Long was the House author for the 1983 Minnesota Environmental Response and Liability Act, the state equivalent to the federal Superfund law.

[3][4] She held that position until she was elected Majority Leader of the House DFL Caucus due to the appointment of Ann Wynia as Commissioner of the Department of Human Services.

Following the 1991 Legislative Session, Robert Vanasek resigned the Speakership to become Executive Director of the Minnesota High Technology Council.

[6] In 1993, the "Phonegate" scandal erupted, in which 64 legislators and 225 staff members were found to be using state toll-free access codes for personal use.

Taxpayer-funded access codes from MCI were given to legislators to conduct business without paying for long distance charges calling outside of Saint Paul.

[7] In 1992, the Minnesota DNR's Detroit Lakes office received a bill of $57,000 in fraudulent long distance charges but it was found the codes had been stolen and employees were not responsible for the calls.

[1] Pine County Senator Florian Chmielewski pled guilty and was fined in 1996 to giving his code out to his family, including after rules and reporting changes for phone calls.

In July, legislators nationwide attended the year's National Conference of State Legislatures, including Long.