Indiana Senate

Indiana State Senate
Indiana State Senate
Indiana General Assembly
Type
Type	Upper house
Term limits	None
History
New session started	January 5, 2011
Leadership
Lieutenant Governor	Suzanne Crouch (R) ; since January 9, 2017
President Pro Tem of the Senate	David C. Long (R) ; since January 12, 2007
Majority Leader	Rodric Bray (R) ; since January 2, 2018
Minority Leader	Timothy Lanane (D) ; since November 5, 2008
Structure
Seats	50
Political groups	Majority Republican (41); Minority Democratic (9);
Length of term	4 years
Authority	Article 4, Indiana Constitution
Salary	$22,616.46/year + per diem
Elections
Last election	November 8, 2016; (25 seats)
Next election	November 6, 2018; (25 seats)
Redistricting	Legislative Control
Meeting place
	State Senate Chamber; Indiana Statehouse; Indianapolis, Indiana
Website
	Indiana General Assembly

38°46′7.54″N 86°9′45.54″W / 38.7687611°N 86.1626500°W / 38.7687611; -86.1626500

The Indiana Senate is the upper house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The Senate is composed of 50 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. Senators serve four-year terms without term limits. According to the 2010 census, the average State Senator represents 129,676 people.

The Senate convenes at the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Operating rules

The Indiana State Senate is operated according to a set of internal regulations developed and maintained largely by tradition. These rules are similar to the rules that govern the upper house most of the state senates in the United States.^[1] The Senate convenes its annual session the first Tuesday following the first Monday of January every year. In odd numbered years the senate must meet for 61 days (not necessarily consecutive days), and must adjourn no later than April 30. This is typically called a long session. In even numbered years, when elections are held, the Senate must meet for 30 days (not necessarily consecutive days) and adjourn no later than March 15. This is typically called the short session. The only time the senate may convene outside of these dates is if the Governor calls a special assembly.^[2]

The senate must convene by 1:30 pm each day a session is scheduled. Two thirds of the senators must be present for the session to begin. Senators must be present at each session unless they are explicitly excused by the president-pro-tempore. Members who are not present can be forced to attend the session or be censured and expelled from the body.^[2]

The Lieutenant Governor of Indiana serves as the President of the Senate and is responsible for ensuring that the senate rules are followed by its members. The President of the Senate takes no part in the debates of the senate and may only vote to break ties. The senate also elects a president-pro-tempore, a majority leader, and a minority leader. The president-pro-tempore is typically a senior member of majority party. The president-pro-tempore presides over the senate whenever the President of the Senate is not present. The president-pro-tempore is largely responsible for setting the agenda of the senate.^[2]

When debate occurs in the senate, each senator is granted permission to speak on each issue once. A senator may not speak on an issue more than once without a permission from the rest of the senate, which is attained with a senate vote. A senator can speak for no longer than a half-hour at any one time and may be silenced by a majority vote at any time during his or her speech.^[2]

Terms

Article 4 of the Constitution of Indiana places several limitation on the size and composition of the senate.^[3]

The senate can contain no more than 50 members.
The term of a senator lasts four years with 25 senators being elected every two years.
There is no limit to how many terms a senator may be elected.

Qualifications

Article 4 of the Constitution of Indiana states the qualifications to become a senator.^[3]

The candidate must be a United States citizen for a minimum of two years prior to his or her candidacy.
The candidate has to reside in the district which he or she seeks to represent for one year.
The candidate should be at least 25 years of age when sworn into office.
The candidate cannot hold any other public office in the state or federal government during a senate term.

Composition of the Senate

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)		Total
	style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color" \|	style="background-color:Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color" \|
	Republican	Democratic		Vacant
End 2010 session	33	17	50	0

2011–2012	37	13	50	0

2013–2014	37	13	50	0

Begin 2015	40	10	50	0

Begin 2017	41	9	50	0
Latest voting share	82%	18%

2015–2016 Officers

Position	Name	Party	District
President of the Senate/Lieutenant Governor	Suzanne Crouch	Republican
President Pro Tem	David C. Long	Republican	16
Majority Leader	Rodric Bray	Republican	37
Minority Leader	Timothy Lanane	Democrat	25

