Indiana Senate is the
upper
house of the
Indiana
General Assembly, the
state legislature of the
U.S. state of
Indiana
. The Senate
is composed of 50 members representing 50 distinct districts.
Senators serve four-year terms without
term
limits.
The Senate
convenes at the Indiana State House
in Indianapolis
, Indiana.
Operating rules
The Indiana State Senate is operated according to a set of internal
regulations developed and maintained largely by tradition.
These
rules are similar to the rules that govern the upper house most of
the state senates in the United States
. The Senate convenes its annual session the
first Tuesday following the first Monday of January every year. In
odd numbered years the senate must meet for 61 days (not
necessarily consecutive days), and must adjourn no later than April
30. This is typically called a long session. In even numbered
years, when elections are held, the Senate must meet for 30 days
(not necessarily consecutive days) and adjourn no later than March
15. This is typically called the short session. The only time the
senate may convene outside of these dates is if the Governor calls
a special assembly.
The senate must convene by 1:30 pm each day a session is scheduled.
Two thirds of the senators must be present for the session to
begin. Senators must be present at each session unless they are
explicitly excused by the president-pro-tempore. Members who are
not present can be forced to attend the session or be censured and
expelled from the body.
The
Lieutenant Governor
of Indiana serves as the president of the senate and is
responsible for ensuring that the senate rules are followed by its
members. The President takes no part in the senate debates and may
only vote to break ties. The senate also elects a
president-pro-tempore a majority leader. This is typically a senior
member of majority party. The president-pro-tempore presides over
the senate whenever the President is not present. The
president-pro-tempore is largely responsible for setting the agenda
of the senate.
When debate occurs in the senate each senator is granted permission
to speak on the issue once. A senator may not speak on an issue
more than once without a permission from the rest of the senate
which is attained with a senate vote. A senator can speak for no
longer than a half hour at any one time and may be silenced with a
majority vote and any time during his speech.
Terms
Article 4 of the
Constitution of
Indiana places several limitation on the size and composition
of the senate.
- The senate can contain no more than fifty members.
- The term of a senator lasts four years with 25 senators being
elected every two years.
- There is no limit to how many terms a senator may be
elected.
Qualifications
Article 4 of the Constitution of Indiana states the qualifications
to become a senator.
- The candidate must have been a United States Citizen for a minimum of
two years prior to his candidacy.
- The candidate must have been resident of the district which he
seeks to represent for one year.
- The candidate must be at least 25 years of age when he is sworn
into office.
- The candidate cannot hold any other public office in the state
or federal government during a senate term.
Composition of the Senate
| Affiliation |
Party
(Shading indicates majority
caucus)
|
Total |
|
|
|
|
| Republican |
Democratic |
Vacant |
| End of previous
legislature |
33 |
17 |
50 |
0 |
|
| Begin |
33 |
17 |
50 |
0 |
| Latest voting share |
66% |
34% |
|
2009-2010 Officers
Members of the Indiana Senate
Committees
The Senate has various committees that are charged with overseeing
different areas of the state government and drafting legislation.
These committees are bipartisan and contain between three and
eleven members split between the parties according to their ratio
of members in the Senate. The committees and chaired by a member of
the majority party. The current committees include:
- Agriculture and Small Business
- Appointments and Claims
- Appropriations
- Civil Matters Subcommittee
- Commerce, Public Policy & Interstate Cooperation
- Corrections and Criminal Subcommittee
- Corrections, Criminal, and Civil Matters
- Courts and Juvenile Justice Subcommittee
- Economic Development Subcommittee
- Economic Development and Technology
- Education and Career Development
- Elections & Redistricting Subcommittee
- Energy and Environmental Affairs
- Ethics
- Financial Institutions Subcommittee
- Health and Provider Services
- Homeland Security, Transportation & Veterans Affairs
- Insurance Subcommittee
- Insurance and Financial Institutions
- Joint Rules
- Judiciary
- Local Government Subcommittee
- Local Government and Elections
- Natural Resources
- Pensions and Labor
- Probate Code and Trusts Subcommittee
- Provider Services Subcommittee
- Public Health Subcommittee
- Public Safety Subcommittee
- Rules and Legislative Procedure
- Tax and Fiscal Policy
- Technology Subcommittee
- Transportation Subcommittee
- Utilities & Regulatory Affairs
See also
Notes
External links
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