Maine Senate

Maine State Senate
Maine State Legislature
Type
Type	Upper house
Term limits	4 Terms (8 years)
History
New session started	December 3, 2014
Leadership
President of the Senate	Michael Thibodeau (R) since December 3, 2014
Majority Leader	Garrett Mason (R) since December 3, 2014
Minority Leader	Justin Alfond (D) since December 3, 2014
Structure
Seats	35
Political groups	Governing party   Republican (20) Opposition party   Democratic (15)
Length of term	2 years
Authority	Article IV, Part Second, Maine Constitution
Salary	Session 1: $13,526/year Session 2: $9,661/year + per diem
Elections
Last election	November 4, 2014 (35 seats)
Next election	November 8, 2016 (35 seats)
Redistricting	Legislative Control
Meeting place
State Senate Chamber Maine State House Augusta, Maine
Website
Maine State Senate

The Maine Senate is the upper house of the Maine Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. The Senate currently consists of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the state, though the Maine Constitution allows for "an odd number of Senators, not less than 31 nor more than 35".^[1] Unlike the lower House, the Senate does not set aside nonvoting seats for Native tribes. Because it is a part-time position, members of the Maine Senate usually have outside employment as well.

The Senate meets at the Maine State House in Augusta. Members are limited to four consecutive terms with each term being two years but may run again after a two year wait.

Leadership

Unlike many U.S. states, the Senate's leader is not the lieutenant governor, as Maine does not have a lieutenant governor. Instead, the Senate chooses its own president, who is also the first in the line of gubernatorial succession.

Composition of the Senate

127th Legislature, 2014-2016

One seat was initially in dispute due to a discrepancy in the number of ballots counted. Senate District 25 was won on election night by Democrat Catherine Breen by 32 votes. However, a recount put Republican Cathy Manchester in the lead by 11. The new Republican-led Senate formed a committee to determine what happened and who won the seat. Manchester, the Republican, was provisionally seated pending the outcome of the investigation.^[3] The committee found during its investigation that 21 ballots for Manchester were counted twice,^[4] which meant that Breen was the actual winner. Manchester resigned her seat and conceded Breen won the race.^[5]

Officers

Members of the Maine Senate

Districts are currently numbered starting with 1 from north to south. This is reversed after each decennial redistricting, which will next occur in 2021 and will go into effect beginning with the 2022 primary and general elections. The current district lines, which were drawn in 2013 and were first used in the 2014 primary and general elections, will only be in effect for 8 years rather than the usual 10 as Maine adjusts its legislative redistricting cycle to conform with most other states.

References

External links

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