Members of the Indiana Senate

District	Senator	Party	Residence	First elected	Seat up
1	Frank Mrvan	Dem	Hammond	1998 (1978–1994)	2018
2	Lonnie Randolph	Dem	East Chicago	2008 (1992–1998)	2020
3	Eddie Melton	Dem	Merrillville	2016	2020
4	Karen Tallian	Dem	Portage	2005†	2018
5	Ed Charbonneau	Rep	Valparaiso	2007†	2020
6	Rick Niemeyer	Rep	Lowell	2014	2018
7	Brian Buchanan	Rep	Lebanon	2018†	2020
8	Mike Bohacek	Rep	Michiana Shores	2016	2020
9	Ryan Mishler	Rep	Bremen	2004	2020
10	David L. Niezgodski	Dem	South Bend	2016	2020
11	Joe Zakas	Rep	Granger	1982	2018
12	Blake Doriot	Rep	New Paris	2016	2020
13	Sue Glick	Rep	LaGrange	2010	2020
14	Dennis Kruse	Rep	Auburn	2004†	2018
15	Liz Brown	Rep	Fort Wayne	2014	2018
16	David C. Long	Rep	Fort Wayne	1996	2020
17	Andy Zay	Rep	Huntington	2016†	2018
18	Randall Head	Rep	Logansport	2008	2020
19	Travis Holdman	Rep	Markle	2008†	2018
20	Victoria Spartz	Rep	Noblesville	2017†	2020
21	James R. Buck	Rep	Kokomo	2008	2018
22	Ronnie Alting	Rep	Lafayette	1998	2018
23	Phil Boots	Rep	Crawfordsville	2006	2018
24	John Crane	Rep	Avon	2016	2020
25	Timothy Lanane	Dem	Anderson	1997†	2018
26	Doug Eckerty	Rep	Muncie	2010	2018
27	Jeff Raatz	Rep	Centerville	2014	2018
28	Michael Crider	Rep	Greenfield	2012	2020
29	Mike Delph	Rep	Carmel	2005†	2018
30	John Ruckelshaus	Rep	Indianapolis	2016	2020
31	James W. Merritt	Rep	Indianapolis	1990	2018
32	Aaron Freeman	Rep	Indianapolis	2016	2020
33	Greg Taylor	Dem	Indianapolis	2008	2020
34	Jean Breaux	Dem	Indianapolis	2006	2020
35	R. Michael Young	Rep	Indianapolis	2000	2020
36	Jack Sandlin	Rep	Indianapolis	2016	2020
37	Rodric Bray	Rep	Martinsville	2012	2020
38	Jon Ford	Rep	Terre Haute	2014	2018
39	Eric Bassler	Rep	Washington	2014	2018
40	Mark Stoops	Dem	Bloomington	2012	2020
41	Greg Walker	Rep	Columbus	2006	2018
42	Jean Leising	Rep	Oldenburg	2008 (1988–1996)	2020
43	Chip Perfect	Rep	Lawrenceburg	2014	2018
44	Eric Koch	Rep	Bedford	2016	2020
45	Jim Smith	Rep	Charlestown	2010	2018
46	Ron Grooms	Rep	Jeffersonville	2010	2018
47	Erin Houchin	Rep	Salem	2014	2018
48	Mark Messmer	Rep	Jasper	2014	2018
49	Jim Tomes	Rep	Evansville	2010	2018
50	Vaneta Becker	Rep	Evansville	2005†	2020

†Member was originally appointed or won the seat in a special election.

Committees

The Senate has various committees that are charged with overseeing different areas of the state government and drafting legislation. These committees are bipartisan and contain between three and eleven members split between the parties according to their ratio of members in the Senate. Each committee chairman is a member of the majority party.^[4] The current committees include:

