Virtual File - Item

Text: Omnibus Bills
Compiled 3/17/2025 by the Legislative Reference Library
What are some examples of large omnibus bills? The media often reports that omnibus bills bundle many subjects. What are some examples of those?
Here are some examples of large omnibus bills or bills that have been reported to bundle many subjects. In the page number count, multiple version links may be included because different versions included more or less white space.
Please contact the Legislative Reference Library if the link brings you to a paywall and you need access to an article.
1. 2024: Laws of Minnesota 2024, chapter 127. (There are 1,053 pages in the PDF.)
a. The bill text of HF5247 in its final version has 1,492 pages in the PDF.
b. What was in the Minnesota Legislature's 1,400-page-plus 'omnibus prime' bill?, Star Tribune, May 23, 2024.
c. Lawsuit derides 'Frankenstein's monster' omnibus bill as unconstitutional, but what says the Minnesota Supreme Court?, MinnPost, February 18, 2025.
2. 2020: Laws of Minnesota 2020, 5th Special Session, chapter 3: Omnibus public finance; capital investment; taxes; supplemental budget
a. Is the latest deal to end the 2020 Legislature even constitutional?, MinnPost, July 20, 2020.
3. 2019: Laws of Minnesota 2019, 1st special session, chapter 9. (There are 478 pages in the PDF.)
a. The bill text of SF12 in its final version has 673 pages in the PDF.
b. Why the Minnesota Legislature loves/hates massive omnibus bills, MinnPost, April 22, 2019. This article addresses the length of the bill when it was in the regular session as: HF2414. It also explains how other large omnibus bills were combined in the 2019 session.
4. 2019: HF2414 has 1,158 pages in the PDF of the second engrossment.
a. This was the omnibus health and human services bill that was passed by the House, but not by the Senate in the regular session.
b. Why the Minnesota Legislature loves/hates massive omnibus bills, MinnPost, April 22, 2019. This article addresses the length of the bill when it was in the regular session as: HF2414. It also explains how other large omnibus bills were combined in the 2019 session.
c. Minnesota House passes $15B health and human services bill, conversion therapy ban: Lawmakers advanced a 1,043-page bill that would fund $15 billion for health and human services programs over two years. Fargo-Moorhead Forum. April 25, 2019.
5. 2018: SF3656 was vetoed by Governor Dayton, but this is the bill that was nicknamed "omnibus prime" by journalists. There were 990 pages to the PDF of the conference committee report.
a. Lawmaker Describes 990-Page Vetoed Omnibus Bill As 'Heap of Garbage', CBS News, May 24, 2018.
6. 2018: Laws of Minnesota 218, Chapter 214. (There are 122 pages in the PDF.)
a. This included the bonding bill; LCCMR; amendments to the Legislative Budget Office.
7. 2016: Laws of Minnesota 2016, chapter 189. (There are 480 pages in the PDF.)
a. The bill text of HF2749 in its final version has 599 page in the PDF.
b. This was the supplemental budget bill.
c. Some find fault with the size, scope and timing of omnibus bills. Politics in Minnesota / St. Paul Legal Ledger Capitol Report. May 18, 2016.
8. 2014: Laws of Minnesota 2014, chapter 308 (There are 161 pages in the PDF.)
a. This included the tax bill; local development; regional water system project; "unsession" provisions to clean up various provisions.
b. Tax bill: A little of this and a lot of property tax relief. Session Daily. May 16, 2014.
9. 2014: Laws of Minnesota 2014, chapter 312 (There were 451 pages in the PDF.)
a. This included the supplemental budget for various departments; disaster assistance for public entities; policy for various departments and subjects.
b. Finance bills moving into one big bill. Session Daily. March 28, 2014.
There were also big bills in 2013 and 2008 according to "Are mega-bills now a mega-bust?" in Minnesota Lawyer, May 30, 2018.
Other related sources:
Sources are listed in reverse chronological order. Please contact the Legislative Reference Library if the link brings you to a paywall and you need access to an article.
2025:
• Lawsuit derides 'Frankenstein's monster' omnibus bill as unconstitutional, but what says the Minnesota Supreme Court?, MinnPost, February 18, 2025.
2024:
• 'Nobody can tell me what's in this bill'; Dahms and Torkelson discuss inflated tax bill, EMS, bonding bills. New Ulm Journal. May 30, 2024.
• What was in the Minnesota Legislature's 1,400-page-plus 'omnibus prime' bill?, Star Tribune, May 23, 2024.
• Dahms, Swedzinski sound off on massive tax bill: 'Nobody knows what's in it'; Legislators express displeasure with end-of-session rush, Marshall Independent, May 31, 2024.
