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Georgia State Senate
General Information
Type:	Upper house
Term limits:	None
2012 session start:	January 9, 2012
Website:	Official Senate Page
Leadership
Senate President:	Casey Cagle (R)
Majority Leader:	Chip Rogers (R)
Minority leader:	Steve Henson (D)
Structure
Members:	56
	Democratic Party (20) Republican Party (36)
Length of term:	2 years
Authority:	Art III, Section 4, Georgia Constitution
Salary:	$17,342/year + per diem
Elections
Last Election:	November 2, 2010 (56 seats)
Next election:	November 6, 2012 (56 seats)
Redistricting:	Georgia Legislature has control
Meeting place:

The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, which is the state legislature of Georgia.

The senate includes 56 state senators, each representing an average of 172,994 residents, as of the 2010 Census.^[1] After the 2000 Census, each member represented 157,437 residents.^[2] The Lieutenant Governor serves as President of the Georgia State Senate and is granted the right to vote in the event the Senate is tied on a vote. In accordance with Paragraph 5, Section II, Article III of the Georgia Constitution, Georgia state senators serve two-year terms without term limits.

The Georgia Senate convenes on the second Monday of January each year and by law can meet for no longer than 40 legislative days. In 2010, the Senate was in session from January 11th to April 29th.^[3]

Sessions

Section 4 of Article III of the Georgia Constitution establishes when the Georgia General Assembly, which the Senate is a part of, is to meet in regular session. The General Assembly must convene annually by the second Monday in January, and its sessions can last for only forty legislative days.^[4] Prefiling begins November 15 and runs until the start of the session.

2012

See also: Dates of 2012 state legislative sessions

In 2012, the Senate will be in regular session from January 9 through mid-April.

Major issues

Legislators expect to overhaul the state tax code, cut state government and seek economic incentives that would lead to job growth.^[5]

2011

See also: Dates of 2011 state legislative sessions

In 2011, the Senate was in regular session from January 10 through April 14. ^[6] Governor Nathan Deal called the legislature into special session for August 15 to consider congressional and legislative redistricting plans based on the 2010 census. ^[7]

2010

See also: Dates of 2010 state legislative sessions

In 2010, the Senate was in session from January 11th to April 29th.

Elections

2012

See also: Georgia State Senate elections, 2012

Elections for the office of Georgia State Senate will be held in Georgia on November 6, 2012. A total of 56 seats will be up for election. The signature filing deadling is June 29, 2012.

2010

See also: Georgia State Senate elections, 2010

Elections for the office of Georgia State Senator were held in Georgia on November 2, 2010.

The signature-filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in these elections was June 21, 2010, and the primary election day was July 20, 2010.

The partisan breakdown of the Senate before and after the election was as follows:

Georgia State Senate
Party		As of November 1, 2010	After the 2010 Election
	Democratic Party	22	20
	Republican Party	34	36
Total		56	56

In 2010, the total amount of contributions raised in senate campaigns was $8,052,144. The top 10 donors were: ^[8]

Donor	Amount
Sibold, James	$156,212
Miller, Butch	$120,000
Albers, John	$103,701
Georgia Trial Lawyers Association	$88,350
Georgia Dental Association	$65,950
Georgia Association of Realtors	$64,550
Blank (Uncoded)	$50,514
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia	$49,550
Independend Insurance Agents of Georgia	$48,350
Georgia Alliance of Community Hospitals	$46,000

Qualifications

According to the Georgia Constitution, Georgia Senators must be at least 25 years old, American citizens, Georgia citizens for at least two years and a resident of his or her Senatorial District for at least one year immediately preceding election.

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state legislatures

How Vacancies are filled in State Legislatures

If there is a vacancy in the Senate, the vacant seat must be filled by a special election. The Governor must declare a special election no later than 10 days after the vacancy happened. The election must be held no less than 30 days and no later than 60 days after the Governor calls for the election. The counties representing the vacant district are responsible for conducting the election^[9].

Senators

Salaries

See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries

As of 2010, members of the Georgia Senate are paid $17,342/year plus $173/day for per diem when in session.^[10]

The $17,342/year that Georgia Senators are paid as of 2010 is the same as they were paid during legislative sessions in 2007. Per diem is also the same. ^[11]

When sworn in

See also: When state legislators assume office after a general election

Georgia legislators assume office the second Monday in January.

