On Tuesday, January 24, the 2012 Minnesota Legislative Session convenes. This is a capital bonding session which means the legislators will focus on passing a bonding bill for major state projects -- Bricks and Mortar -- such as road construction, higher education buildings and building maintenance for state owned properties. It is also an election year. All 201 legislators in the Minnesota House and Senate are up for election. Governor Dayton will not stand for election until 2014.

Redistricting occurs every 10 years, coinciding with the US Census. Legislation passed in the 2011 session redrawing legislative district lines was vetoed by Governor Dayton at the request of DFL legislative leaders. Since no bill has become law, litigation has been initiated to draw the district boundaries. The district maps will be announced by the Supreme Court on February 24. Currently, legislative districts have 36,000 people per district; due to population growth of 7.8 percent, new districts will have 39,582 people.