The eighty-fourth Minnesota Legislature first convened on January 4, 2005. The 67 members of the Minnesota Senate were elected during the General Election on November 5, 2002, while the 134 members of the Minnesota House of Representatives were elected during the General Election on November 2, 2004.
The legislature met in a regular session from January 4, 2005 to May 23, 2005. It ended without a passage of an overall budget, and a special session was opened May 24, 2005. No overall budget passed by the end of the fiscal year on June 30, and much of the state government shut down for the first time in history, though some essential services remained in operation, and some departments received funding in legislation. On July 9, 2005, a budget was agreed upon, and the special session ended a few days later on July 13, 2005.
A continuation of the regular session was held between March 1, 2006 and May 21, 2006.