Florida Senate

Florida Senate
Florida State Legislature
Type
Type	Upper House
Term limits	2 terms (8 years)
New session started	March 8, 2011
Leadership
President of the Senate	Mike Haridopolos, (R) since November 16, 2010
President pro tempore	Mike Bennett, (R) since November 16, 2010
Majority Leader	Andy Gardiner, (R) since November 16, 2010
Minority Leader	Nan Rich, (D) since November 16, 2010
Structure
Members	40
Political groups	Republican Party (28) Democratic Party (12)
Length of term	4 years
Authority	Article I, Section 1, Florida Constitution
Salary	$29,697/year + per diem
Elections
Last election	November 2, 2010 (24 seats)
Next election	November 6, 2012 (40 seats)
Redistricting	Legislative Control
Motto
In God We Trust
Meeting place
State Senate Chamber Florida Capitol Tallahassee, Florida
Website
Florida State Senate

Florida

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Florida

Constitution United States Constitution Florida Constitution Executive Government Governor: Rick Scott Lieutenant Governor: Jennifer Carroll Attorney General: Pam Bondi Chief Financial Officer: Jeff Atwater Commissioner of Agriculture: Adam Putnam Secretary of State: Dawn K. Roberts Commissioner of Education: Eric J. Smith Legislature Legislature Senate President: Mike Haridopolos President pro Tempore: Mike Bennett Majority Leader: Andy Gardiner Minority Leader: Nan Rich House Speaker: Dean Cannon Speaker pro Tempore: John Legg Majority Leader: Carlos Lopez-Cantera Minority Leader: Ronald Saunders Judiciary Supreme Court Courts of Appeal Circuit Courts Elections Elections Political parties Democratic Party Republican Party Green Party Libertarian Party American Independent Party Peace and Freedom Party National minor parties Political party strength Divisions Counties Cities and Towns Federal relations Federal representation United States Senate Bill Nelson (D) Marco Rubio (R) House of Representatives 1: Jeff Miller (R) 2: Steve Southerland (R) 3: Corrine Brown (D) 4: Ander Crenshaw (R) 5: Rich Nugent (R) 6: Cliff Stearns (R) 7: John L. Mica (R) 8: Daniel Webster (R) 9: Gus Bilirakis (R) 10: Bill Young (R) 11: Kathy Castor (D) 12: Dennis Ross (R) 13: Vern Buchanan (R) 14: Connie Mack IV (R) 15: Bill Posey (R) 16: Tom Rooney (R) 17: Frederica Wilson (D) 18: Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R) 19: Ted Deutch (D) 20: Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D) 21: Mario Diaz-Balart (R) 22: Allen West (R) 23: Alcee Hastings (D) 24: Sandy Adams (R) 25: David Rivera (R) Politics of the United States

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The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida. The Senate is composed of 40 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 470,032.

The Senate convenes at the State Capitol in Tallahassee. Senators serve four-year terms, and are restricted by term limits, confining them to two consecutive four-year terms (eight years).

Contents 1 Membership 2 Session 3 Composition 3.1 Leadership 3.2 Members, 2010-2012 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

Membership

In most cases, Senators in odd-numbered districts are elected in years divisible by four (in tandem with U.S. Presidential elections), and Senators in even-numbered districts are elected alongside elections for Florida's statewide offices. However, to reflect the results of the Census and revisions in Senate district boundaries, all Senators are up for re-election in those years ending in the digit 2 (e.g., 2002, 2012). Thus, odd-number district Senators were elected to two-year terms in 2002, and even-number district Senators will be elected to two-year terms in 2012.

Session

The entire Florida Legislature meets every year in a session beginning on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March and lasting 60 calendar days. Special sessions may be called either by the Governor or by the leaders of both chambers acting jointly. Florida Senate and Florida House districts are both organized by population over certain geographic areas. Although there are exactly three times as many members of the House (120) as in the Senate (40), the Senate districts do not consist of three Representative districts; the boundaries are independent.

Composition

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)		Total
	Republican	Democratic		Vacant
End of previous legislature	26	13	39	1
Begin	28	12	40	0
December 31, 2010[1]		11	39	1
March 1, 2011[2]		12	40	0
October 1, 2011[3]		11	39	1
October 19, 2011[4]		12	40	0
Latest voting share	70%	30%

Leadership

Position	Name	Party	District
President of the Senate	Mike Haridopolos	Republican	26
President pro tempore	Mike Bennett	Republican	21
Majority Leader	Andy Gardiner	Republican	9
Minority Leader	Nan Rich	Democratic	34
Minority Leader pro tempore	Arthenia Joyner	Democratic	18

