Florida Senate
Florida State Legislature
Type
Type	Upper House
Term limits	2 terms (8 years)
History
New session started	March 5, 2013
Leadership
President of the Senate	Don Gaetz, (R) Since November 6, 2012
President pro tempore	Garrett Richter, (R) Since November 6, 2012
Majority Leader	Lizbeth Benacquisto, (R) Since November 6, 2012
Minority Leader	Chris Smith, (D) Since November 6, 2012
Structure
Seats	40
Political groups	Republican Party (26) Democratic Party (14)
Length of term	4 years
Authority	Article I, Section 1, Florida Constitution
Salary	$29,697/year + per diem
Elections
Last election	November 6, 2012 (40 seats)
Next election	November 4, 2014 (20 seats)
Redistricting	Legislative Control
Motto
In God We Trust
Meeting place
State Senate Chamber Florida Capitol Tallahassee, Florida
Website
Florida State Senate

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v t e

The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the US 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).

Membership [edit]

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 [edit]

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. ^[1] 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 [edit]

Leadership [edit]

Members, 2012–2014 [edit]

District map [edit]

Districts and party composition of the Florida Senate following the 2012 elections

See also [edit]

• Florida Legislature
• Florida House of Representatives
• Florida Senate Majority Office
• Government of Florida
• Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability
• The Florida Channel
• List of Presidents of the Florida Senate
• American Legislative Exchange Council members

References [edit]

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Florida State Senators

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

v t e Members of the Florida Senate President of the Senate: Don Gaetz (R) President pro tempore: Garrett Richter (R) Majority Leader: Lizbeth Benacquisto (R) Minority Leader: Christopher L. "Chris" Smith (D)        Don Gaetz (R)    Greg Evers (R)    Bill Montford (D)    Aaron Bean (R)    Charles S. "Charlie" Dean, Sr. (R)    John E. Thrasher (R)    Rob Bradley (R)    Dorothy L. Hukill (R)    Audrey Gibson (D)    David Simmons (R)    Alan Hays (R)    Geraldine F. "Geri" Thompson (D)    Andy Gardiner (R)    Darren Soto (D)    Kelli Stargel (R)    Thad Altman (R)    John Legg (R)    Wilton Simpson (R)    Arthenia L. Joyner (D)    Jack Latvala (R)    Denise Grimsley (R)    Jeff Brandes (R)    Garrett Richter (R)    Tom Lee (R)    Joseph Abruzzo (D)    Bill Galvano (R)    Jeff Clemens (D)    Nancy C. Detert (R)    Jeremy Ring (D)    Lizbeth Benacquisto (R)    Christopher L. Smith (D)    Joe Negron (R)    Eleanor Sobel (D)    Maria Lorts Sachs (D)    Gwen Margolis (D)    Oscar Braynon, II (D)    Anitere Flores (R)    Rene Garcia (R)    Dwight Bullard (D)    Miguel Diaz de la Portilla (R)    Republican (26)    Democratic (14) Florida Legislature Florida House of Representatives Florida State Senate