Iowa Senate facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Iowa Senate |
|
|---|---|
| Iowa General Assembly | |
 |
|
| Type | |
| Type | |
|
Term limits
|
None |
| History | |
|
New session started
|
January 10, 2011 |
| Leadership | |
|
President of the Senate
|
Jack Kibbie (D)
Since January 8, 2007 |
|
President pro Tempore
|
Jeff Danielson (D)
Since January 8, 2007 |
|
Majority Leader
|
Michael Gronstal (D)
Since January 8, 2007 |
|
Minority Leader
|
Jerry Behn (R)
Since November 10, 2011 |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 50 |
|
Political groups
|
Democratic Party (26) Republican Party (23) |
|
Length of term
|
4 years |
| Authority | Legislative Department, Section 3, Iowa Constitution |
| Salary | $25,000/year + per diem |
| Elections | |
|
Last election
|
November 2, 2010 (25 seats) |
|
Next election
|
November 6, 2012 (25 seats) |
| Redistricting | Legislative Service Agency makes plan Iowa General Assembly passes plan |
| Meeting place | |
 |
|
| State Senate Chamber Iowa State Capitol Des Moines, Iowa |
|
| Website | |
| Iowa General Assembly | |
The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly, Iowa's legislature. There are 50 people in the Senate, one for each of 50 districts in Iowa. Each district has about 59,500 people in it. Each Senate district is composed of two House districts. The Senate meets at the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines.
Unlike the Iowa House of Representatives, Senate members - called "senators"—have terms of four years. Half of the Senate is elected every two years, in even-numbered years. There are no term limits for the Senate.
Leadership
The President of the Senate is the leader of the Senate and serves as its chair. The Senate President also sends legislation to committees. Unlike the Speaker of the Iowa House, the Senate President does not put representatives on committees. The Lieutenant Governor of Iowa was the President of the Senate until 1991, when a constitutional amendment separated the jobs. Other Senate leaders, such as the majority and minority leaders, are elected by their party's members.
Composition
| Affiliation | Party
(shading indicates majority caucus)
|
Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Republican | Independent | Vacant | ||
| End 2012 | 26 | 23 | 0 | 49 | 1 |
| Begin 2013 | 26 | 24 | 0 | 50 | 0 |
| End of 2014 session | |||||
| Begin 2015 | 26 | 24 | 0 | 50 | 0 |
| End 2016 session | 23 | 1 | |||
| Begin 2017 | 20 | 29 | 1 | 50 | 0 |
| End 2018 | 50 | 0 | |||
| Begin 2019 | 18 | 32 | 0 | 50 | 0 |
| Latest voting share | 36% | 64% | 0% | ||
Past notable members
- Steve King, U.S. House Representative, 2003 to present.
- Samuel J. Kirkwood, two time Governor of Iowa (1860–1864), (1876–1877); two time U.S. Senator (1866–1867), (1877–1881); U.S. Secretary of the Interior (1881–1882).
- Tom Vilsack, Governor of Iowa from 1999 to 2007, Democratic candidate for the President of the United States in 2006, and current U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.
- George A. Wilson, Governor of Iowa from 1939 to 1943.
- George G. Wright, U.S. Senator from 1871 to 1877.
- Patty Judge, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture from 1999 to 2007, Lieutenant Governor of Iowa from 2007 to 2011
Related pages
- Iowa Senate at Ballotpedia
Images for kids
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SENATE CHAMBER seating chart detail from the 1882 Iowa Redbook
_(page_161_crop).jpg)
