Indiana Senate

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Coordinates: 38°46′7.54″N 86°9′45.54″E / 38.7687611°N 86.1626500°E / 38.7687611; 86.1626500

Indiana State Senate
Indiana General Assembly

Type
Type	Upper house
Term limits	None
History
New session started	January 5, 2011
Leadership
Lieutenant Governor	Sue Ellspermann, (R) Since January 14, 2013
President Pro Tem of the Senate	David C. Long, (R) Since January 12, 2007
Majority Leader	Brandt Hershman, (R) Since March 16, 2012
Minority Leader	Timothy Lanane, (D) Since November 5, 2008
Structure
Seats	50
Political groups	Republican Party (36) Democratic Party (13)
Length of term	4 years
Authority	Article 4, Indiana Constitution
Salary	$22,616.46/year + per diem
Elections
Last election	November 2, 2010 (25 seats)
Next election	November 6, 2012 (25 seats)
Redistricting	Legislative Control
Meeting place

State Senate Chamber Indiana Statehouse Indianapolis, Indiana
Website
Indiana General Assembly

The Indiana Senate is the upper house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The Senate is composed of 50 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. Senators serve four-year terms without term limits. According to the 2010 census, the average State Senator represents 129,676 people.

The Senate convenes at the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Operating rules

The Indiana State Senate is operated according to a set of internal regulations developed and maintained largely by tradition. These rules are similar to the rules that govern the upper house most of the state senates in the United States.^[1] The Senate convenes its annual session the first Tuesday following the first Monday of January every year. In odd numbered years the senate must meet for 61 days (not necessarily consecutive days), and must adjourn no later than April 30. This is typically called a long session. In even numbered years, when elections are held, the Senate must meet for 30 days (not necessarily consecutive days) and adjourn no later than March 15. This is typically called the short session. The only time the senate may convene outside of these dates is if the Governor calls a special assembly.^[2]

The senate must convene by 1:30 pm each day a session is scheduled. Two thirds of the senators must be present for the session to begin. Senators must be present at each session unless they are explicitly excused by the president-pro-tempore. Members who are not present can be forced to attend the session or be censured and expelled from the body.^[2]

The Lieutenant Governor of Indiana serves as the President of the Senate and is responsible for ensuring that the senate rules are followed by its members. The President of the Senate takes no part in the debates of the senate and may only vote to break ties. The senate also elects a president-pro-tempore, a majority leader, and a minority leader. The president-pro-tempore is typically a senior member of majority party. The president-pro-tempore presides over the senate whenever the President of the Senate is not present. The president-pro-tempore is largely responsible for setting the agenda of the senate.^[2]

When debate occurs in the senate, each senator is granted permission to speak on each issue once. A senator may not speak on an issue more than once without a permission from the rest of the senate, which is attained with a senate vote. A senator can speak for no longer than a half hour at any one time and may be silenced by a majority vote at any time during his or her speech.^[2]

Terms

Article 4 of the Constitution of Indiana places several limitation on the size and composition of the senate.^[3]

The senate can contain no more than fifty members.
The term of a senator lasts four years with 25 senators being elected every two years.
There is no limit to how many terms a senator may be elected.

Qualifications

Article 4 of the Constitution of Indiana states the qualifications to become a senator.^[3]

The candidate must have been a United States Citizen for a minimum of two years prior to his or her candidacy.
The candidate must have been resident of the district which he or she seeks to represent for one year.
The candidate must be at least 25 years of age when he or she is sworn into office.
The candidate cannot hold any other public office in the state or federal government during a senate term.

Composition of the Senate

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)		Total

	Republican	Democratic		Vacant
End 2010 session	33	17	50	0

2011-2012	37	13	50	0

Begin 2013	37	13	50	0
Latest voting share	700174000000000000074%	700126000000000000026%

2011-2012 Officers

Position	Name	Party	District
President of the Senate/Lieutenant Governor	Sue Ellspermann	Republican
President Pro Tem	David C. Long	Republican	16
Majority Leader	Brandt Hershman	Republican	7
Minority Leader	Timothy Lanane	Democratic	25

