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Iowa Senate | |
|---|---|
| Iowa General Assembly | |
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
Term limits | None |
| History | |
New session started | January 9, 2023 |
| Leadership | |
President | |
President pro tempore | |
Majority Leader | |
Minority Leader | |
| Structure | |
 | |
Political groups | Majority
Minority |
Length of term | 4 years |
| Authority | Legislative Department, Section 3, Iowa Constitution |
| Salary | $25,000/year + per diem |
| Elections | |
Last election | November 8, 2022 (25 seats) |
Next election | November 5, 2024 (25 seats) |
| Redistricting | Legislative Service Agency with legislative approval |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| State Senate Chamber Iowa State Capitol Des Moines, Iowa | |
| Website | |
| Iowa General Assembly | |
| Rules | |
| 90th General Assembly Senate Rules | |
The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly. There are 50 seats in the Iowa Senate, representing 50 single-member districts across the state of Iowa with populations of approximately 60,927 per constituency, as of the 2010 United States census[update].[1] Each Senate district is composed of two House districts. The Senate meets at the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines.
Unlike the lower house, the Iowa House of Representatives, senators serve four-year terms, with no term limits. Terms are staggered so that half the Senate is up for reelection every two years.
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The President of the Senate presides over the body, whose powers include referring bills to committees, recognizing members during debate, and making procedural rulings. Unlike the more powerful Speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives, the Senate President cannot appoint committee chairmanships or shuffle committee memberships.[2] The Lieutenant Governor of Iowa was the presiding officer of the Senate until 1988, when an amendment to the Constitution of Iowa was passed in a referendum (effective from 1991).[3] The other partisan Senate leadership positions, such as the Majority and Minority leaders, are elected by their respective party caucuses to head their parties in the chamber.
The President of the Senate is Republican Amy Sinclair of the 12th District. The Majority Leader is Republican Jack Whitver of the 23rd District. The Minority Leader is Democrat Pam Jochum of the 36th District.[4]
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| Committee | Chair | Vice Chair | Ranking Member |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture | Dan Zumbach | Annette Sweeney | Kevin Kinney |
| Appropriations | Tim Kraayenbrink | Mark Lofgren | Joe Bolkcom |
| Commerce | Jason Schultz | Carrie Koelker | Jim Lykam |
| Education | Amy Sinclair | Jeff Taylor | Herman Quirmbach |
| Ethics | Carrie Koelker | Jim Carlin | Pam Jochum |
| Government Oversight | Jason Schultz | Craig Williams | Claire Celsi |
| Human Resources | Jeff Edler | Mark Costello | Liz Mathis |
| Judiciary | Brad Zaun | Julian Garrett | Kevin Kinney |
| Labor and Business Relations | Zach Whiting | Jesse Green | Nate Boulton |
| Local Government | Tom Shipley | Mike Klimesh | Jackie Smith |
| Natural Resources and Environment | Annette Sweeney | Dawn Driscoll | Sarah Trone Garriott |
| Rules and Administration | Jack Whitver | Jake Chapman | Zach Wahls |
| State Government | Roby Smith | Chris Cournoyer | Tony Bisignano |
| Transportation | Waylon Brown | Adrian Dickey | Eric Giddens |
| Veterans Affairs | Jim Carlin | Jeff Reichman | Eric Giddens |
| Ways and Means | Dan Dawson | Tim Goodwin | Pam Jochum |
*All chairs and vice chairs are Republicans. All ranking members are Democrats.[5]
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| Affiliation | Party (shading indicates majority caucus) |
Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Republican | Independent | Vacant | ||
| End 2012 | 26 | 23 | 0 | 49 | 1 |
| Begin 2013 | 26 | 24 | 0 | 50 | 0 |
| End of 2014 session | |||||
| Begin 2015 | 26 | 24 | 0 | 50 | 0 |
| End 2016 session[6] | 23 | 1 | |||
| Begin 2017 | 20 | 29 | 1 | 50 | 0 |
| End 2018 | 50 | 0 | |||
| Begin 2019 | 18 | 32 | 0 | 50 | 0 |
| Begin 2023 | 16 | 34 | 0 | 50 | 0 |
| Latest voting share | 32% | 68% | 0% | ||
Past notable members
- Samuel J. Kirkwood, two-time governor of Iowa (1860–64, 1876–77); two time U.S. senator (1866–67), (1877–81); U.S. secretary of the interior (1881–82)
- George G. Wright, U.S. senator from 1871 to 1877
- Tom Vilsack, Incumbent United States secretary of agriculture since 2021 and from 2009 to 2017, former governor of Iowa from 1999 to 2007, and briefly Democratic candidate for president of the United States in 2008
- George A. Wilson, governor of Iowa from 1939 to 1943
- Patty Judge, former lieutenant governor of Iowa (2007–2011), former Iowa secretary of agriculture (1999–2007)
- Steve King, former U.S. representative for Iowa's 4th congressional district (2003–2021)
- Joni Ernst, Incumbent U.S. senator, since 2015
- Kim Reynolds, Incumbent governor of Iowa since 2017, former lieutenant governor of Iowa (2011–2017)
- Randy Feenstra, Incumbent U.S. representative for Iowa's 4th congressional district since 2021
- Mariannette Miller-Meeks, U.S. representative for Iowa's 2nd congressional district since 2021 and Republican nominee for Iowa's 2nd congressional district in 2008, 2010, and 2014
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