Retirements add up in Minnesota House, with veteran lawmakers saying 2024 will be their last session

Two veteran Minnesota House lawmakers who chair important committees announced in successive days this week that they’ll retire after the current term, part of a possible bigger churn ahead at the Capitol.

DFL State Rep. Liz Olson, who leads the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, announced in a social media post Friday that she won’t pursue re-election in November when all 134 House seats are up. It comes a day after 11-term Rep. Michael Nelson, another DFLer who chairs the Labor and Industry Committee, said he too would depart after 2024.

Olson, of Duluth, said she plans to pursue more time with family and friends after eight years in the Legislature. Olson previously served as Majority Whip and orchestrated the House DFL’s Minnesota Values Project, which laid the groundwork for dozens of budget and policy changes in Saint Paul last year. 

In a video, Olson said that after the Legislature passed an earned sick and safe time law and policies addressing the opioid crisis, she felt ready to retire. 

“Through the last eight years, I’ve been guided by the hopes, dreams and fears of my district. It has been an honor to know a community so deeply and be trusted as a legislator to deliver for our community,” Olson said. “Lives will be better because of our work together over these eight years.”

House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, called Olson a “giant of the Minnesota Legislature” and credited her for getting several DFL policy priorities across the finish line in 2023.

“Beyond her legislative achievements, Rep. Olson has also been a trusted friend and ally. I’m so grateful for her leadership and partnership,” Hortman said. “Whatever she chooses to do next, her future is bright, and I know she will continue working to build a Minnesota where everyone has the chance to succeed.”

Olson is the seventh Minnesota House member to announce plans to leave after the current term, including four other DFLers and two Republicans. 

In a news release Thursday, Nelson, of Brooklyn Park, said he was ready to pass the torch after more than two decades in the Legislature. 

“After years of shared dreams and weathered storms, we passed historic legislation last session, and I am filled with gratitude for the progress we made for Minnesotans,” he said. “I want to extend a sincere thank you to my community for trusting me with this honor for over two decades. I am incredibly proud to call Brooklyn Park home." 

Nelson previously led the Government Operations Committee and State Government Finance and Elections Committee.

Last month, a third committee leader also said she was leaving following this term. DFL State Rep. Jamie Becker-Finn is the chair of the House Judiciary and Civil Law Committee and is departing after four terms.

Almost a year ago, Rep. Jerry Newton, a DFLer who chairs the House Veterans and Military Affairs Committee, gave notice of his plan to step down. He previously served in the state Senate before returning to the Capitol as a House member in 2023.

Rep. Heather Edelson, DFL-Edina, is leaving to pursue another office.

The Republicans who are stepping away are: Reps. Brian Daniels of Faribault and Shane Hudella of Hastings.

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