Florida State Senate
| Florida Senate | |
|---|---|
| 2016-18 Florida Legislature | |
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| Type | |
| Type |
Upper house of the Florida Legislature
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|
Term limits
|
2 terms (8 years) |
| History | |
| Founded | January 7, 1839 |
| Preceded by | Legislative Council of the Territory of Florida |
|
New session started
|
March 7, 2017 |
| Leadership | |
|
President pro tempore
|
|
|
Majority Leader
|
|
|
Minority Leader
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|
| Structure | |
| Seats | 40 |
 |
|
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Political groups
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|
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Length of term
|
4 years |
| Authority | Article III, Florida Constitution |
| Salary | $29,697/year + per diem |
| Elections | |
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Last election
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November 8, 2016 (40 seats) |
|
Next election
|
November 6, 2018 (20 seats) |
| Redistricting | Legislative Control |
| Motto | |
| In God We Trust | |
| Meeting place | |
 |
|
| Senate Chamber Florida Capitol Tallahassee, Florida |
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| Website | |
| Florida Senate | |
The Florida Senate is the upper house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Florida. Along with the House of Representatives, it comprises the Florida Legislature. The Senate has 40 members, each elected from a single-member district with a population of about 470,000. The Senate meets at the State Capitol in Tallahassee.
Senators generally serve four-year terms and are restricted by term limits, barring them from running for re-election if they have served in office for the past eight consecutive years. This ordinarily limits senators to two four-year terms.
The Florida Constitution establishes the legislature’s powers and duties, which include passing laws, developing an annual state budget, and making investigations. Additionally, the Senate has the exclusive power to try officials impeached by the House, and to confirm some executive appointments.
The Senate has its origins in Florida’s territorial period, when the Florida Territorial Council was made bicameral in 1838.
The Florida Constitution requires state senators to be elected to staggered, four-year terms. Senators in odd-numbered districts are elected in U.S. presidential election years, while senators in even-numbered districts are elected in midterm election years. However, 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 even-numbered districts were elected to two-year terms in 2012 (following the 2010 Census), and senators in odd-numbered districts will be elected to two-year terms in 2022 (following the 2020 Census). All terms were truncated again in 2016, with all 40 seats up for election, due to court-ordered redistricting.
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