ST. PAUL — Minnesota’s Legislature descended into a familiar scene of partisan bickering and political maneuvering on Tuesday, starting a 10-week session on a sour note.

Major ongoing renovations to the Capitol truncated the session, pushing back its start to the latest date in state history and squeezing a long legislative to-do list into less than three months. The repairs have forced the state Senate into a makeshift chamber in an office building across the street, another historic twist. And it’s robbed the House, still meeting in the Capitol, of running water, forcing state officials to use porta-potties for bathrooms.

“It’s kind of like when you took kids on a trip and you reminded them to go to the bathroom before they left the stop,” said Rep. Phyllis Kahn, a Minneapolis Democrat. “I think we’re going to have to remind each other to do that.”

Officials from Gov. Mark Dayton on down have openly worried that the unusual circumstances will only complicate the Legislature’s already daunting task of cobbling together tax cuts, a transportation funding package and other spending priorities before lawmakers leave in late May. Early partisan squabbles over internal rules and how to extend unemployment benefits for miners did nothing to dampen the pessimism.

“The logistics are going to be difficult,” Democratic Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk said.

With the bulk of the Capitol closed, the Senate moved their desks into a new office building nearby to host floor sessions in 2016. Among the many complications of the changes, Bakk said the Legislature will have to hire more junior staffers to run messages and newly passed bills back to the House in the Capitol.

And there are no seating areas for everyday residents and little space available inside the Capitol, so the public and members of the press alike have to jump through hoops to watch proceedings inside the House chamber. Renovations are expected to be mostly finished in early 2017, with minor work continuing for about a year.

Even as lawmakers set the tone for long and winding disagreements, some state Senators were making the best of their temporary move to a massive modern building that sits opposite the Capitol.

“It’s a treat in some respects that few other senators in the history of our state will ever have,” said Sen. David Senjem, a Rochester Republican who has spent more than 12 years working in the Senate’s ornate chamber.