Committee	Chair	Vice Chair
Agriculture	Jean Leising (R-42)	Sue Glick (R-13)
Appropriations	Ryan Mishler (R-9)	Liz Brown (R-15)
Civil Law	Randall Head (R-18)	Joe Zakas (R-11)
Commerce and Technology	Mark Messmer (R-48)	James Merritt (R-31)
Corrections and Criminal Law	Michael Young (R-35)	Sue Glick (R-13)
Education and Career Development	Dennis Kruse (R-14)	Jeff Raatz (R-27)
Elections	Greg Walker (R-41)	Ron Grooms (R-46)
Environmental Affairs	Doug Eckerty (R-26)	Eric Bassier (R-39)
Ethics	Liz Brown (R-15)	Doug Eckerty (R-26)
Family and Children Services	Ron Grooms (R-46)	Greg Walker (R-41)
Health and Provider Services	Ed Charbonneau (R-5)	Ryan Mishler (R-9)
Homeland Security and Transportation	Michael Crider (R-28)	Mike Delph (R-29)
Insurance and Financial Institutions	[[Chip Perfect (R-43)	Greg Walker (R-41)
Joint Rules	Rodric Bray (R-37)
Judiciary	Rodric Bray (R-37)	Michael Young (R-35)
Local Government	James Buck (R-21)	Jim Smith (R-45)
Natural Resources	Sue Glick (R-13)	Jean Leising (R-42)
Pensions and Labor	Philip Boots (R-23)	Chip Perfect (R-43)
Public Policy	Ron Alting (R-22)	Vaneta Becker (R-50)
Rules and Legislative Procedure	David Long (R-16)	Travis Holdman (R-19)
Tax and Fiscal Policy	Travis Holdman (R-19)	Greg Walker (R-41)
Utilities	James Merritt (R-31)	Mark Messmer (R-48)
Veterans Affairs and The Military	Mike Delph (R-29)	Michael Crider (R-28)

Past composition of the Senate

Notes

^ Indiana General Assembly. "Senate Operating Rules" (PDF). IN.gov. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Senate Operating Rules" (PDF). IN.gov. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
^ ^a ^b "Art IV of the Constitution of Indiana". Indiana Historical Bureau. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
^ "Standing Committees". IN.gov. Retrieved 2008-06-01.

External links

[1] Indiana General Assembly. "Senate Operating Rules" (PDF). IN.gov. Retrieved 2008-06-18.

[Senate_Operating_Rules-2] "Senate Operating Rules" (PDF). IN.gov. Retrieved 2008-06-01.

[Const-3] "Art IV of the Constitution of Indiana". Indiana Historical Bureau. Retrieved 2008-12-29.

[4] "Standing Committees". IN.gov. Retrieved 2008-06-01.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e Members of the Indiana Senate
123rd General Assembly (2023–2024) President of the Senate Suzanne Crouch (R) President pro tempore Rodric Bray (R) Majority Leader Chris Garten (R) Minority Leader Greg Taylor (D)
▌Dan Dernulc (R) ▌Lonnie Randolph (D) ▌David Vinzant (D) ▌Rodney Pol Jr. (D) ▌Ed Charbonneau (R) ▌Rick Niemeyer (R) ▌Brian Buchanan (R) ▌Mike Bohacek (R) ▌Ryan Mishler (R) ▌David L. Niezgodski (D) ▌Linda Rogers (R) ▌Blake Doriot (R) ▌Sue Glick (R) ▌Tyler Johnson (R) ▌Liz Brown (R) ▌Justin Busch (R) ▌Andy Zay (R) ▌Stacey Donato (R) ▌Travis Holdman (R) ▌Scott Baldwin (R) ▌James R. Buck (R) ▌Ron Alting (R) ▌Spencer Deery (R) ▌John Crane (R) ▌Mike Gaskill (R) ▌Scott Alexander (R) ▌Jeff Raatz (R) ▌Michael Crider (R) ▌J. D. Ford (D) ▌Fady Qaddoura (D) ▌Kyle Walker (R) ▌Aaron Freeman (R) ▌Greg Taylor (D) ▌La Keisha Jackson (D) ▌R. Michael Young (R) ▌Cyndi Carrasco (R) ▌Rodric Bray (R) ▌Greg Goode (R) ▌Eric Bassler (R) ▌Shelli Yoder (D) ▌Greg Walker (R) ▌Jean Leising (R) ▌Randy Maxwell (R) ▌Eric Koch (R) ▌Chris Garten (R) ▌Andrea Hunley (D) ▌Gary Byrne (R) ▌Mark Messmer (R) ▌Jim Tomes (R) ▌Vaneta Becker (R)
▌Republican (40) ▌Democratic (10) Indiana General Assembly Indiana House of Representatives Indiana Senate

v t e Government of Indiana
Indiana Statehouse Indianapolis (capital)
Executive	Governor list Lieutenant Governor Attorney General Auditor Secretary of State Treasurer Superintendent of Public Instruction
Legislature	General Assembly Senate House of Representatives Speaker of the House
Judiciary	Supreme Court Court of Appeals Tax Court Circuit Court Judicial Nominating Commission
Departments	Administration Education Environmental Management Health Natural Resources State Police Transportation
Local government	County government Township government City government Town government
Law	Constitution Indiana Code Indiana Day Taxation

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