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Iowa Senate
Type
Type	Upper house
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	Paul McKinley, (R); since November 18, 2008
Structure
Members	50
Political groups	Democratic Party; Republican Party
Election
Last election	November 4, 2008
Meeting place
	Senate Chamber, Iowa State Capitol, Des Moines, IA, US
Website
	http://www.legis.state.ia.us

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

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.

[edit] 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.^[1] 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.^[2] 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 Paul McKinley of the 36th District (Chariton).

[edit] 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	Paul McKinley	Republican	Chariton	36

[edit] Current composition

Map of the Iowa Senate districts

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)		Total

	Democratic	Republican		Vacant
End of previous legislature	30	20	50	0

Begin	32	18	50	0
Latest voting share	64%	36%

[edit] 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.

[edit] References

^ "The Three Branches of Government". Iowa General Assembly. http://www.legis.state.ia.us/Pubinfo/BranchesGov.html. Retrieved 2008-03-10.
^ "The Drafting of Iowa's Constitution". Steven Cross, Iowa General Assembly. http://publications.iowa.gov/archive/00000135/01/history/7-6.html. Retrieved 2008-03-10.

[edit] External links

[0] "The Three Branches of Government". Iowa General Assembly. http://www.legis.state.ia.us/Pubinfo/BranchesGov.html. Retrieved 2008-03-10.

[1] "The Drafting of Iowa's Constitution". Steven Cross, Iowa General Assembly. http://publications.iowa.gov/archive/00000135/01/history/7-6.html. Retrieved 2008-03-10.

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