Partisan composition

See also: Partisan composition of state senates

Party		As of May 2012
	Democratic Party	20
	Republican Party	36
Total		56

Leadership

The Lieutenant Governor serves as President of the Senate.^[12]

Current leadership

Office	Representative	Party
President of the Senate	Casey Cagle	Republican
President Pro Tempore of the Senate	Tommie Williams	Republican
State Senate Majority Leader	Chip Rogers	Republican
State Senate Majority Caucus Chair	Bill Cowsert	Republican
State Senate Majority Whip	Cecil Staton	Republican
State Senate Minority Leader	Steve Henson	Democratic
State Senate Minority Caucus Chair	Doug Stoner	Democratic
State Senate Minority Whip	Vincent Fort	Democratic

List of current members

District	Representative	Party
1	Buddy Carter	Republican
2	Lester Jackson	Democratic
3	William Ligon	Republican
4	Jack Hill	Republican
5	Curt Thompson	Democratic
6	Doug Stoner	Democratic
7	Greg Goggans	Republican
8	Tim Golden	Republican
9	Don Balfour	Republican
10	Emanuel Jones	Democratic
11	John Bulloch	Republican
12	Freddie Sims	Democratic
13	John Crosby	Republican
14	George Hooks	Democratic
15	Ed Harbison	Democratic
16	Ronnie Chance	Republican
17	Rick Jeffares	Republican
18	Cecil Staton	Republican
19	Tommie Williams	Republican
20	Ross Tolleson	Republican
21	Chip Rogers	Republican
22	Hardie Davis	Democratic
23	Jesse Stone	Republican
24	William Jackson	Republican
25	Johnny Grant	Republican
26	Miriam Paris	Democratic
27	Jack Murphy	Republican
28	Mike Crane	Republican
29	Joshua McKoon	Republican
30	William Hamrick	Republican
31	Bill Heath	Republican
32	Judson Hill	Republican
33	Steve Thompson	Democratic
34	Valencia Seay	Democratic
35	Donzella James	Democratic
36	Nan Orrock	Democratic
37	Lindsey Tippins	Republican
38	Horacena Tate	Democratic
39	Vincent Fort	Democratic
40	Fran Millar	Republican
41	Steve Henson	Democratic
42	Jason Carter	Democratic
43	Ronald Ramsey	Democratic
44	Gail Davenport	Democratic
45	Renee Unterman	Republican
46	Bill Cowsert	Republican
47	Frank Ginn	Republican
48	David Shafer	Republican
49	Butch Miller	Republican
50	John Wilkinson	Republican
51	Steve Gooch	Republican
52	Barry Loudermilk	Republican
53	Jeff Mullis	Republican
54	Charlie Bethel	Republican
55	Gloria Butler	Democratic
56	John Albers	Republican

Standing Senate Committees

Georgia Senate has 28 standing committees for the 2011-2012 session:

History

Women in the Senate

Rebecca Ann Latimer Felton, of Georgia, was appointed to the United States Senate in 1922 to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Thomas E. Watson. Even though she only served for a short amount of time she became known as the first woman to serve in the Senate.^[13][14]

External links

• Georgia State Senate official website
• Official list of Georgia State Senators
• Wikipedia:149th General Assembly of the State of Georgia
• Project Vote Smart profile of Georgia Senate

References

v • d • e Current members of the Georgia State Senate Senate President: Casey Cagle (R) • Majority Leader: Chip Rogers (R) • Minority Leader: Robert Brown (D)       Buddy Carter  Lester Jackson   William Ligon  Jack Hill  Curt Thompson  Doug Stoner  Greg Goggans  Tim Golden  Don Balfour  Emanuel Jones  John Bulloch  Freddie Sims  John Crosby  George Hooks  Ed Harbison  Ronnie Chance  Rick Jeffares  Cecil Staton  Tommie Williams  Ross Tolleson  Chip Rogers  Hardie Davis  Jesse Stone  William Jackson  Johnny Grant  Miriam Paris  Jack Murphy  Mike Crane  Joshua McKoon  Bill Hamrick  Bill Heath  Judson Hill  Steve Thompson  Valencia Seay  Donzella James  Nan Orrock  Lindsey Tippins  Horacena Tate  Vincent Fort  Fran Millar  Steve Henson  Jason Carter  Ronald Ramsey  Gail Davenport  Renee Unterman  Bill Cowsert  Frank Ginn  David Shafer  Butch Miller  John Wilkinson  Steve Gooch  Barry Loudermilk  Jeff Mullis  Charlie Bethel  Gloria Butler  John Albers Democratic (20) • Republican (36) • Georgia State Senate • Georgia House of Representatives

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	v • d • e State of Georgia Atlanta (capital)
Ballot Measures	List of Georgia ballot measures | Local measures | School bond issues | Ballot measure laws | History of I&R | History of direct democracy | Campaign Finance Requirements |
Government	Georgia State Constitution | House of Representatives | Senate | Senate Budget Office | Senate Research Office |
State executive officers	Governor | Lieutenant Governor | Attorney General | Secretary of State | Treasurer | State Auditor | State Superintendent of Schools | Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner | Commissioner of Agriculture | Commissioner of Natural Resources | Commissioner of Labor | Chairman of Public Service Commission |
Elections	Recalls | Vote fraud | 2010 elections |
Judiciary	Georgia Supreme Court | Judicial Activist Organizations | Judges in the news |
Divisions	State | List of Counties | List of Cities | List of School Districts | Evaluation of county websites | Evaluation of city websites | Evaluation of township websites | Evaluation of school district websites |