According to a 2003 Star Tribune article, "the department has been subject to intense political scrutiny from its beginning in 1965 under Gov. Karl Rolvaag. But, despite almost annual attempts by both Republicans and DFLers to kill the department, it has had a Rasputin-like penchant for survival. The Legislature tried to abolish it in the 1980s under Gov. Rudy Perpich, who was accused of using the department to build intelligence on his opponents and to employ supporters who had outlived their usefulness. The House and Senate made another attempt to abolish it in the '90s under Gov. Arne Carlson, who resurrected it under a different name."
In 1976, the Planning Agency was designated as the official State Health Planning and Development Agency for Minnesota, as required by federal Public Law 93-641.
The 1983 Minnesota Legislature authorized the recreation of an independent State Planning Agency. A separate agency was one of the key recommendations of the Governor's Task Force on Long Range Planning, charired by Earl D. Craig, Jr. The Task Force recommended in early 1983 that an independent agency could best provide the central focus for policy development in the Administration, through close ties with the Governor's Office. One of the first decisions concerning the agency's activities was to transfer the grant-making function to the new Department of Energy and Economic Development (DEED).