Categories
Florida Senate
From Wikipedia - Reading time: 12 min
Florida Senate | |
|---|---|
| Florida Legislature | |
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
Term limits | 2–3 terms (8 years)[a] |
| History | |
| Founded | May 26, 1845 |
| Preceded by | Legislative Council of the Territory of Florida |
New session started | November 19, 2024 |
| Leadership | |
President pro tempore | |
Minority Leader | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 40 |
 | |
Political groups | Majority
Minority
Vacant
|
Length of term | 4 years[a] |
| Authority | Article III, Constitution of Florida |
| Salary | $29,697.00/year + per diem (Subsistence & Travel)[1] |
| Elections | |
Last election | November 5, 2024 (20 seats) |
Next election | November 3, 2026 (20 seats) |
| Redistricting | Legislative control |
| Motto | |
| In God We Trust | |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Senate Chamber Florida Capitol Tallahassee, Florida | |
| Website | |
| The Florida Senate | |
| Constitution | |
| Constitution of Florida | |
| Rules | |
| The Florida Senate Rules | |
| Footnotes | |
 |
|---|
The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted in 1968, defines the role of the Legislature and how it is to be constituted.[2] The Senate is composed of 40 members, each elected from a single-member district with a population of approximately 540,000 residents. The Senate Chamber is located in the State Capitol building.
The Republicans hold a supermajority in the chamber with 27 seats; Democrats are in the minority with 10 seats.[3] One seat is held by an independent, and two seats are vacant.
Terms
[edit]Article III of the Florida Constitution defines the terms for state legislators. The Constitution requires state senators from odd-numbered districts to be elected in the years that end in numbers that are multiples of four. Senators from even-numbered districts must be elected in even-numbered years, the numbers of which are not multiples of four.[4]
To reflect the results of the U.S. census and the redrawing of district boundaries, all seats are up for election in redistricting years, with some terms truncated as a result. Thus, senators in odd-numbered districts were elected to two-year terms in 2022 (following the 2020 census), and senators in even-numbered districts will be elected to two-year terms in 2032 (following the 2030 census).
Term limits
[edit]Candidates for re-election to the Florida Senate cannot appear on the ballot after serving for eight consecutive years. This was established by Amendment No. 9 (1992) affecting Article 6, Section 4 of the state Constitution.[4][5]
Qualifications
[edit]Florida legislators must be at least twenty-one years old, an elector and resident of their district, and must have resided in Florida for at least two years prior to election.[2]
Legislative session
[edit]
Each year during which the Legislature meets constitutes a new legislative session.
Regular legislative session
[edit]The Florida Legislature meets in a 60-day regular legislative session each year. Regular sessions in odd-numbered years must begin on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March. Under the State Constitution, the Legislature can begin even-numbered year regular sessions at a time of its choosing.[4]
Special session
[edit]Special legislative sessions may be called by the governor, by a joint proclamation of the Senate president and House speaker, or by a three-fifths vote of all legislators. During a special session, the Legislature may only address legislative business that is within the purpose or purposes stated in the proclamation calling the session.[4]
Powers and process
[edit]The Florida Statutes are the codified statutory laws of the state.[6]
Leadership
[edit]The Senate is headed by the Senate President, who controls the agenda along with the Speaker of the House and Governor.[citation needed]
- President: Ben Albritton (R)
- President Pro Tempore: Jason Brodeur (R)
- Majority Leader: Jim Boyd (R)
- Minority Leader: Lori Berman (D)
Composition
[edit]| Affiliation | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)
|
Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Democratic | Independent | Vacant | ||
| End of 2020–22 legislature | 23 | 16 | 0 | 39 | 1 |
| Start of previous (2022–24) legislature | 28 | 12 | 0 | 40 | 0 |
| End of previous legislature | |||||
| Start of current (2024–26) legislature | 28 | 12 | 0 | 40 | 0 |
| February 13, 2025[a] | 11 | 39 | 1 | ||
| March 31, 2025[b] | 27 | 38 | 2 | ||
| April 24, 2025[c] | 10 | 1 | |||
| Latest voting share | 71.1% | 26.3% | 2.6% | ||
Members, 2024–2026
[edit]*Elected in a special election.
District map
[edit]
Past composition of the Senate
[edit]See also
[edit]- Florida State Capitol
- Florida Senate Majority Office
- Government of Florida
- List of presidents of the Florida Senate
- List of Florida state legislatures
- Major parties:
Notes
[edit]- ^ Democrat Geraldine Thompson (District 15) died.[7]
- ^ Republican Randy Fine (District 19) resigned effective this date to run for Congress.[8]
- ^ Jason Pizzo (District 37) changed party affiliation from Democrat to no party affiliation.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ "The 2017 Florida Statutes F.S. 11.13 Compensation of members". Florida Legislature.
- ^ a b "Florida Statutes". Florida Legislature. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
- ^ "Senators". Florida Senate.
- ^ a b c d "The Florida Constitution". Florida Legislature.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "Vote Yes On Amendment No. 9 To Begin Limiting Political Terms". Sun-Sentinel. October 27, 1992. Archived from the original on July 18, 2018. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
- ^ "Statutes & Constitution: Online Sunshine". Florida Legislature. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
- ^ Petro, Allison (February 13, 2025). "Florida State Senator Geraldine Thompson dies at 76, family says". WESH. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
- ^ Berman, David (November 27, 2024). "Fine to run for Congress in Daytona Beach area; Mayfield seeks return to Florida Senate". Florida Today. Retrieved April 1, 2025.
- ^ Ellenbogen, Romy (April 24, 2024). "Florida Senate Democratic leader drops party, switches to no-party affiliation". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
- ^ And previous terms of service, if any.
External links
[edit]
Members of the Florida Senate | ||
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| International | |
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| National | |
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