| Senate of Tennessee | |
|---|---|
| Tennessee General Assembly | |
| Type | |
| Type | Upper house |
| Term limits | None |
| New session started | January 11, 2011 |
| Leadership | |
| Speaker of the Senate | Ron Ramsey, (R) since January 9, 2007 |
| Speaker pro Tempore | Jamie Woodson, (R) since January 13, 2009 |
| Majority Leader | Mark Norris, (R) since January 9, 2007 |
| Minority Leader | Jim Kyle, (D) since January 9, 2007 |
| Structure | |
| Members | 33 |
| Political groups | Republican Party (20) Democratic Party (13) |
| Length of term | 4 years |
| Authority | Article III, Tennessee Constitution |
| Salary | $19,009/year + per diem |
| Elections | |
| Last election | November 2, 2010 (17 seats) |
| Next election | November 6, 2012 (16 seats) |
| Redistricting | Legislative Control |
| Meeting place | |
| State Senate Chamber Tennessee State Capitol Nashville, Tennessee |
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| Website | |
| Tennessee State Senate | |
The Tennessee Senate is the upper house of the Tennessee state legislature, which is known formally as the Tennessee General Assembly.
The Tennessee Senate, according to the state constitution of 1870, is composed of 33 members, one-third the size of the Tennessee House of Representatives. Senators are to be elected from districts of substantially equal population. According to the constitution a county is not to be joined to a portion of another county for purposes of creating a district; this provision has been overridden by the rulings of the Supreme Court of the United States in Baker v. Carr (369 US 182 1962) and Reynolds v. Sims (337 U.S. 356 1964) The Tennessee constitution has been amended to allow that if these rulings are ever changed or reversed, a referendum may be held to allow the senate districts to be drawn on a basis other than substantially equal population.
Until 1966, Tennessee state senators served two-year terms. That year the system was changed, by constitutional amendment, to allow four-year terms. In that year, senators in even-numbered districts were elected to two-year terms and those in odd-numbered districts were elected to four-year terms. This created a staggered system in which only half of the senate is up for election at any one time. Districts are to be sequentially and consecutively numbered; the scheme basically runs from east to west and north to south.
Republicans attained an elected majority in the Senate in the 104th General Assembly (2005–2006) for the first time since Reconstruction; a brief majority in the 1990s was the result of two outgoing senators switching parties.
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The senate elects one of its own members as Speaker; the Speaker automatically becomes Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee. The current Speaker of the Senate and Lieutenant Governor is Ron Ramsey, who was elected to the position in 2007. One of the main duties of the speaker is to preside over the senate and make senate committee appointments. The speaker also controls staffing and office space with senate staff. Speaker serves as an ex-officio member of all standing committees.
| Affiliation | Party
(Shading indicates majority caucus)
|
Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Democratic | Vacant | |||
| End of previous legislature | 19 | 14 | 33 | 0 | |
| Begin | 20 | 13 | 33 | 0 | |
| March 8, 2011[1] | |||||
| July 1, 2011[2] | 19 | 32 | 1 | ||
| November 8, 2011[3] | 20 | 33 | 0 | ||
| Latest voting share | 60.6% | 39.4% | |||
Senate Leaders
Majority Leadership (R)
Minority Leadership (D)
Senate Members
| District | Name | Party | Counties Represented |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steve Southerland | Rep | Cocke, Greene, Hamblen, and Unicoi |
| 2 | Ron Ramsey | Rep | Johnson and Sullivan |
| 3 | Rusty Crowe | Rep | Washington and Carter |
| 4 | Mike Faulk | Rep | Clairborne, Grainger, Hancock, Hawkins, Jefferson, and Union |
| 5 | Randy McNally | Rep | Anderson, Loudon, Monroe, and part of Knox |
| 6 | Jamie Woodson | Rep | Part of Knox |
| 7 | Stacey Campfield | Rep | Part of Knox |
| 8 | Doug Overbey | Rep | Blount and Sevier |
| 9 | Mike Bell | Rep | Bradley, McMinn, Meigs, and Polk |
| 10 | Andy Berke | Dem | Part of Hamilton, Marion |
| 11 | Bo Watson | Rep | Part of Hamilton |
| 12 | Ken Yager | Rep | Campbell, Fentress, Morgan, Rhea, Roane, and Scott |
| 13 | Bill Ketron | Rep | Lincoln, Marshall, Maury, and part of Rutherford |
| 14 | Eric Stewart | Dem | Franklin, Bledsoe, Coffee, Grundy, Sequatchie, Van Buren, and Warren |
| 15 | Charlotte Burks | Dem | Cumberland, Jackson, Overton, Pickett, Putnam, and White |
| 16 | Jim Tracy | Rep | Bedford, Moore, and part of Rutherford |
| 17 | Mae Beavers | Rep | Cannon, Clay, DeKalb, Macon, Smith, part of Sumner, Trousdale, and Wilson |
| 18 | Kerry Roberts | Rep | Sumner and Robertson |
| 19 | Thelma Harper | Dem | Part of Davidson |
| 20 | Joe M. Haynes | Dem | Part of Davidson |
| 21 | Douglas Henry | Dem | part of Davisdon |
| 22 | Tim Barnes | Dem | Montgomery, Houston, Cheatam |
| 23 | Jack Johnson | Rep | Williamson and part of Davidson |
| 24 | Roy Herron | Dem | Benton, Decatur, Henry, Henderson, Lake, Obion, Perry, Stewart, and Weakley |
| 25 | Jim Summerville | Rep | Dickson, Giles, Hickman, Humphreys, Lawrence, and Lewis |
| 26 | Dolores Gresham | Rep | Chester, Crockett, Fayette, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, McNairy, and Wayne |
| 27 | Lowe Finney | Dem | Carroll, Madison, Gibson |
| 28 | Jim Kyle | Dem | part of Shelby |
| 29 | Ophelia Ford | Dem | part of Shelby |
| 30 | Beverly Marrero | Dem | part of Shelby |
| 31 | Brian Kelsey | Rep | part of Shelby |
| 32 | Mark Norris | Rep | Dyer, Lauderdale, Tipton, and part of Shelby |
| 33 | Reginald Tate | Dem | part of Shelby |
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