Florida Senate

Florida Senate
Florida Senate
2022–2024 Florida Legislature
Type
Type	Upper house of the Florida Legislature
Term limits	2–3 terms (8 years)
History
Founded	May 26, 1845
Preceded by	Legislative Council of the Territory of Florida
Leadership
President	Kathleen Passidomo (R) ; since November 22, 2022
President pro tempore	Dennis Baxley (R) ; since November 22, 2022
Majority Leader	Ben Albritton (R) ; since November 14, 2022
Minority Leader	Lauren Book (D) ; since April 28, 2021
Structure
Seats	40
Political groups	Majority Republican (28); Minority Democratic (12);
Length of term	4 years
Authority	Article III, Constitution of Florida
Salary	$29,697.00/year + per diem (Subsistence & Travel)
Elections
Last election	November 8, 2022; (40 seats)
Next election	November 5, 2024; (20 seats)
Redistricting	Legislative control
Motto
	In God We Trust
Meeting place
	Senate Chamber; Florida Capitol; Tallahassee, Florida
Website
	Official website
Footnotes
	^ a b Every 10 years after redistricting, 20 senators are elected to 2 year terms. ;

The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted in 1968, defines the role of the Legislature and how it is to be constituted.^[2] The Senate is composed of 40 members, each elected from a single-member district with a population of approximately 540,000 residents. Legislative districts are drawn on the basis of population figures, provided by the federal decennial census. Senators' terms begin immediately upon their election. The Senate Chamber is located in the State Capitol building.

Following the November 2022 elections, Republicans hold a supermajority in the chamber with 28 seats; Democrats are in the minority with 12 seats.^[3]

Terms

Article III, of the Florida Constitution, defines the terms for state legislators. The Constitution requires state senators from odd-numbered districts to be elected in the years that end in numbers of which are multiples of four. Senators from even-numbered districts are required to be elected in even-numbered years the numbers of which are not multiples of four.

To reflect the results of the U.S. census and the redrawing of district boundaries, all seats are up for election in redistricting years, with some terms truncated as a result. Thus, senators in odd-numbered districts were elected to two-year terms in 2022 (following the 2020 census), and senators in odd-numbered districts will be elected to two-year terms in 2032 (following the 2030 census).

Legislators take office immediately upon election.

Term limits

In a referendum on November 3, 1992, 77% of Florida voters backed Amendment 9, the Florida Term Limits Amendment, which amended the Florida State Constitution, to enact eight-year term limits on federal and state officials. Under the Amendment, former members could be elected again after a two-year break.^[4] In 1995, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton that states could not enact congressional term limits, but ruled that the state-level term limits could remain.^[5]

Qualifications

Florida legislators must be at least twenty-one years old, an elector and resident of their district, and must have resided in Florida for at least two years prior to election.^[2]

Legislative session

Each year during which the Legislature meets constitutes a new legislative session.

Committee weeks

Legislators start committee activity in September of the year prior to the regular legislative session. Because Florida has a part-time legislature, this is necessary to allow legislators time to work their bills through the committee process, prior to the regular session.^[6]

Regular legislative session

The Florida Legislature meets in a 60-day regular legislative session each year. Regular sessions in odd-numbered years must begin on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March. Under the State Constitution, the Legislature can begin even-numbered year regular sessions at a time of its choosing.^[7]

Prior to 1991, regular sessions began in April. Senate Joint Resolution 380 (1989) proposed to the voters a constitutional amendment (approved November 1990) that shifted the starting date of regular sessions from April to February. Subsequently, Senate Joint Resolution 2606 (1994) proposed to the voters a constitutional amendment (approved November 1994) shifting the start date to March, where it remains. The reason for the "first Tuesday after the first Monday" requirement stems back to the time when sessions began in April. Sessions could start any day from April 2 through April 8, but never on April 1 -- April Fool's Day. In recent years, the Legislature has opted to start in January in order to allow lawmakers to be home with their families during school spring breaks, and to give more time ahead of the legislative elections in the Fall.^[8]

Organizational session

On the fourteenth day following each general election, the Legislature meets for an organizational session to organize and select officers.

Special session

Special legislative sessions may be called by the governor, by a joint proclamation of the Senate president and House speaker, or by a three-fifths vote of all legislators. During a special session, the Legislature may only address legislative business that is within the purpose or purposes stated in the proclamation calling the session.^[9]

Powers and process

The Florida Senate is authorized by the Florida Constitution to create and amend the laws of the U.S. state of Florida, subject to the Governor's power to veto legislation. To do so, Legislators propose legislation in the forms of bills drafted by a nonpartisan, professional staff. Successful legislation must undergo committee review, three readings on the floor of each house, with appropriate voting majorities, as required, and either be signed into law by the Governor or enacted through a veto override approved by two-thirds of the membership of each legislative house.^[10]

Its statutes, called "chapter laws" or generically as "slip laws" when printed separately, are compiled into the Laws of Florida and are called "session laws".^[11] The Florida Statutes are the codified statutory laws of the state.^[11]

In 2009, legislators filed 2,138 bills for consideration. On average, the Legislature has passed about 300 bills into law annually.^[12]

In 2013, the legislature filed about 2000 bills. About 1000 of these are "member bills." The remainder are bills by committees responsible for certain functions, such as budget. In 2016, about 15% of the bills were passed.^[13] In 2017, 1,885 lobbyists registered to represent 3,724 entities.^[13]

The Senate also has the power to propose Amendments to the Florida Constitution. Additionally, the Senate has the exclusive power to try officials impeached by the House, and to confirm some executive appointments.