• Less heralded -- but important! -- items in the DFL Legislature's 1430-page, final hours bill. Minnesota Reformer. May 29, 2024.
• Why the large omnibus bill passed in Minnesota violates the single-subject rule. MinnPost. May 28, 2024.
• Omnibus bill was in response to Republican filibustering [commentary]. Faribault Daily News. May 28, 2024.
• Letter from Sen. Mark Johnson and Rep. Lisa Demuth requesting that Gov. Tim Walz veto HF5247, the 2024 omnibus bill. May 22, 2024.
• The ginormous tax bill had very few actual tax provisions; here's what they are. Minnesota Reformer. May 22, 2024.
• MN legislative session comes to chaotic close as DFL passes giant last-minute bill. St. Paul Pioneer Press. May 21, 2024.
• Legislature adjourns with mega-omnibus, loud finger-pointing as DFL leaders shut down GOP delays to meet deadline. MinnPost. May 21, 2024.
2023:
• Our View: Legislature: People served by single subject plan; Why it matters: The DFL majority's plan to vote on bills separately and keep them to a single subject makes government more responsive and transparent to the people. Mankato Free Press. February 1, 2023.
• Interesting: Omnibus critic Marty now leads committee that crafts the massive bills. MinnPost. January 30, 2023.
2022:
• Legislative session sputters to an end; special session probable. Session Daily. May 23, 2022.
• Lawmakers and omnibus bills: A love-hate relationship. Session Daily. May 18, 2022.
• Three more omnibus bills -- plus pension changes -- rolled into single package. Session Daily. April 19, 2022.
• Even as more lawmakers criticize their use, omnibus bills continue to be how things get done at the Minnesota Legislature, MinnPost, April 26, 2022.
• House human services committee approves wide-ranging omnibus package. Session Daily. April 8, 2022.
• Plethora of policy, supplemental spending packed into omnibus state government finance and elections bill. Session Daily. April 6, 2022.
2021:
• Rep. Patricia Mueller: A return to legislative transparency. Austin Daily Herald. August 28, 2021.
• As budget discussions get under way, Minnesota's divided Legislature stakes out its positions. MinnPost. April 12, 2021.
2020:
• Embraced and Expressed?: Minnesota's Single Subject and Title Clause?: A Guide for Legislators. House Research Department, 2020.
• The five weirdest things about the Legislature's 2020 bonding bill saga. MinnPost, October 16, 2020.
• Minnesota Senate votes 63-4, giving final approval for $1.9 billion public works borrowing, tax cuts bill. Minnesota Reformer. October 15, 2020.
• $1.9 billion bonding bill clears hurdle in Minnesota House, moves to Senate: The bill includes funding for wastewater infrastructure, road and bridge repairs and health and agriculture lab updates around the state. Rochester Post-Bulletin. October 14, 2020.
• House passes bonding, tax, spending bill with bipartisan support. Session Daily. October 14, 2020.
• Is the latest deal to end the 2020 Legislature even constitutional?, MinnPost, July 20, 2020.
• Nearly $2 billion bonding bill heads for House Floor, but prospects for passage uncertain. Session Daily. July 14, 2020.
2019:
• Why cultural change requires structural change. Minnesota Lawyer. May 31, 2019.
• Walz's bill-signing ceremonies: lots of ceremony, not so many actual bills, MinnPost, June 20, 2019.
• Blaha Q&A: Life after Otto ruling. Minnesota Lawyer. June 14, 2019.
• Peggy Bennett: Budget-setting process is broken in Minnesota. [Commentary]. Albert Lea Tribune. June 7, 2019.
• Minnesota lawmakers pass $48 billion budget in all-night special session. Duluth News Tribune. May 25, 2019.
• The tax bill cometh - and the governor will need to act on it. Session Daily. May 25, 2019.
• How we got here: As the Legislature heads into special session, a look at what will (and won't) get done. MinnPost, May 24, 2019.
• The last big bill is ready: omnibus health and human services legislation unveiled. Session Daily, May 24, 2019. [Referrs to this tracking spreadsheet: https://www.lrl.mn.gov/archive/clippings/203074-21918.pdf]
• Peggy Bennett: Omnibus bills are a poor way to legislate [Commentary]. Albert Lea Tribune. April 26, 2019.
• Minnesota House passes $15B health and human services bill, conversion therapy ban: Lawmakers advanced a 1,043-page bill that would fund $15 billion for health and human services programs over two years. Fargo-Moorhead Forum. April 25, 2019.
• Why the Minnesota Legislature loves/hates massive omnibus bills, MinnPost, April 22, 2019. This article addresses the length of the bill when it was in the regular session as: HF2414. It also explains how other large omnibus bills were combined in the 2019 session.
