Indiana Senate


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.

History

The Indiana Senate was established in 1816 along with the Indiana House of Representatives in 1816, when Indiana became a state.. In 1897, the Indiana House passed a bill rounding the value of pi to 3.2. However, the intervention of State Senator Orrin Hubbel postponed the voting of the bill indefinitely, effectively rejecting it..

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. 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, 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 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.
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.
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.
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.

Terms

Article 4 of the Constitution of Indiana places several limitation on the size and composition of the senate.
Article 4 of the Constitution of Indiana states the qualifications to become a senator.

2019–2020 Officers

PositionNamePartyDistrict
Lieutenant GovernorSuzanne CrouchRepublican
President Pro Tem of the SenateRodric BrayRepublican37
Majority LeaderMark MessmerRepublican48
Minority LeaderTimothy LananeDemocrat25

Members of the Indiana Senate

DistrictSenatorPartyResidenceFirst electedSeat up
1Frank MrvanDemHammond1998 2022
2Lonnie RandolphDemEast Chicago2008 2020
3Eddie MeltonDemMerrillville20162020
4Karen TallianDemPortage2005†2022
5Ed CharbonneauRepValparaiso2007†2020
6Rick NiemeyerRepLowell20142022
7Brian BuchananRepLebanon2018†2020
8Mike BohacekRepMichiana Shores20162020
9Ryan MishlerRepBremen20042020
10David L. NiezgodskiDemSouth Bend20162020
11Linda RogersRepGranger20182022
12Blake DoriotRepNew Paris20162020
13Sue GlickRepLaGrange20102020
14Dennis KruseRepAuburn2004†2022
15Liz BrownRepFort Wayne20142022
16Justin BuschRepFort Wayne2018†2020
17Andy ZayRepHuntington2016†2022
18Stacey DonatoRepLogansport2019†2020
19Travis HoldmanRepMarkle2008†2022
20Victoria SpartzRepNoblesville2017†2020
21James R. BuckRepKokomo20082022
22Ronnie AltingRepLafayette19982022
23Phil BootsRepCrawfordsville20062022
24John CraneRepAvon20162020
25Timothy LananeDemAnderson1997†2022
26Mike GaskillRepAnderson20182022
27Jeff RaatzRepCenterville20142022
28Michael CriderRepGreenfield20122020
29J. D. FordDemIndianapolis20182022
30John RuckelshausRepIndianapolis20162020
31Jim MerrittRepIndianapolis19902022
32Aaron FreemanRepIndianapolis20162020
33Greg TaylorDemIndianapolis20082020
34Jean BreauxDemIndianapolis20062020
35R. Michael YoungRepIndianapolis20002020
36Jack SandlinRepIndianapolis20162020
37Rodric BrayRepMartinsville20122020
38Jon FordRepTerre Haute20142022
39Eric BasslerRepWashington20142022
40Mark StoopsDemBloomington20122020
41Greg WalkerRepColumbus20062022
42Jean LeisingRepOldenburg2008 2020
43Chip PerfectRepLawrenceburg20142022
44Eric KochRepBedford20162020
45Chris GartenRepScottsburg20182022
46Ron GroomsRepJeffersonville20102022
47Erin HouchinRepSalem20142022
48Mark MessmerRepJasper20142022
49Jim TomesRepEvansville20102022
50Vaneta BeckerRepEvansville2005†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. The committees as of 2020 were:
CommitteeChair Vice Chair
AgricultureJean Leising Sue Glick
AppropriationsRyan Mishler Eric Bassler
Commerce and TechnologyChip Perfect Jim Merritt
Corrections and Criminal LawR. Michael Young Sue Glick
Education and Career DevelopmentJeff Raatz John Crane
ElectionsGreg Walker Ron Grooms
Environmental AffairsMark Messmer Rick Niemeyer
EthicsLiz Brown Ed Charbonneau
Family and Children ServicesRon Grooms Greg Walker
Health and Provider ServicesEd Charbonneau John Ruckelshaus
Homeland Security and TransportationMichael Crider Jim Tomes
Insurance and Financial InstitutionsEric Bassler Andy Zay
Joint RulesMark Messmer
JudiciaryEric Koch R. Michael Young
Local GovernmentJames R. Buck Rick Niemeyer
Natural ResourcesSue Glick Jean Leising
Pensions and LaborPhil Boots Blake Doriot
Public PolicyRonnie Alting Vaneta Becker
Rules and Legislative ProcedureRodric Bray Mark Messmer
Tax and Fiscal PolicyTravis Holdman Erin Houchin
UtilitiesJim Merritt Chip Perfect
Veterans Affairs and The MilitaryJim Tomes Michael Crider

Past composition of the Senate