Iowa Senate

Iowa State Senate
Iowa General Assembly
Type
Type	Upper house
Term limits	None
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
Members	50
Political groups	Democratic Party (26) Republican Party (24)
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 with legislative approval
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. There are 50 members of the Senate, representing 50 single-member districts across the state with populations of approximately 59,500 per constituency. 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 half of the Senate staggered for re-election every two years. There are no term limits for the Senate.

Leadership

The President of the Senate presides over the body, whose powers include referring bills to committee, 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. Since the passage of an amendment to the Iowa Constitution by state voters in 1988 and made effective in 1991, the Lieutenant Governor of Iowa has no presiding role over the Senate, and instead has had its powers transferred to taking duties designated by the Governor of Iowa. 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 Democrat Jack Kibbie of the 4th District (Emmetsburg). The Majority Leader is Democrat Michael Gronstal of the 50th District (Council Bluffs). The Minority Leader is Republican Jerry Behn of the 24th District (Boone).

Leaders

Position	Name	Party	Residence	District
President of the Senate	Jack Kibbie	Democratic	Emmetsburg	4
Majority Leader	Michael Gronstal	Democratic	Council Bluffs	50
Minority Leader	Jerry Behn	Republican	Boone	24

Current composition

Iowa Senate districts for 2012-2022

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)		Total
	Democratic	Republican		Vacant
End of previous legislature	27	22	49	1
Begin	26	24	50	0
September 16, 2011	25		49	1
November 21, 2011	26		50	0
Latest voting share	52%	48%

Past notable members

• Steve King, current 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, briefly 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, Secretary of Agriculture of Iowa from 1999 to 2007, Lt. Governor of Iowa from 2007 to 2011

External links

• Iowa Legislature official government website
• Iowa Senate at Ballotpedia
• State Senate of Iowa at Project Vote Smart
• Iowa Senate Democrats
• Iowa Senate Republicans