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Utah State Senate

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Utah State Senate

Seal of Utah.svg.png
General Information
Type:   Upper house
Term limits:   None
2012 session start:   January 23, 2012
Website:   Official Senate Page
Leadership
Senate President:   Michael Waddoups, (R)
Majority Leader:   Scott Jenkins, (R)
Minority leader:   Ross Romero, (D)
Structure
Members:  29
   Democratic Party (7)
Republican Party (22)
Length of term:   4 years
Authority:   Art VI, Sec 4, Utah Constitution
Salary:   $117/day + per diem
Elections
Last Election:  November 2, 2010 (15 seats)
Next election:  November 6, 2012 (14 seats)
Redistricting:  Redistricting Committee of the Utah Legislature

Contents

The Utah Senate is the upper house in the Utah Legislature. It consists of 29 members. Each member represents an average of 95,306 residents, as of the 2010 Census.[1] After the 2000 Census, each member represented 77,006 residents.[2]

The senators serve four-year terms and are not subject to term limits. Half of the senate is up for re-election every two years.

Sessions

Section 2 of Article VI of the Utah Constitution establishes that the Utah State Legislature, which the Senate is a part of, is to convene a new session every two years on the second Monday in January. This means that the "2010 session" was actually a continuation of a regular session that convened in 2009. Section 16 of Article VI limits these regular sessions to sixty legislative days, except in cases of impeachment.

2012

See also: Dates of 2012 state legislative sessions

In 2012, the Senate will be in session from January 23 through March 8.

Major issues

Major topics include a projected $13 billion budget, improving technology for students, illegal immigration, and infrastructure improvements.[3]

2011

See also: Dates of 2011 state legislative sessions

In 2011, the Senate was in regular session from January 24 through March 10. [4] A single day special session was called by Governor Gary Herbert for July 27, to consider several issues, including adjustments to health insurance rates, liquor commission guidelines, judicial evaluations, and adopting another resolution supporting a federal balanced budget amendment.[5] Gov. Herbert has called for a second special session this year, set for the week of October 3. During that week, the legislature will cover redistricting issues.[6]

The 45 calendar days that the Utah Legislature is in regular session during 2011 is tied with Wyoming, New Mexico, and Arkansas for the shortest legislative session in the country.[7]

2010

See also: Dates of 2010 state legislative sessions

In 2010, the Senate was in session from January 25 to March 11.[8]

Elections

2012

See also: Utah State Senate elections, 2012

Elections for the office of Utah State Senate will be held in Utah on November 6, 2012. A total of 14 seats will be up for election.

The signature filing deadline for the elections was March 16, 2012.

2010

See also: Utah State Senate elections, 2010

Utah State Senate elections were held in 15 of Utah's 29 senate districts on November 2, 2010. The 15 districts where electoral contests took place in 2010 are: 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 15, 17, 18, 21, 22, 26 and 28 .

The signature-filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in these elections was March 19, 2010 and the primary election day was June 22, 2010.

In 2010, the candidates for state senate raised a total of $1,612,394 in campaign contributions. The top 10 donors were: [9]

Donor Amount
Utah Association of Realtors $84,000
Senate Republican Campaign Cmte of Utah $83,315
2006 Mayne Candidate Account $60,248
Utah State Senate Democrats $46,000
Sorensen, Beverly T $39,500
Utah Republican Party $37,453
Comcast $32,050
Reagan Outdoor Advertising $31,487
Workers Compensation Fund of Utah $30,950
Consumer Lending Alliance $25,500

Qualifications

To be eligible to serve in the Utah State Senate, a candidate must be:[10]

  • A U.S. citizen at the time of filing
  • 25 years old at the filing deadline time
  • A three-year resident of Utah at the filing deadline time
  • A resident for 6 months of the senate district from which elected at the filing deadline time
  • No person holding any public office of profit or trust under authority of the United States, or of this State, can be a member of the state senate, provided, that appointments in the State Militia, and the offices of notary public, justice of the peace, United States commissioner, and postmaster of the fourth class, shall not, within the meaning of this section, be considered offices of profit or trust.
  • A qualified voter. A qualified voter is someone who is:
* A U.S. citizen
* A resident of Utah for at least 30 days prior to the next election
* At least 18 years old by the next election
* His or her principal place of residence is in a specific voting precinct in Utah.