• Finance chair squeezes $340K request into Senate Judiciary omnibus. Minnesota Lawyer. April 18, 2019.
• Our View: Legislature: Discourage garbage bills, encourage compromise [Editorial]. Mankato Free Press. April 10, 2019.
• One more time: The Legislature must return to single-subject bills [Commentary by Rep. Cal Bahr], Star Tribune, March 29, 2019.
• Hating the Minnesota Legislature's use of omnibus bills is so last year, MinnPost, February 19, 2019.
• In the Hopper: DWI omnibus; single-subject amendment; moving on. Minnesota Lawyer. February 13, 2019.
2018:
• Permissibility of Omnibus Bills under the Minnesota Constitution's Single Subject Clause, Senate Counsel, Research, and Fiscal Analysis, 2018.
• Munson, 3 others split from GOP caucus. Mankato Free Press. December 8, 2018. [large omnibus bills as one reason to split.]
• You know you want to read this sexy story about legislative process reform. MinnPost. November 29, 2018.
• Jack Davies has plan to slay Omnibus Prime, Minnesota Lawyer, November 29, 2018.
• Now in charge of House, DFLers want to take the sausage making out of lawmaking. St. Paul Pioneer Press. November 28, 2018.
• Legislative process -- and potential fixes -- the focus of House hearing. Session Daily. November 27, 2018.
• No more "dark of night" mystery bill votes in MN House? Pelowski reforms might make it so. Bluestem Prairie. November 25, 2018. [Includes a PDF of committee materials.]
• MN House Speaker-elect Hortman intends to make "Omnibus Prime" bills a thing of the past. Bluestem Prairie. November 25, 2018.
• Sen. John Marty gives up ghost on single-subject suit. Minnesota Lawyer. October 25, 2018.
• Editorial: 'No law shall embrace more than one subject'. St. Paul Pioneer Press. September 30, 2018.
• 'Garbage bills': Public pressure can halt meltdown of the legislative process [by Sen. Marty]. MinnPost. September 25, 2018.
• Guest commentary: Public pressure can halt this legislative meltdown [by Sen. Marty]. Lakeshore Weekly News (Minnetonka). September 21, 2018.
• Minnesota legislative procedure: Single-subject battle has been won; now bring back subcommittees. Herein?, five ways that reembracing their use would make for a more effective Legislature. Star Tribune. September 18, 2018. [by Jack Davies]
• Call legislators on the carpet about overloaded 'ominbus' bills [Commentary]. St. Paul Pioneer Press. July 27, 2018.
• Readers Write: Omnibus bills are a strategy and, I agree, a problem [by Sen. Jensen]. Star Tribune. July 2, 2018.
• Legislature must tame these 989-page Godzillas [Commentary by Sen. John Marty]. Star Tribune. June 29, 2018.
• 2018 session biggest disappointment in recent memory. ABC Newspapers.com. June 7, 2018. [by Sen. Jerry Newton]
• Commentary: The 2018 session serves as a teachable moment. Lakeshore Weekly News (Minnetonka). June 6, 2018. [by Sen. Steve Cwodzinski]
• In the Hopper: Provisions lost to Omnibus Prime's fall. Minnesota Lawyer. June 6, 2018.
• Are mega-bills now a mega-bust? Minnesota Lawyer. May 30, 2018.
• Session ends badly -- again. Here's one way to fix that. MinnPost. May 25, 2018.
• Lawmaker Describes 990-Page Vetoed Omnibus Bill As 'Heap of Garbage', CBS News, May 24, 2018.
• Minnesota's 2018 legislative session ends in shambles. Legislators and Dayton should want to clean up the mess they've made [Editorial]. Star Tribune. May 23, 2018.
• Session '18: Late moves yield two big bills. Minnesota Lawyer. May 23, 2018.
• Single-subject advocates seek amendment: ballot initiative had no chance this session; proponents look to 2019 [Rep. Mike Freiberg, Rep. Steve Drazkowski]. Minnesota Lawyer. May 23, 2018.
• 'Sincere effort' or cynical ploy? Republican campaign aims to pressure Dayton to sign omnibus, tax conformity bills. MinnPost. May 22, 2018.
• Supplemental budget bill -- all 989 pages -- heads to governor and expected veto. Session Daily. May 20, 2018.
• Conference committee on omnibus supplemental budget bill begins work. Session Daily. May 8, 2018.
• House passes four-part omnibus supplemental finance bill. Session Daily. May 3, 2018. [includes budget spreadsheet]
• Marty still mulls suit over mega-bills. Minnesota Lawyer. May 2, 2018.
• House passes combined health and transportation omnibus bills. Session Daily. May 3, 2018.
