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| Minnesota Revisor of Statutes | |
|---|---|
| Name | Revisor of Statutes |
| Jurisdiction | Minnesota |
| Incumbent | William M. F. (Bill) Farrant |
| Formed | 19th century |
| Website | Minnesota Revisor of Statutes |
Minnesota Revisor of Statutes is the nonpartisan statutory editor and publisher responsible for drafting, codifying, and publishing the session laws and codified statutes for Minnesota. The office interacts with the Minnesota Legislature, Minnesota Supreme Court, Governor of Minnesota, and state agencies to maintain the official compilation of state law, supporting legislative drafting, legal research, and public access. As a legal office within the state's legislative branch, it plays a central role in the lifecycle of statutes from bill introduction to codification and publication.
The office traces origins to 19th‑century efforts contemporaneous with the early sessions of the Minnesota Territorial Legislature, the 1857 Minnesota Constitutional Convention, and the admission of Minnesota to the United States in 1858, evolving alongside institutions such as the Minnesota House of Representatives and the Minnesota Senate. During the Progressive Era, interactions with figures like Governor John A. Johnson and judicial developments in the Minnesota Supreme Court shaped statutory indexing and revision practices. Mid‑20th century codification projects responded to reforms associated with the Legislative Reference Library and the expansion of administrative bodies like the Minnesota Department of Administration, while late 20th and early 21st century technology shifts paralleled initiatives by the Office of Management and Budget and influenced coordination with state executives such as the Governor of Minnesota and federal counterparts including the United States Congress.
The Revisor's Office is structured administratively within the Minnesota Legislature framework and has reported to legislative leaders including the Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives and the President of the Minnesota Senate. Historically notable officeholders and staff have engaged with legal figures such as justices of the Minnesota Supreme Court and scholars from institutions like the University of Minnesota Law School and the William Mitchell College of Law. The office collaborates with clerks from the Minnesota Senate and Minnesota House of Representatives and with attorneys from the Minnesota Attorney General's office, while appointments and personnel practices reflect legislative rules and state statutes enacted by the Minnesota Legislature.
Statutory duties include drafting technical bill language for sponsors in the Minnesota Legislature, preparing enrolled bills for signature by the Governor of Minnesota, codifying session laws into the Minnesota Statutes, and producing annotations used by courts such as the Minnesota Supreme Court and trial courts across counties like Hennepin County and Ramsey County. The office provides legal research support to legislators and committees such as the Minnesota House Judiciary Committee and the Minnesota Senate Judiciary Committee, advises on statutory construction referenced in opinions from judges like those on the Minnesota Court of Appeals, and ensures compliance with enactments including constitutional provisions from the Minnesota Constitution.
Primary publications comprise the official bound volumes of the Minnesota Statutes, session law compilations of the Laws of Minnesota, and supplements used by practitioners in courts such as the Minnesota Supreme Court and federal courts for the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. The office maintains online databases and editorial tools used by legal researchers at the University of Minnesota Law Library, attorneys in the Minnesota Bar Association, and staff at agencies including the Minnesota Department of Health and the Minnesota Department of Transportation. It also produces drafting manuals and style guides referenced by legislative staffers and scholars associated with the Obergefell v. Hodges era of statutory scrutiny and comparative statutory projects involving states like Wisconsin and Iowa.
Authority derives from statutes enacted by the Minnesota Legislature and from constitutional structures established at the Minnesota Constitutional Convention; the office's publications have evidentiary weight in proceedings before courts such as the Minnesota Supreme Court and under federal review by the United States Supreme Court when federal questions arise. Interactions with administrative law tribunals and references in decisions involving agencies like the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission underscore the Revisor's role in defining regulatory frameworks, while legislative rules govern scope of authority vis‑à‑vis bodies like the Legislative Coordinating Commission and the Office of the Legislative Auditor.
Modernization efforts mirror statewide digital initiatives led by entities such as the Minnesota IT Services and coordination with national projects like those of the Legal Information Institute and the Library of Congress. The office has migrated print resources to online platforms used by legal researchers at the University of Minnesota Law School and practitioners in firms across Minneapolis and Saint Paul, implemented database indexing compatible with tools used by the Google Scholar corpus and commercial services akin to Westlaw and LexisNexis, and adopted XML/metadata standards influenced by federal initiatives at the National Archives and Records Administration.
Critiques have concerned timeliness of updates, interoperability with commercial services such as Westlaw and LexisNexis, and resource constraints overseen by budgetary decisions involving the Minnesota Legislature and the Governor of Minnesota. Debates have arisen over editorial choices referenced in litigation before the Minnesota Supreme Court and policy disputes involving administrative agencies like the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Minnesota Department of Human Services, while stakeholders from the Minnesota State Bar Association and academic researchers at the University of Minnesota have called for enhanced transparency, expanded access, and accelerated modernization.