| Iowa Senate | |
| Legislature: | Iowa General Assembly |
| Coa Pic: | Iowa-StateSeal.svg |
| Session Room: | Iowa Senate.JPG |
| House Type: | Upper house |
| Term Limits: | None |
| New Session: | January 9, 2023 |
| Leader1 Type: | President |
| Leader1: | Amy Sinclair (R) |
| Election1: | January 4, 2023 |
| Leader2 Type: | President Pro Tempore |
| Leader2: | Brad Zaun (R) |
| Election2: | January 11, 2021 |
| Leader3 Type: | Majority Leader |
| Leader3: | Jack Whitver (R) |
| Election3: | March 14, 2018 |
| Leader4 Type: | Minority Leader |
| Leader4: | Pam Jochum (D) |
| Election4: | June 7, 2023 |
| Members1: | 50 |
| Structure1: | Iowa Senate 2022.svg |
| Structure1 Res: | 250px |
| Political Groups1: | Majority Minority |
| Last Election1: | November 8, 2022 (25 seats) |
| Next Election1: | November 5, 2024 (25 seats) |
| Term Length: | 4 years |
| Authority: | Legislative Department, Section 3, Iowa Constitution |
| Salary: | $25,000/year + per diem |
| Redistricting: | Legislative Service Agency with legislative approval |
| Meeting Place: | State Senate Chamber Iowa State Capitol Des Moines, Iowa |
| Website: | Iowa General Assembly |
| Rules: | 90th General Assembly Senate Rules |
The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly, United States. There are 50 seats in the Iowa Senate, representing 50 single-member districts across the state of Iowa with populations of approximately 60,927 per constituency, .[1] Each Senate district is composed of two House districts. The Senate meets at the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines.
Unlike the lower house, the Iowa House of Representatives, senators serve four-year terms, with no term limits. Terms are staggered so that half the Senate is up for reelection every two years.
The President of the Senate presides over the body, whose powers include referring bills to committees, recognizing members during debate, and making procedural rulings. Unlike the more powerful Speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives, the Senate President cannot appoint committee chairmanships or shuffle committee memberships.[2] The Lieutenant Governor of Iowa was the presiding officer of the Senate until 1988, when an amendment to the Constitution of Iowa was passed in a referendum (effective from 1991).[3] The other partisan Senate leadership positions, such as the Majority and Minority leaders, are elected by their respective party caucuses to head their parties in the chamber.
The President of the Senate is Republican Amy Sinclair of the 12th District. The Majority Leader is Republican Jack Whitver of the 23rd District. The Minority Leader is Democrat Pam Jochum of the 36th District.[4]
| Committee | Chair | Vice Chair | Ranking Member | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture | Kevin Kinney | |||
| Appropriations | Joe Bolkcom | |||
| Commerce | Jim Lykam | |||
| Education | Herman Quirmbach | |||
| Ethics | Pam Jochum | |||
| Government Oversight | Claire Celsi | |||
| Human Resources | Liz Mathis | |||
| Judiciary | Kevin Kinney | |||
| Labor and Business Relations | Nate Boulton | |||
| Local Government | Tom Shipley | Mike Klimesh | Jackie Smith | |
| Natural Resources and Environment | Annette Sweeney | Dawn Driscoll | Sarah Trone Garriott | |
| Rules and Administration | Jack Whitver | Jake Chapman | Zach Wahls | |
| State Government | Roby Smith | Chris Cournoyer | Tony Bisignano | |
| Transportation | Waylon Brown | Adrian Dickey | Eric Giddens | |
| Veterans Affairs | Jim Carlin | Jeff Reichman | Eric Giddens | |
| Ways and Means | Dan Dawson | Tim Goodwin | Pam Jochum |
*All chairs and vice chairs are Republicans. All ranking members are Democrats.[5]
| Affiliation | Party (shading indicates majority caucus) | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Republican | Independent | Vacant | ||||
| nowrap style="font-size:80%" | End 2012 | 26 | 23 | 0 | 49 | 1 | |
| nowrap style="font-size:80%" | Begin 2013 | rowspan=2 | 26 | 24 | 0 | 50 | 0 |
| nowrap style="font-size:80%" | End of 2014 session | ||||||
| nowrap style="font-size:80%" | Begin 2015 | rowspan=2 | 26 | 24 | 0 | 50 | 0 |
| nowrap style="font-size:80%" | End 2016 session[6] | 23 | 1 | ||||
| nowrap style="font-size:80%" | Begin 2017 | 20 | 29 | 1 | 50 | 0 | |
| nowrap style="font-size:80%" | End 2018 | 50 | 0 | ||||
| nowrap style="font-size:80%" | Begin 2019 | 18 | 32 | 0 | 50 | 0 | |
| nowrap style="font-size:80%" | Begin 2023 | 16 | 34 | 0 | 50 | 0 | |
| Latest voting share | |||||||
See main article: Political party strength in Iowa.