The Florida Senate is the

upper house An upper house is one of two Legislative chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted p ...

of the Florida Legislature, the

state legislature A state legislature is a Legislature, legislative branch or body of a State (country subdivision), political subdivision in a Federalism, federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of ...

of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...

being the

lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

. Article III, Section 1 of the

Constitution of Florida The Constitution of the State of Florida is the document that establishes and describes the powers, duties, structure, and function of the government of the U.S. state of Florida, and establishes the basic law of the state. The current State co ...

, adopted in 1968, defines the role of the Legislature and how it is to be constituted. The Senate is composed of 40 members, each elected from a

single-member district A single-member district or constituency is an electoral district represented by a single officeholder. It contrasts with a multi-member district, which is represented by multiple officeholders. In some countries, such as Australia and India ...

with a population of approximately 540,000 residents. The Senate Chamber is located in the State Capitol building. The

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

hold a supermajority in the chamber with 27 seats; Democrats are in the minority with 10 seats. One seat is held by an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

, and two seats are vacant.

Terms

Article III of the

Florida Constitution The Constitution of the State of Florida is the document that establishes and describes the powers, duties, structure, and function of the government of the U.S. state of Florida, and establishes the basic law of the state. The current Constitu ...

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 that are multiples of four. Senators from even-numbered districts must be elected in even-numbered years, the numbers of which are not multiples of four. 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).

Term limits

Candidates for re-election to the Florida Senate cannot appear on the ballot after serving for eight consecutive years. This was established by Amendment No. 9 (1992) affecting Article 6, Section 4 of the state Constitution.

Qualifications

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.

Legislative session

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

Regular legislative session

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.

Special session

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.

Powers and process

The ''

Florida Statutes The ''Florida Statutes'' are the codified, statutory laws of Florida; it currently has 49 titles. A chapter in the Florida Statutes represents all relevant statutory laws on a particular subject. The statutes are the selected reproduction of the p ...

'' are the codified statutory laws of the state.

Leadership

The Senate is headed by the

Senate President President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's succession for its top executive office: for ...

, who controls the agenda along with the

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hung ...

and

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

. *

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Ben Albritton Ben Albritton (born August 17, 1968) is a Republican politician, current member of the Florida Senate and a former member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing the 56th District, which includes DeSoto County, Hardee County, and ...

( R) *President ''Pro Tempore'':

Jason Brodeur Jason T. Brodeur is a Florida State Senator representing the 10th district, which consists of Seminole and a small part of Orange County. Before the redistricting that took effect with the 2022 election, he represented the old 9th district. A Re ...

( R) *Majority Leader: Jim Boyd ( R) *Minority Leader:

Lori Berman Lori Berman (born June 27, 1958) is a Democratic member of the Florida Senate, representing parts of central Palm Beach County since being elected in an April 2018 special election. She previously served four terms in the Florida House of Represe ...

( D)

Composition

Members, 2024–2026

District map

Past composition of the Senate

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Florida House Senate Florida Legislature 1839 establishments in Florida Territory State upper houses in the United States