Leadership

The Senate is headed by the Senate President. The Senate President controls the assignment of committees and leadership positions, along with control of the agenda in their chamber. The Senate President, along with the Speaker of the House and Governor, control most of the agenda of state business in Florida.

President: Kathleen Passidomo (R)
President Pro Tempore: Dennis Baxley (R)
Majority Leader: Ben Albritton (R)
Minority Leader: Lauren Book (D)

Composition

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)		Total

	Republican	Democratic		Vacant
End of 2018–20 legislature	23	17	40	0

Start of previous (2020–22) legislature	24	16	40	0
End of previous legislature	23	16	39	1

Start of current (2022–24) legislature	28	12	40	0
Latest voting share	70%	30%

Members, 2022–2024

District	Name	Party	Residence	Counties represented	First elected^[14]	Term up
1	Doug Broxson	Rep	Midway	Escambia, Santa Rosa, part of Okaloosa	2016	2024
2	Jay Trumbull	Rep	Panama City	Bay, Calhoun, Holmes, Jackson, Walton Washington, part of Okaloosa	2022	2026
3	Corey Simon	Rep	Tallahassee	Dixie, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lafayette, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Suwannee, Taylor, Wakulla	2022	2024
4	Clay Yarborough	Rep	Jacksonville	Nassau, part of Duval	2022	2026
5	Tracie Davis	Dem	Jacksonville	Part of Duval	2022	2024
6	Jennifer Bradley	Rep	Fleming Island	Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Gilchrist, Union, part of Alachua	2020	2026
7	Travis Hutson	Rep	St. Augustine	Flagler, Putnam, St. Johns, part of Volusia	2015*	2024
8	Tom A. Wright	Rep	New Smyrna Beach	Parts of Brevard and Volusia	2018	2026
9	Keith Perry	Rep	Gainesville	Alachua, Putnam, part of Marion	2016	2024
10	Jason Brodeur	Rep	Sanford	Seminole, part of Orange	2020	2026
11	Blaise Ingoglia	Rep	Spring Hill	Citrus, Hernando, Sumter, part of Pasco	2022	2024
12	Colleen Burton	Rep	Lakeland	Part of Polk	2022	2026
13	Dennis Baxley	Rep	Eustis	Lake, part of Orange	2016	2024
14	Jay Collins	Rep	Tampa	Part of Hillsborough	2022	2026
15	Geraldine Thompson	Dem	Orlando	Part of Orange	2022, 2012–16	2024
16	Darryl Rouson	Dem	St. Petersburg	Parts of Hillsborough and Pinellas	2016	2026
17	Linda Stewart	Dem	Orlando	Part of Orange	2016	2024
18	Nick DiCeglie	Rep	Indian Rocks Beach	Part of Pinellas	2022	2026
19	Debbie Mayfield	Rep	Melbourne	Part of Brevard	2016	2024
20	Jim Boyd	Rep	Bradenton	Parts of Hillsborough and Manatee	2020	2026
21	Ed Hooper	Rep	Clearwater	Parts of Pasco and Pinellas	2018	2024
22	Joe Gruters	Rep	Sarasota	Sarasota, part of Manatee	2018	2026
23	Danny Burgess	Rep	Zephyrhills	Parts of Hillsborough and Pasco	2020	2024
24	Bobby Powell	Dem	Riviera Beach	Part of Palm Beach	2016	2026
25	Victor M. Torres Jr.	Dem	Orlando	Osceola, part of Orange	2016	2024
26	Lori Berman	Dem	Lantana	Part of Palm Beach	2018*	2026
27	Ben Albritton	Rep	Wauchula	Charlotte, DeSoto, Hardee, parts of Lee and Polk	2018	2024
28	Kathleen Passidomo	Rep	Naples	Collier, Hendry, part of Lee	2016	2026
29	Erin Grall	Rep	Vero Beach	Glades, Highlands, Indian River, Okeechobee, part of St. Lucie	2022	2024
30	Tina Polsky	Dem	Boca Raton	Parts of Broward and Palm Beach	2020	2026
31	Gayle Harrell	Rep	Stuart	Martin, parts of Palm Beach and St. Lucie	2018	2024
32	Rosalind Osgood	Dem	Fort Lauderdale	Part of Broward	2022*	2026
33	Jonathan Martin	Rep	Fort Myers	Part of Lee	2022	2024
34	Shevrin Jones	Dem	West Park	Part of Miami-Dade	2020	2026
35	Lauren Book	Dem	Plantation	Part of Broward	2016	2024
36	Ileana Garcia	Rep	Miami	Part of Miami-Dade	2020	2026
37	Jason Pizzo	Dem	North Miami Beach	Parts of Broward and Miami-Dade	2018	2024
38	Alexis Calatayud	Rep	Miami	Part of Miami-Dade	2022	2026
39	Bryan Avila	Rep	Hialeah	Part of Miami-Dade	2022	2024
40	Ana Maria Rodriguez	Rep	Doral	Monroe, part of Miami-Dade	2020	2026