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state legislatures
How Vacancies are filled in State Legislatures
NevadaMassachusettsColoradoNew MexicoWyomingArizonaMontanaCaliforniaOregonWashingtonIdahoTexasOklahomaKansasNebraskaSouth DakotaNorth DakotaMinnesotaIowaMissouriArkansasLouisianaMississippiAlabamaGeorgiaFloridaSouth CarolinaIllinoisWisconsinTennesseeNorth CarolinaIndianaOhioKentuckyPennsylvaniaNew JerseyNew YorkVermontVermontNew HampshireMaineWest VirginiaVirginiaMarylandMarylandConnecticutConnecticutDelawareDelawareRhode IslandRhode IslandMassachusettsNew HampshireMichiganMichiganAlaskaVacancy fulfillment map.png

If there is a vacancy in the Senate, the Governor is responsible for selecting a replacement. A liaison for the political party that last held the seat must recommend a successor to the Governor. The vacancy must be filled immediately. The person who is selected to the vacant seat serves for the remainder of the unfilled term[11].

If the vacancy happens after the nomination deadline in a election year, a new candidate must file papers in order to be on the ballot. This is only if the vacancy happens after September 1st and the unfilled term is set to expire at the end of the election. Nominating papers must be filed within 21 days after the vacancy happened[12].

Senators

Salaries

See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries

As of 2011, members of the Utah Legislature are paid $117/day. Legislators receive $96/day for lodging each calendar day, tied to the federal rate. They also receive $61/day for meals.[13]

The $117/day that Utah legislators are paid as of 2011 is the same as they were paid during legislative sessions in 2010 and a decrease from $130/day in 2007. Per diem has increased from $90/day lodging and $54/day for meals in 2007 to $106/day lodging and $61/day meals in 2010 and decreased to $96/day lodging in 2011.[14][15]

When sworn in

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

Utah legislators assume office the first or second day of session (January).

Partisan composition

See also: Partisan composition of state senates
Party As of May 2012
     Democratic Party 7
     Republican Party 22
Total 29


Leadership

The presiding officer of the Senate is the President of the Senate and is selected by the majority party caucus. The majority and minority leaders are selected by their respective party caucuses.[16][17]

Current leadership

Position Representative Party
President of the Senate Michael Waddoups Ends.png Republican
State Senate Majority Leader Scott Jenkins Ends.png Republican
State Senate Majority Whip Wayne Niederhauser Ends.png Republican
State Senate Assistant Majority Whip Peter Knudson Ends.png Republican
State Senate Minority Leader Ross Romero Electiondot.png Democratic
State Senate Minority Whip 'Vacant' Electiondot.png Democratic
State Senate Assistant Minority Whip 'Vacant' Electiondot.png Democratic

2010 Leadership

Position Representative Party
President of the Senate Michael Waddoups Ends.png Republican
State Senate Majority Leader Scott Jenkins Ends.png Republican
State Senate Majority Whip Wayne Niederhauser Ends.png Republican
State Senate Assistant Majority Whip Peter Knudson Ends.png Republican
State Senate Minority Leader Patricia Jones Electiondot.png Democratic
State Senate Minority Whip Ross Romero Electiondot.png Democratic
State Senate Assistant Minority Whip Karen Mayne Electiondot.png Democratic

