Iowa_Senate

Iowa Senate

Iowa Senate

State of Iowa legislative body


41.591°N 93.604°W / 41.591; -93.604

Quick Facts Type, Term limits ...

The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly, United States. There are 50 seats in the Iowa Senate, representing 50 single-member districts across the state of Iowa with populations of approximately 60,927 per constituency, as of the 2010 United States census.[1] Each Senate district is composed of two House districts. The Senate meets at the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines.

Unlike the lower house, the Iowa House of Representatives, senators serve four-year terms, with no term limits. Terms are staggered so that half the Senate is up for reelection every two years.

Leadership

The President of the Senate presides over the body, whose powers include referring bills to committees, recognizing members during debate, and making procedural rulings. Unlike the more powerful Speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives, the Senate President cannot appoint committee chairmanships or shuffle committee memberships.[2] The Lieutenant Governor of Iowa was the presiding officer of the Senate until 1988, when an amendment to the Constitution of Iowa was passed in a referendum (effective from 1991).[3] The other partisan Senate leadership positions, such as the Majority and Minority leaders, are elected by their respective party caucuses to head their parties in the chamber.

The President of the Senate is Republican Amy Sinclair of the 12th District. The Majority Leader is Republican Jack Whitver of the 23rd District. The Minority Leader is Democrat Pam Jochum of the 36th District.[4]

Committee leadership

*All chairs and vice chairs are Republicans. All ranking members are Democrats.[5]

Current composition

Iowa Senate districts from 2012 to 2022
Current partisan composition
More information Affiliation, Party (shading indicates majority caucus) ...

Past notable members

SENATE CHAMBER seating chart detail from the 1882 Iowa Redbook

Past composition of the Senate

See also


References

  1. Iowa Legislative Services Agency (2011-03-31). "First Redistricting Plan" (PDF). p. 3. Retrieved 2012-11-17.
  2. "The Three Branches of Government". Iowa General Assembly. Archived from the original on 2005-11-10. Retrieved 2008-03-10.
  3. "The Drafting of Iowa's Constitution". Steven Cross, Iowa General Assembly. Retrieved 2008-03-10.
  4. Agency, Iowa Legislative Services. "Committees". www.legis.iowa.gov. Retrieved 2018-05-12.
  5. David Johnson (District 1) switched parties from Republican to "No Party" on June 7, 2016.

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