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. The Senate Chamber is located in the State Capitol building.

Florida Senate
Florida Legislature
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
Term limits
2–3 terms (8 years)[a]
History
FoundedMay 26, 1845; 179 years ago (1845-05-26)
Preceded byLegislative Council of the Territory of Florida
New session started
November 19, 2024; 22 days ago (2024-11-19)
Leadership
Ben Albritton (R)
since November 19, 2024
President pro tempore
Jason Brodeur (R)
since November 19, 2024
Jim Boyd (R)
since November 19, 2024
Minority Leader
Jason Pizzo (D)
since November 18, 2024
Structure
Seats40
Political groups
Majority
  •   Republican (28)

Minority

Length of term
4 years[a]
AuthorityArticle III, Constitution of Florida
Salary$29,697.00/year + per diem (Subsistence & Travel)[1]
Elections
Last election
November 5, 2024
(20 seats)
Next election
November 3, 2026
(20 seats)
RedistrictingLegislative control
Motto
In God We Trust
Meeting place
Senate Chamber
Florida Capitol
Tallahassee, Florida
Website
The Florida Senate
Constitution
Constitution of Florida
Rules
The Florida Senate Rules
Footnotes
  1. ^ a b Every 10 years after redistricting, 20 senators are elected to 2 year terms.

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

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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.[4]

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 even-numbered districts will be elected to two-year terms in 2032 (following the 2030 census).

Legislators take office immediately upon election.

Term limits

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In 1992, Florida voted to enact eight-year term limit for state officials. In 1995, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton that states could not enact congressional term limits.[5][6]

Qualifications

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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

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Coat of arms of the Florida Senate, adopted by the Florida Senate in 1972

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

Regular legislative session

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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.[4]

Special session

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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.[4]

Powers and process

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The Florida Statutes are the codified statutory laws of the state.[7]

Leadership

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The Senate is headed by the Senate President, who controls the agenda along with the Speaker of the House and Governor.[citation needed]

Composition

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Affiliation Party
(Shading indicates majority caucus)
Total
Republican Democratic Vacant
End of 2020–22 legislature 23 16 39 1
Start of previous (2022–24) legislature 28 12 40 0
End of previous legislature
Start of current (2024–26) legislature 28 12 40 0
Latest voting share 70% 30%

Members, 2024–2026

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District Name Party Residence Counties represented First elected[8] Term up
1 Don Gaetz Rep Crestview Escambia, Santa Rosa, part of Okaloosa 2024 2028
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 2028
4 Clay Yarborough Rep Jacksonville Nassau, part of Duval 2022 2026
5 Tracie Davis Dem Jacksonville Part of Duval 2022 2028
6 Jennifer Bradley Rep Fleming Island Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Gilchrist, Union, part of Alachua 2020 2026
7 Tom Leek Rep Ormond Beach Flagler, Putnam, St. Johns, part of Volusia 2024 2028
8 Tom A. Wright Rep New Smyrna Beach Parts of Brevard and Volusia 2018 2026
9 Stan McClain Rep Ocala Alachua, Putnam, part of Marion 2024 2028
10 Jason Brodeur Rep Sanford Seminole, part of Orange 2020 2026
11 Blaise Ingoglia Rep Spring Hill Citrus, Hernando, Sumter, part of Pasco 2022 2028
12 Colleen Burton Rep Lakeland Part of Polk 2022 2026
13 Keith Truenow Rep Tavares Lake, part of Orange 2024 2028
14 Jay Collins Rep Tampa Part of Hillsborough 2022 2026
15 Geraldine Thompson Dem Orlando Part of Orange 2022,

2012–16

2028
16 Darryl Rouson Dem St. Petersburg Parts of Hillsborough and Pinellas 2016 2026
17 Carlos Guillermo Smith Dem Orlando Part of Orange 2024 2028
18 Nick DiCeglie Rep Indian Rocks Beach Part of Pinellas 2022 2026
19 Randy Fine Rep Melbourne Part of Brevard 2024 2028
20 Jim Boyd Rep Bradenton Parts of Hillsborough and Manatee 2020 2026
21 Ed Hooper Rep Clearwater Parts of Pasco and Pinellas 2018 2028
22 Joe Gruters Rep Sarasota Sarasota, part of Manatee 2018 2026
23 Danny Burgess Rep Zephyrhills Parts of Hillsborough and Pasco 2020 2028
24 Mack Bernard Dem Part of Palm Beach 2024* 2026
25 Kristen Arrington Dem Orlando Osceola, part of Orange 2024 2028
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 2028
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 2028
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 2028
32 Rosalind Osgood Dem Fort Lauderdale Part of Broward 2022* 2026
33 Jonathan Martin Rep Fort Myers Part of Lee 2022 2028
34 Shevrin Jones Dem West Park Part of Miami-Dade 2020 2026
35 Barbara Sharief Dem Plantation Part of Broward 2024 2028
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 2028
38 Alexis Calatayud Rep Miami Part of Miami-Dade 2022 2026
39 Bryan Avila Rep Hialeah Part of Miami-Dade 2022 2028
40 Ana Maria Rodriguez Rep Doral Monroe, part of Miami-Dade 2020 2026

*Elected in a special election.

District map

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Districts and party composition of the Florida Senate after the 2024 elections
  Democratic Party
  Republican Party

Past composition of the Senate

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See also

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Notes

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References

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  1. ^ "The 2017 Florida Statutes F.S. 11.13 Compensation of members". Florida Legislature.
  2. ^ a b "Florida Statutes". Florida Legislature. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  3. ^ "Senators". Florida Senate.
  4. ^ a b c "The Florida Constitution". Florida Legislature.  This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. ^ Kevin Derby (February 11, 2016). "Florida Backs Article V Convention for Constitutional Amendment on Congressional Term Limits". Sunshine State News.
  6. ^ "Vote Yes On Amendment No. 9 To Begin Limiting Political Terms". Sun-Sentinel. October 27, 1992. Archived from the original on July 18, 2018. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
  7. ^ "Statutes & Constitution: Online Sunshine". Florida Legislature. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
  8. ^ And previous terms of service, if any.
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