"A half century before enactment of the present state-wide civil service statute, a bill proposing the establishment of a state civil service system was introduced in the Senate in 1889 but failed of passage. Six years later a bill proposing both state and city civil service was introduced in the Senate and passed by a large plurality but did not come to a vote in the House of Representatives.
"Considerable impetus was next given civil service in 1911 by the interest of the three larger cities of the state and by the governor's proposal that qualification and fitness be the only requirement for appointment to the state service. A bill proposing state civil service was introduced in the House of Representatives that year but it failed to come out of committee...Following the failure of passage of civil service bills introduced in both the House of Representatives and Senate in 1913, Governor A. O. Eberhart, after the 1913 legislative session, appointed a commission of thirty citizens who, after careful survey, made a comprehensive report to the 1915 session of the legislature recommending a complete reorganization of the State government and embodying its recommendations in a carefully prepared and comprehensive administrative code.
"The publicity given civil service by the Economy and Efficiency Commission, coupled with the continuing example of civil service in operation in the three large cities of the state, resulted in State Civil Service being at least discussed in every session of the legislature from 1915 to 1925 when the next major proposal appeared.
"[A law passed in] 1925 authorized the Commission of Administration and Finance to determine the classes, grades, and titles of certain state agencies and to fix the salary scales of these agencies... It was not until January 2, 1935 that the Commission of Administration established by order the first comprehensive classification of state employees under the control of the Commission.
"Bills were introduced in both the House of Representatives and the Senate proposing the creation of a Department of Civil Service in 1933, at the regular session in 1935, and at the extra session of 1935 and 1936. These bills, however, lacked sufficient support to be enacted into law.
"On April 22, 1939 after favorable action by the House of Representatives and the Senate and signature by the Governor, a bill providing for a statewide civil service system became law." (from Report on the Civil Service System for 1939-1940)
In 1973 (1973 Minn. Laws Chap. 507) all the powers, duties, and responsibilities vested in and imposed upon the director of civil service, and the civil service board were transferred to, vested in, and imposed upon the department of personnel.