members, 12
fourth-term members, and 10 tenth-term members. 

Rep. Willard Munger (DFL-Duluth) continues as Minnesota's elder
statesman, serving his 18th term and will have his 80th birthday
later this month.  

This breakdown was based on 132 members -- two short of the 134
House districts. Special elections are expected to be held next
month for the seats previously held by Reps. Elton Redalen
(IR-Fountain), who was named commissioner of the Department of
Agriculture, and Joe Quinn (DFL-Coon Rapids), who was named a
district court judge. 



Originally printed in 1991 in Session Weekly, a weekly
newsmagazine published by the Minnesota House Public Information
Office.

***Last Update 8/5/94 (jtt) Last Review 8/5/94 (jtt) ***