• Judiciary-public safety bills get final tweaks: along with all other onmibuses, both will get rolled into mega-bills. Minnesota Lawyer. April 30, 2018.
• MN Senate approves voluminous budget bill that includes little new spending. St. Paul Pioneer Press. April 26, 2018.
• Capitol Retort: Justice Thissen; single subjects; gun legislation. Minnesota Lawyer. April 26, 2018.
• Combined education bill signals start of omnibus mergers. Session Daily. April 23, 2018.
• Omnibus jobs and energy finance bill gets initial approval. Session Daily. April 20, 2018.
• The 'how' of passing legislation in Minnesota: Still a mess. Longtime legislator Paul Thissen, on his way to the state Supreme Court, had some thoughts about this. Star Tribune. April 20, 2018.
• Could Dayton's recent letter to legislative leaders improve state government? Possibly. MinnPost. April 19, 2018.
• Supreme Court rules against State Auditor Otto. MPR. April 18, 2018.
2017:
• Veto case could shift power balance. Minnesota Lawyer. August 16, 2017.
• Minnesota's Supreme Court must come to the rescue. What's at stake in battle between the governor and the Legislature is not just politics, but the state's Constitution. Star Tribune. June 10, 2017.
• Our View: Legislators shouldn't booby-trap bills. Rochester Post-Bulletin. June 9, 2017.
• Capitol Retort: Comey; single subject; principled or authoritarian? Minnesota Lawyer. June 8, 2017.
• Can anything be done to make the Minnesota Legislature more transparent? MinnPost. June 6, 2017.
• Sen. John Marty mulls 'single subject' lawsuit. Minnesota Lawyer. May 31, 2017.
• Capitol Retort: Transparency, single subject, marathon run. Minnesota Lawyer. May 31, 2017.
• David Schultz: Preventing legislative mischief with the 'single-subject' rule. St. Paul Pioneer Press. May 21, 2017.
• Pile-on legislation is aplenty -- and unconstitutional in Minnesota. Why legislators face a single-subject rule (which they ignore). Star Tribune. May 6, 2017.
• Is it OK to include policy provisions in a budget bill? Minnesota Lawyer. April 26, 2017.
• Everything you need to know about omnibus bills, and why they're so popular at the Minnesota Legislature. MinnPost. March 31, 2017.
2016:
• Minnesota Legislature: 6 unusual things buried inside bills. St. Paul Pioneer Press. May 29, 2016.
• Some find fault with the size, scope and timing of omnibus bills. Politics in Minnesota / St. Paul Legal Ledger Capitol Report. May 18, 2016.
• Bipartisan group of legislators urges more transparency on major spending bills. Hot Dish Politics - Star Tribune. 4/30/2016.
• Last of three multi-subject budget bills gets House approval; heads to Senate. Session Daily. April 29, 2016.
• Broadband battle as House passes omnibus ag, enviro, jobs package. Session Daily. April 29, 2016.
• Final three omnibus budget bills merged into one, headed to House Floor. Session Daily. April 21, 2016.
• Road map forward: House to combine eight omnibus bills into three. Session Daily. April 18, 2016.
• DFL reform package aimed at making MN government more transparent. Marshall Independent. 1/22/2016.
• Democratic House leader proposes new rules to avoid legislative mess, increase openness. Pioneer Press Blog. January 21, 2016.
2015:
• Legislators, please stick to one subject [Commentary]. Star Tribune. August 14, 2015.
2014:
• Tax bill: A little of this and a lot of property tax relief. Session Daily. May 16, 2014.
• Tax bill addition could be key to bonding bill passage. Session Daily. May 15, 2014.
• Finance bills moving into one big bill. Session Daily. March 28, 2014.
• House 'omni-fest' moving to the main stage. Session Daily. March 27, 2014.
• Broadband expansion part of tax bill. Session Daily. February 27, 2014.
• Minnesota's legislative process: An open-but-shut case. MinnPost. February 6, 2014.
2013:
• Jim Knoblach: Minnesota: Court should stop the log-rolling, strike down the new $90m Senate office building [Commentary]. St. Paul Pioneer Press. November 23, 2013.
• Capitol Chatter: Single subject a tough subject in Minnesota. Duluth News Tribune. November 2, 2013.
2010:
• All in a name - single-subject rule is needed but not sufficient for accountability and transparency. Politics in Minnesota / St. Paul Legal Ledger Capitol Report. April 21, 2010.
2008:
• 'Garbage' or good legislation? Session Weekly, April 11, 2008.
The Legislative Reference Library has many more sources (including older sources, such as news about the Omnibus Abolishment Act of 1981) in our collections, if you need to be more comprehensive in your research.