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Tennessee Senate

NameSenate of Tennessee
LegislatureTennessee General Assembly
Coa PicTennessee-StateSeal.svg
Session RoomTNSenChamber.jpg
Term LimitsNone
New SessionJanuary 11, 2011
House TypeUpper house
Leader1 TypeSpeaker of the Senate
Leader1Ron Ramsey
Party1(R)
Election1January 9, 2007
Leader2 TypeSpeaker pro Tempore
Leader2Jamie Woodson
Party2(R)
Election2January 13, 2009
Leader3 TypeMajority Leader
Leader3Mark Norris
Party3(R)
Election3January 9, 2007
Leader4 TypeMinority Leader
Leader4Jim Kyle
Party4(D)
Election4January 9, 2007
Term Length4 years
AuthorityArticle III, Tennessee Constitution
Salary$19,009/year + per diem
Members33
Last Election1November 2, 2010
(17 seats)
Next Election1November 6, 2012
(16 seats)
RedistrictingLegislative Control
Political Groups1Republican Party (20)
Democratic Party (13)
Meeting PlaceState Senate Chamber
Tennessee State Capitol
Nashville, Tennessee

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The Tennessee Senate is the upper house of the Tennessee state legislature, which is known formally as the Tennessee General Assembly.

The Tennessee Senate, according to the state constitution of 1870, is composed of 33 members, one-third the size of the Tennessee House of Representatives. Senators are to be elected from districts of substantially equal population. According to the constitution a county is not to be joined to a portion of another county for purposes of creating a district; this provision has been overridden by the rulings of the Supreme Court of the United States in Baker v. Carr (369 US 182 1962) and Reynolds v. Sims (337 U.S. 356 1964) The Tennessee constitution has been amended to allow that if these rulings are ever changed or reversed, a referendum may be held to allow the senate districts to be drawn on a basis other than substantially equal population.

Until 1966, Tennessee state senators served two-year terms. That year the system was changed, by constitutional amendment, to allow four-year terms. In that year, senators in even-numbered districts were elected to two-year terms and those in odd-numbered districts were elected to four-year terms. This created a staggered system in which only half of the senate is up for election at any one time. Districts are to be sequentially and consecutively numbered; the scheme basically runs from east to west and north to south.

Republicans attained an elected majority in the Senate in the 104th General Assembly (2005 � 2006) for the first time since Reconstruction; a brief majority in the 1990s was the result of two outgoing senators switching parties.


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