Members, 2010-2012

District	Name	Party	County(ies) represented	Term Up
1	Audrey Gibson	Dem	Parts of Duval, Flagler, Putnam, St. Johns and Volusia	2012
2	Greg Evers	Rep	Holmes, Washington, parts of Bay, Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Walton	2012
3	Charlie Dean	Rep	Baker, Dixie, Hamilton, Suwannee, Taylor, parts of Citrus, Columbia, Jefferson, Leon, Levy, Madison and Marion	2012
4	Don Gaetz	Rep	Parts of Bay, Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Walton	2012
5	Stephen R. Wise	Rep	Parts of Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns	2012
6	Bill Montford	Dem	Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Jackson, Liberty, Wakulla, parts of Bay, Jefferson, Leon, Madison	2012
7	Evelyn J. Lynn	Rep	Parts of Clay, Marion, Putnam and Volusia	2012
8	John Thrasher	Rep	Parts of Duval, Flagler, Nassau, St. Johns, and Volusia counties	2012
9	Andy Gardiner	Rep	Parts of Orange, Osceola and Seminole	2012
10	Ronda Storms	Rep	Parts of Hillsborough, Pasco and Polk	2012
11	Mike Fasano	Rep	Parts of Citrus, Hernando, Pasco, Pinellas	2012
12	Jim Norman	Rep	Parts of Hillsborough and Pasco	2012
13	Dennis L. Jones	Rep	Part of Pinellas	2012
14	Steve Oelrich	Rep	Alachua, Bradford, Gilchrist, Union, parts of Columbia, Levy, Marion and Putnam	2012
15	Paula Dockery	Rep	Parts of Hernando, Lake, Osceola, Polk and Sumter	2012
16	Jack Latvala	Rep	Parts of Hillsborough and Pinellas	2012
17	J.D. Alexander	Rep	Hardee, Highlands, parts of DeSoto, Glades, Okeechobee, Polk and St. Lucie	2012
18	Arthenia Joyner	Dem	Parts of Hillsborough, Manatee and Pinellas	2012
19	Gary Siplin	Dem	Parts of Orange and Osceloa	2012
20	Alan Hays	Rep	Parts of Lake, Marion, Seminole, Sumter and Volusia	2012
21	Mike Bennett	Rep	Parts of Charlotte, DeSoto, Lee, Manatee and Sarasota	2012
22	David Simmons	Rep	Parts of Orange and Seminole	2012
23	Nancy Detert	Rep	Parts of Charlotte, Manatee and Sarasota	2012
24	Thad Altman	Rep	Parts of Brevard, Orange and Seminole	2012
25	Ellyn Bogdandoff	Rep	Parts of Broward and Palm Beach	2012
26	Mike Haridopolos	Rep	Parts of Brevard, Indian River, Osceola and St. Lucie	2012
27	Lizbeth Benacquisto	Rep	Parts of Charlotte, Glades, Hendry, Lee and Palm Beach	2012
28	Joe Negron	Rep	Martin, parts of Indian River, Okeechobee, Palm Beach and St. Lucie	2012
29	Chris Smith	Dem	Parts of Broward and Palm Beach	2012
30	Maria Lorts Sachs	Dem	Parts of Broward and Palm Beach	2012
31	Eleanor Sobel	Dem	Part of Broward	2012
32	Jeremy Ring	Dem	Part of Broward	2012
33	Oscar Braynon II	Dem	Part of Miami-Dade	2012
34	Nan Rich	Dem	Parts of Broward and Miami-Dade	2012
35	Gwen Margolis	Dem	Parts of Broward and Miami-Dade	2012
36	Miguel Diaz de la Portilla	Rep	Part of Miami-Dade	2012
37	Garrett Richter	Rep	Parts of Collier and Lee	2012
38	Anitere Flores	Rep	Part of Miami-Dade	2012
39	Larcenia Bullard	Dem	Monroe, Parts of Broward, Collier, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach	2012
40	Rene Garcia	Rep	Part of Miami-Dade	2012

See also

• Florida Legislature
• Florida House of Representatives
• Government of Florida
• Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability
• The Florida Channel
• List of Presidents of the Florida Senate

References

External links

• The Florida Senate official government website
• State Senate of Florida at Project Vote Smart
• Florida Senate at Ballotpedia

Members of the Florida State Senate President of the Senate: Mike Haridopolos (R) • President pro Tempore: Mike Bennett (R) • Majority Leader: Andy Gardiner (R) • Minority Leader: Nan Rich (D)        Audrey Gibson (D)    Greg Evers (R)    Charlie Dean (R)    Don Gaetz (R)    Stephen R. Wise (R)    Bill Montford (D)    Evelyn J. Lynn (R)    John E. Thrasher (R)    Andy Gardiner (R)    Ronda Storms (R)    Mike Fasano (R)    Jim Norman (R)    Dennis L. Jones (R)    Steve Oelrich (R)    Paula Dockery (R)    Jack Latvala (R)    J.D. Alexander (R)    Arthenia Joyner (D)    Gary Siplin (D)    Alan Hays (R)    Mike Bennett (R)    David H. Simmons (R)    Nancy C. Detert (R)    Thad Altman (R)    Ellyn Bogdanoff (R)    Mike Haridopolos (R)    Lizbeth Benacquisto (R)    Joe Negron (R)    Chris Smith (D)    Maria Sachs (D)    Eleanor Sobel (D)    Jeremy Ring (D)    Oscar Braynon II (D)    Nan Rich (D)    Gwen Margolis (D)    Miguel Diaz de la Portilla (R)    Garrett Richter (R)    Anitere Flores (R)    Larcenia Bullard (D)    Rene Garcia (R)    Republican (28) •    Democratic (12) • Florida Legislature • Florida House of Representatives • Florida State Senate

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