Arizona Senate

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The Arizona Senate is part of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. The Senate consists of 30 members representing an equal amount of constituencies across the state, with each district having average populations of 171,021 (2000 figures). Members serve two-year terms with term limits, limiting Senators to four terms (a total of eight years). Members of the Republican Party are currently in the majority in the Senate.

As with the Arizona House of Representatives, members to the Senate are elected from the same legislative districts as House members, however one Senator represents the constituency, while for the House there are two Representatives per district. This districting system is similar to those of the Idaho and Washington State Senate.

Like other upper houses of state and territorial legislatures and the federal U.S. Senate, the Senate can confirm or reject gubernatorial appointments to the state cabinet, commissions and boards.

The Senate convenes in the adjacent legislative chambers at the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix.

Contents 1 Leadership of the Senate 1.1 Leadership information 2 Current composition 2.1 Current members, 2009-2010 3 Miscellaneous facts 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Leadership of the Senate

Arizona, along with Oregon, Maine and Wyoming, is one of the four U.S. states to have abolished the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, a position which for most upper houses of state legislatures and indeed for the U.S. Congress (with the Vice President) is the head of the legislative body. As a result, the Senate elects its own presiding officer, the President of the Senate, who presides over the body, appoints members to all of the Senate's committees and to joint committees, and may create other committees and subcommittees if desired. The Senate President also appoints a President pro tempore, who serves for the duration of a session of the legislature, to preside in his absence, and may appoint a temporary President pro tempore in the absence of the President and President pro tempore.^[1]

The current President of the Senate is Republican Bob Burns of District 9 (Peoria). The Senate Majority Leader is Chuck Gray of District 19 (Mesa). The Senate Minority Leader is Jorge Luis Garcia of District 27 (Tucson).

[edit] Leadership information

Position	Name	Party	Residence	District
President of the Senate	Bob Burns	Republican	Peoria	District 9
President pro tempore	Thayer Verschoor	Republican	Gilbert	District 22
Majority Leader	Chuck Gray	Republican	Mesa	District 19
Majority Whip	Pamela Gorman	Republican	Anthem	District 6
Minority Leader	Jorge Luis Garcia	Democratic	Tucson	District 27
Assistant Minority Leader	Rebecca Rios	Democratic	Apache Junction	District 23
Minority Whip	Linda Lopez	Democratic	Tucson	District 29

[edit] Current composition

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)		Total
	Republican	Democratic		Vacant
End of previous legislature	17	13	30	0
Begin	18	12	30	0
Latest voting share	60.0%	40.0%

[edit] Current members, 2009-2010

District	Senator	Party	Info		Senator 2007-2008	Party
01 - Prescott - Coconino County	Steve Pierce	Republican	1		Tom O'Halleran	Republican
02 - Flagstaff - Navajo & Apache Cties	Albert Hale	Democratic	2		Albert Hale	Democratic
03 - Mohave County - La Paz County N.	Ron Gould	Republican	3		Ron Gould	Republican
04 - Yavapai Cty South - Maricopa Cty N.	Jack W. Harper	Republican	4		Jack W. Harper	Republican
05 - Gila County - Snowflake	Sylvia Tenney Allen	Republican	5		Sylvia Tenney Allena[›]	Republican
06 - Phoenix North - Cave Creek	Pamela Gorman	Republican	6		Pamela Gorman	Republican
07 - Phoenix Nth-Nth-East - Carefree	Jim Waring	Republican	7		Jim Waring	Republican
08 - Phoenix North-East - Scottsdale	Carolyn Allen	Republican	8		Carolyn Allen	Republican
09 - Phoenix N-W. - Sun City - Peoria	Bob Burns	Republican	9		Bob Burns	Republican
10 - Phoenix North Central - Glendale	Linda Gray	Republican	10		Linda Gray	Republican
11 - Phoenix East - Paradise Valley	Barbara Leff	Republican	11		Barbara Leff	Republican
12 - Phoenix West - Litchfield Park	John Nelson	Republican	12		Robert Blendu	Republican
13 - Phoenix South-West - Tolleson	Richard Miranda	Democratic	13		Richard Miranda	Democratic
14 - Phoenix South Central	Debbie McCune Davis	Democratic	14		Debbie McCune Davis	Democratic
15 - Phoenix South-East Central	Ken Cheuvront	Democratic	15		Ken Cheuvront	Democratic
16 - Phoenix South - Guadalupe	Leah Landrum Taylor	Democratic	16		Leah Landrum Taylor	Democratic
17 - Phoenix South-East - Tempe	Meg Burton Cahill	Democratic	17		Meg Burton Cahill	Democratic
18 - Mesa West (Sth-East out Phoenix)	Russell Pearce	Republican	18		Karen Johnson	Republican
19 - Mesa East (Sth-East out Phoenix)	Chuck Gray	Republican	19		Chuck Gray	Republican
20 - Phoenix South - Chandler West	John Huppenthal	Republican	20		John Huppenthal	Republican
21 - Chandler - Queen Creek (S-E Phoen.)	Jay Tibshraeny	Republican	21		Jay Tibshraeny	Republican
22 - Gilbert - Mesa South - Gold Camp (Gold Canyon)	Thayer Verschoor	Republican	22		Thayer Verschoor	Republican
23 - Pinal County	Rebecca Rios	Democratic	23		Rebecca Rios	Democratic
24 - Yuma County - La Paz Cty South	Amanda Aguirre	Democratic	24		Amanda Aguirre	Democratic
25 - Pima County W. - Cochise County	Manny Alvarez	Democratic	25		Marsha Arzberger	Democratic
26 - Oro Valley - Catalina (Tucson North)	Al Melvin	Republican	26		Charlene Pesquiera	Democratic
27 - Tucson West - Three Points	Jorge Luis Garcia	Democratic	27		Jorge Luis Garcia	Democratic
28 - Tucson North	Paula Aboud	Democratic	28		Paula Aboud	Democratic
29 - Tucson	Linda Lopez	Democratic	29		Victor Soltero	Democratic
30 - Green Valley ( Tucson Sth et East)	Jonathan Paton	Republican	30		Tim Bee	Republican

• ^ a: Allen was selected to fill the vacancy left by the death of former senator Jake Flake, who died on June 08, 2008.^[2]
  

[edit] Miscellaneous facts

• Rajan Zed, acclaimed Hindu leader, read the first Hindu opening prayer on March 24, 2008.

[edit] See also

• Arizona State Capitol
• Arizona Legislature
• Arizona House of Representatives
• List of Representatives and Senators of Arizona Legislature by Districts

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Arizona State Senate official government website
• Billhop - Arizona legislative wiki
• Project Vote Smart - State Senate of Arizona

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