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Iowa Senate

Coordinates: 41°35′28″N 93°36′14″W / 41.591°N 93.604°W / 41.591; -93.604
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41°35′28″N 93°36′14″W / 41.591°N 93.604°W / 41.591; -93.604

Iowa Senate
Iowa General Assembly
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
Term limits
None
History
New session started
January 9, 2023
Leadership
President
Amy Sinclair (R)
since January 4, 2023
President Pro Tempore
Brad Zaun (R)
since January 11, 2021
Majority Leader
Jack Whitver (R)
since March 14, 2018
Minority Leader
Pam Jochum (D)
since June 7, 2023
Structure
Political groups
Majority
  •   Republican (34)

Minority

Length of term
4 years
AuthorityLegislative Department, Section 3, Iowa Constitution
Salary$25,000/year + per diem
Elections
Last election
November 8, 2022
(25 seats)
Next election
November 5, 2024
(25 seats)
RedistrictingLegislative Service Agency with legislative approval
Meeting place
State Senate Chamber
Iowa State Capitol
Des Moines, Iowa
Website
Iowa General Assembly
Rules
90th General Assembly Senate Rules

The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly. 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

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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

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Committee Chair Vice Chair Ranking Member
Agriculture Dan Zumbach Annette Sweeney Kevin Kinney
Appropriations Tim Kraayenbrink Mark Lofgren Joe Bolkcom
Commerce Jason Schultz Carrie Koelker Jim Lykam
Education Amy Sinclair Jeff Taylor Herman Quirmbach
Ethics Carrie Koelker Jim Carlin Pam Jochum
Government Oversight Jason Schultz Craig Williams Claire Celsi
Human Resources Jeff Edler Mark Costello Liz Mathis
Judiciary Brad Zaun Julian Garrett Kevin Kinney
Labor and Business Relations Zach Whiting Jesse Green Nate Boulton
Local Government Tom Shipley Mike Klimesh Jackie Smith
Natural Resources and Environment Annette Sweeney Dawn Driscoll Sarah Trone Garriott
Rules and Administration Jack Whitver Jake Chapman Zach Wahls
State Government Roby Smith Chris Cournoyer Tony Bisignano
Transportation Waylon Brown Adrian Dickey Eric Giddens
Veterans Affairs Jim Carlin Jeff Reichman Eric Giddens
Ways and Means Dan Dawson Tim Goodwin Pam Jochum

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

Current composition

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Iowa Senate districts from 2012 to 2022
Current partisan 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[6] 23 1
Begin 2017 20 29 1 50 0
End 2018 50 0
Begin 2019 18 32 0 50 0
Begin 2023 16 34 0 50 0
Latest voting share 32% 68% 0%

Past notable members

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SENATE CHAMBER seating chart detail from the 1882 Iowa Redbook

Past composition of the Senate

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See also

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References

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  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. ^ "Iowa Legislature - Leadership".
  5. ^ Agency, Iowa Legislative Services. "Committees". www.legis.iowa.gov. Retrieved 2018-05-12.
  6. ^ David Johnson (District 1) switched parties from Republican to "No Party" on June 7, 2016. [1]
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