Members of the Indiana Senate

District	Senator	Party	Residence	First elected	Seat up
1	Frank Mrvan	Dem	Hammond	1998 (1978-1994)	2014
2	Lonnie Randolph	Dem	East Chicago	2008 (1996-2000)	2016
3	Earline S. Rogers	Dem	Gary	1990	2016
4	Karen Tallian	Dem	Portage	2005†	2014
5	Ed Charbonneau	Rep	Valparaiso	2007†	2016
6	Sue Landske	Rep	Cedar Lake	1984	2014
7	Brandt Hershman	Rep	Wheatfield	2000	2016
8	Jim Arnold	Dem	LaPorte	2007†	2016
9	Ryan Mishler	Rep	Bremen	2004	2016
10	John Broden	Dem	South Bend	2000	2016
11	Joe Zakas	Rep	Granger	1982	2014
12	Carlin Yoder	Rep	Goshen	2008	2016
13	Sue Glick	Rep	LaGrange	2010	2016
14	Dennis Kruse	Rep	Auburn	2004	2014
15	Thomas Wyss	Rep	Fort Wayne	1985†	2014
16	David C. Long	Rep	Fort Wayne	1996	2016
17	Jim Banks	Rep	Columbia City	2010	2014
18	Randall Head	Rep	Logansport	2008	2016
19	Travis Holdman	Rep	Markle	2008	2014
20	Luke Kenley	Rep	Noblesville	1992	2016
21	James R. Buck	Rep	Kokomo	2008	2014
22	Ronnie Alting	Rep	Lafayette	1998	2014
23	Phil Boots	Rep	Crawfordsville	2006	2014
24	Pete Miller	Rep	Danville	2012†	2016
25	Timothy Lanane	Dem	Anderson	1997†	2014
26	Doug Eckerty	Rep	Muncie	2010	2014
27	Allen Paul	Rep	Richmond	1986	2014
28	Michael Crider	Rep	Greenfield	2012	2016
29	Mike Delph	Rep	Carmel	2005†	2014
30	Scott Schneider	Rep	Indianapolis	2009†	2016
31	James W. Merritt	Rep	Indianapolis	1990	2014
32	Patricia Miller	Rep	Indianapolis	1983†	2016
33	Greg Taylor	Dem	Indianapolis	2008	2016
34	Jean Breaux	Dem	Indianapolis	2006	2016
35	R. Michael Young	Rep	Indianapolis	2000	2016
36	Brent Waltz	Rep	Greenwood	2004	2016
37	Rod Bray	Rep	Martinsville	2012	2016
38	Timothy Skinner	Dem	Terre Haute	2002	2014
39	John Waterman	Rep	Shelburn	1994	2014
40	Mark Stoops	Dem	Bloomington	2012	2016
41	Greg Walker	Rep	Columbus	2006	2014
42	Jean Leising	Rep	Oldenburg	2008 (1988-1996)	2016
43	Johnny Nugent	Rep	Lawrenceburg	1978	2014
44	Brent Steele	Rep	Bedford	2004	2016
45	Jim Smith	Rep	Charlestown	2010	2014
46	Ron Grooms	Rep	Jeffersonville	2010	2014
47	Richard D. Young	Dem	Milltown	1988	2014
48	Lindel Hume	Dem	Princeton	1982	2014
49	Jim Tomes	Rep	Evansville	2010	2014
50	Vaneta Becker	Rep	Evansville	2005†	2016

†Member was originally appointed or won the seat in a special election.

Committees

The Senate has various committees that are charged with overseeing different areas of the state government and drafting legislation. These committees are bipartisan and contain between three and eleven members split between the parties according to their ratio of members in the Senate. Each committee chairman is a member of the majority party.^[4] The current committees include:

Agriculture and Small Business
Appointments and Claims
Appropriations
Civil Matters Subcommittee
Commerce, Public Policy & Interstate Cooperation
Corrections and Criminal Subcommittee
Corrections, Criminal, and Civil Matters
Courts and Juvenile Justice Subcommittee
Economic Development Subcommittee
Economic Development and Technology
Education and Career Development
Elections & Redistricting Subcommittee
Energy and Environmental Affairs
Ethics
Financial Institutions Subcommittee
Health and Provider Services
Homeland Security, Transportation & Veterans Affairs
Insurance Subcommittee
Insurance and Financial Institutions
Joint Rules
Judiciary
Local Government Subcommittee
Local Government and Elections
Natural Resources
Pensions and Labor
Probate Code and Trusts Subcommittee
Provider Services Subcommittee
Public Health Subcommittee
Public Safety Subcommittee
Rules and Legislative Procedure
Tax and Fiscal Policy
Technology Subcommittee
Transportation Subcommittee
Utilities & Regulatory Affairs

Notes

↑ Indiana General Assembly. "Senate Operating Rules". IN.gov. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Senate Operating Rules". IN.gov. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
↑ 3.0 3.1 "Art IV of the Constitution of Indiana". Indiana Historical Bureau. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
↑ "Standing Committees". IN.gov. Retrieved 2008-06-01.

External links

Members of the Indiana State Senate

118th General Assembly (2013-2015)

President of the Senate: Sue Ellspermann (R)
President pro tempore: David C. Long (R)
Majority Leader: Brandt Hershman (R)
Minority Leader: Timothy Lanane (D)

Frank Mrvan (D)
Lonnie Randolph (D)
Earline S. Rogers (D)
Karen Tallian (D)
Ed Charbonneau (R)
Sue Landske (R)
Brandt Hershman (R)
Jim Arnold (D)
Ryan Mishler (R)
John Broden (D)

Joe Zakas (R)
Carlin Yoder (R)
Sue Glick (R)
Dennis Kruse (R)
Thomas Wyss (R)
David C. Long (R)
Jim Banks (R)
Randall Head (R)
Travis Holdman (R)
Luke Kenley (R)

James R. Buck (R)
Ronnie Alting (R)
Phil Boots (R)
Pete Miller (R)
Timothy Lanane (D)
Doug Eckerty (R)
Allen Paul (R)
Michael Crider (R)
Mike Delph (R)
Scott Schneider (R)

Greg Walker (R)
Jean Leising (R)
Johnny Nugent (R)
Brent Steele (R)
Jim C. Smith (R)
Ron Grooms (R)
Richard D. Young (D)
Lindel Hume (D)
Jim Tomes (R)
Vaneta Becker (R)

v t e Government of Indiana

Indiana Statehouse Indianapolis (capital)

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