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How do I stay informed on legislation?

Minnesota's legislature has been a leader in providing information for its citizens so that they can fully participate in the process. Below is a list of resources available to all of Minnesota's citizens free from their Legislature.

Want to know who your legislator is? How to reach him or her? What committees he/she serves on?

These resources give you that information and much more:

Election Directory

The Election Directory is published shortly after the election and contains:

	pictures of and biographical information about all representatives and senators
	home and office phone numbers, addresses and e-mail addresses
	will have more than one edition as legislators settle into new offices

Members Directory

The Members Directory, also known as the "Green Book", is published in odd-numbered years after committee assignments have been made; contains all of the above plus:

	committee assignments
	committee meeting times and places
	other pertinent phone numbers for the House and Senate

Official Directory of the Minnesota Legislature

The Official Directory of the Minnesota Legislature, also known as the "Red Book", comes out towards the beginning of the second Session; contains all of the above plus:

	a listing of House and Senate Offices and employees
	names and phone numbers for committee staffs
	Permanent Rules for the House and Senate as well as Constitutional and Statutory Provisions
	information on the Legislative Reference Library and Legislative Commissions
	information on other Minnesota government offices
	information on the Constitutional Officers, Departments, Boards and Agencies
	the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals; Minnesota's Congressional delegation in Washington

"The Election Directory, 'Green Book' and 'Red Book' will still be published this Session. However, due to
budget cuts they will no longer be mailed upon request. If you would like a copy, you need to either
pick one up at either the House or Senate Information Office when you are there, or contact either your Representative or Senator and ask them to mail you a copy."

	Want to know what bills have been introduced?
	When committee meetings will be held?
	Or what happened at last week's committee hearing?
	Learn about how the process works?

These resources give you that information, and again, much more:

Session Weekly

The Session Weekly is published weekly by the Minnesota House of Representatives during the session. Issues always contain a complete list of all Representatives. Early issues also contain a list of all Senators, legislators phone numbers and addresses, and their committee assignments. Following Weeklys will include information on what happened at the Legislature the week before; when committees meet; a listing of legislation as it is introduced; interviews with new members; explanations of how the legislative process works; and interesting trivia about Minnesota. (And lots of wonderful pictures of our beautiful Capitol.)
Call the House Information Office at 651-296-2146 or 1-800-657-3550 to have your name added to the mailing list.

Briefly

The Senate Briefly was a weekly newsletter that summarized all Senate committee and floor action, In
addition, the committee schedule for the following week was included in the Senate Briefly. The newsletter was published only during the Legislative Session.

Publication in printed form of both Senate Briefly and Perspective has been halted because of budget cuts.
An abbreviated on-line form of Senate Briefly will be available for the 2003 Legislative Session.

It can be found at http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/briefly/. It is posted as portable document format (PDF) files. You will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the files. If you do not have it installed on your system, it is available to download free with a link from the Briefly's website.

Links to issues of Briefly from previous years arealso available at that website.

http://www.leg.state.mn.us/

To find the Legislature on the Web go to: http://www.leg.state.mn.us/ You can:

	download and track legislation
	download bill summaries and find out who the authors are
	find bills and information about them from past Sessions
	find House and Senate publications and research
	obtain information about the various House and Senate Committees and their activities both during and between Sessions
	connect to other Minnesota and federal government sites

Web Links

Want more information on education funding issues? The following websites may provide you with the information you are looking for:

	Minnesota School Boards Association (MSBA) - http://www.mnmsba.org/
	Education Minnesota (EM) - http://www.educationminnesota.org/
	Minnesota Rural Education Association (MREA) - http://www.mnrea.org/
	Association of Metropolitan School Districts (AMSD) - http://www.amsd.org
	PTA - http://www.familyeducation.com/mn/state_pta

Online Discussion Forums

Would you like to discuss education issues on-line with others? See the Minnesota Capitol Forum - Session Topics web page http://www.e-democracy.org/capitol or you may join a special low volume e-mail list by sending E-Mail to mn-education-subscribe@egroups.com.

Want more information on gifted education funding issues? info@mcgt.net

[Last revision 24 November 2006]

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