Arizona Legislature
| Arizona State Legislature | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Type | |
| Type | Bicameral |
| Houses | Senate House of Representatives |
| Leadership | |
| President of the Senate | Steve Pierce, (R) since Nov. 10, 2011 |
| Speaker of the House | Andy Tobin, (R) since 2011 |
| Members | 90 |
| Political groups | Republican Party Democratic Party |
| Elections | |
| Last election | November 2, 2010 |
| Meeting place | |
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| Arizona State Capitol, Phoenix | |
| Website | |
| http://www.azleg.gov/ | |
The Arizona Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Senate. There are 60 Representatives and 30 Senators. The state legislature meets in the Capitol Complex in the state capital, Phoenix.
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[edit] Districting
There are 30 legislative districts in Arizona, each of which is a multimember constituency. Each district elects a Senator and 2 Representatives for a two-year term. The crossing of upper and lower house districts into a single constituency is found in only seven U.S. state legislatures: Arizona, Idaho, Maryland, New Jersey, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Washington. Since Representatives and Senators are elected by exactly the same people, each House of the Arizona Legislature tends to have members with identical political philosophies, which is illustrated by the fact (see below) that the Republican party has two-thirds of the seats in each House. This produces, in effect, a "two-house unicameral" legislature.
[edit] Party composition and elections
Before the 2010 general election, the Republican Party controlled both houses of the Arizona Legislature, with an advantage over the Democratic Party of 18-12 in the Senate and 35-25 in the House.[1]
In the general election on November 2, 2010, the Republican Party gained 3 seats in the Arizona Senate and 5 seats in the House.[2] The Republicans' edge over the Democrats in the popular vote was 57.7% to 39.8% in the Senate and 61.7% to 35.5% in the House.[3]
The party breakdown in the Arizona Legislature is currently as follows:
Senate: 21 Republicans, 9 Democrats
House of Representatives: 40 Republicans, 20 Democrats
[edit] Term limits
Serving two-year terms, both Senators and Representatives are subject to term limits. Members may only serve four consecutive terms (or eight years) in each house. Once serving the limit, former members are re-eligible for election after 2 years. Members who are term-limited in one house frequently seek and obtain election to the other house (e.g. Russell Pearce).
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.mohavedailynews.com/articles/2010/11/03/news/state/doc4cd1907922919877391158.txt, accessed 11-3-2010
- ^ Arizona Secretary of State, http://results.enr.clarityelections.com/AZ/22333/39531/en/summary.html, accessed 11-12-10 (unofficial results)
- ^ Arizona Secretary of State, http://results.enr.clarityelections.com/AZ/22333/39531/AZ/22333/39940/en/reports.html, accessed 11-12-10 (unofficial results)
[edit] External links
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