List of current members

District Representative Party Counties in District
1 Luz Robles Electiondot.png Democratic Salt Lake
2 Ben McAdams Electiondot.png Democratic Salt Lake
3 Gene Davis Electiondot.png Democratic Salt Lake
4 Patricia Jones Electiondot.png Democratic Salt Lake
5 Karen Mayne Electiondot.png Democratic Salt Lake
6 Michael Waddoups Ends.png Republican Salt Lake
7 Ross Romero Electiondot.png Democratic Salt Lake
8 Karen Morgan Electiondot.png Democratic Salt Lake
9 Wayne Niederhauser Ends.png Republican Salt Lake
10 Aaron Osmond Ends.png Republican
11 Howard Stephenson Ends.png Republican Salt Lake, Utah
12 Daniel W. Thatcher Ends.png Republican Salt Lake, Tooele
13 Mark Madsen Ends.png Republican Tooele, Utah
14 John Valentine Ends.png Republican Utah
15 Margaret Dayton Ends.png Republican Utah
16 Curtis Bramble Ends.png Republican Utah
17 Peter Knudson Ends.png Republican Box Elder, Cache, Tooele
18 Stuart C. Reid Ends.png Republican Davis, Weber
19 Allen Christensen Ends.png Republican Morgan, Summit, Weber
20 Scott Jenkins Ends.png Republican Weber
21 Jerry Stevenson Ends.png Republican Davis
22 Stuart Adams Ends.png Republican Davis
23 Todd Weiler Ends.png Republican Davis
24 Ralph Okerlund Ends.png Republican Juab, Piute, Sanpete, Sevier, Tooele, Wayne
25 Lyle Hillyard Ends.png Republican Cache, Rich
26 Kevin Van Tassell Ends.png Republican Daggett, Duchesne, Summit, Uintah, Wasatch
27 David Hinkins Ends.png Republican Carbon, Emery, Grand, San Juan, Utah
28 Casey Anderson Ends.png Republican Beaver, Garfield, Iron, Kane, Millard, Washington
29 Stephen Urquhart Ends.png Republican Washington

Senate committees

The Utah Senate has 12 standing committees:

History

1899

Before the Seventeenth Amendment was adopted in 1913, the U.S. Senators were elected by the state House of Representatives rather than by popular vote. In 1899, this became a problem when the Utah House of Representatives could not come up with a majority vote for the second Senate seat by the end of the session, and the Senate President Aquila Nebeker, declared the session over and the seat vacant. The result was that the state of Utah lost a vote in the Senate for several years.[18]


External links

References

  1. ↑ Population in 2010 of the American states
  2. ↑ Population in 2000 of the American states
  3. ↑ Salt Lake Tribune, "Top issues to watch in the upcoming Utah Legislature," January 21, 2012
  4. ↑ 2011 Legislative Sessions Calendar, NCSL
  5. ↑ StateScape, Session Updates, July 22, 2011
  6. ↑ ABC4.com, Governor calls Redistricting Special Session, Aug. 31, 2011
  7. ↑ South Carolina Policy Council "50 State Legislative Session Interactive Map," February 2011
  8. ↑ 2010 session dates for Utah Legislature
  9. ↑ Follow the Money: "Utah Senate 2010 Campaign Contributions"
  10. ↑ Qualifications for running for Utah Senate
  11. ↑ Utah Legislature "Utah Code"(Referenced Statutes 20A-1-503 (3) (a)-(b))
  12. ↑ Utah Legislature "Utah Code"(Referenced Statutes 20A-1-503 (4)(a))
  13. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2011 Legislator Compensation Data"
  14. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2010 Legislator Compensation Data"
  15. ↑ Empire Center, "Legislative Salaries Per State as of 2007"
  16. ↑ Organization of the Utah Legislature
  17. ↑ Utah State Senate Leadership
  18. ↑ Utah Senate History
v • d • e
Republican majority Current members of the Utah State Senate
Senate President: Michael Waddoups (R) • Senate Majority Leader: Scott Jenkins (R) • Senate Minority Leader: Ross Romero (D)
Democratic (7) • Republican (22) • Utah State Senate • Utah House of Representatives • Utah State Senate elections, 2010
v • d • e
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