Mississippi State Senate

Mississippi State Senate
Type
Type	Upper House
Leadership
President of the Senate	Phil Bryant, R
President pro tempore	Billy Hewes, R
Structure
Members	52
Election
Last election	November 4, 2008
Meeting place
Senate Chamber Mississippi State Capitol Jackson, MS, US
Website
http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/

The Mississippi Senate is the upper house of the Mississippi Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The Senate is composed of 52 Senators representing an equal amount of constituent districts, with 54,704 people per district (2000 figures). Senators serve four-year terms with no term limits.

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 State Capitol in Jackson.

Contents 1 Senate defined by law 2 Leadership of the Senate 3 Composition 4 Members of the Mississippi Senate (2008-2011) 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Senate defined by law

According to the current Mississippi Constitution of 1890, the Senate is to be composed of no more than 52 members elected for four-year terms. Elections to the Senate are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November during the state general elections.

[edit] Leadership of the Senate

The Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi serves as the President of the Senate, but only casts a legislative vote if required to break a tie. In his or her absence, the President Pro Tempore presides over the Senate. The President Pro Tempore is elected by the majority party caucus followed by confirmation of the entire Senate through a Senate Resolution. Unlike other upper houses in state legislatures, the President Pro Tempore's power is limited. The Lieutenant Governor has the sole ability to appoint the chairmanships or vice chairmanships of various Senate committees, regardless of party size. The other Senate majority and minority leaders are elected by their respective party caucuses.

The President of the Senate is Mississippi Lieutenant Governor Phil Bryant. The President pro tempore is Republican Billy Hewes III.

[edit] Composition

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)		Total
	Democratic	Republican		Vacant
End of previous legislature	25	27	52	0
Begin	28	24	52	0
February 2008[1]	27	25	52	0
Latest voting share	51.9%	48.1%

Although the Democratic party retained their majority (27D to 25R) in the state Senate after the 2003 general election, a party switch by former Democratic Senator, James Shannon Walley of Leakesville threw control of the chamber to the Republicans. Walley was elected as a Democrat in 2003 to represent District 43, which includes George, Greene, Stone, and Wayne counties, then announced he was switching parties and won re-election as a Republican. Because the Lieutenant Governor at that time, Amy Tuck, was a Republican (and also a previous party switcher), this gave Republicans control of the Senate for the first time since Reconstruction and a defacto majority only on a tie vote.

Until January 2008, the Senate contained 25 Democrats and 27 Republicans. Democrats enjoyed a net gain of three seats in the November 6, 2007 statewide elections and won back control of the chamber by a 28-24 margin until Senator Nolan Mettetal announced his party switch in February, 2008. The Senate balance is now 27-25, with the Democrats holding the slim majority.

[edit] Members of the Mississippi Senate (2008-2011)

District	Name	Party
1st	Doug E. Davis	R
2nd	Bill Stone	D
3rd	Nickey Browning	D
4th	Eric Powell	D
5th	J. P. Wilemon	D
6th	Alan Nunnelee	R
7th	Hob Bryan	D
8th	Carl Jackson Gordon, Jr.	D
9th	Gray Tollison	D
10th	H. Nolan Mettetal	R
11th	Robert L. Jackson	D
12th	Johnnie E. Walls, Jr.	D
13th	Willie Lee Simmons	D
14th	Lydia Chassaniol	R
15th	Gary Jackson	R
16th	Bennie L. Turner	D
17th	Terry W. Brown	R
18th	Giles Ward	R
19th	Merle Flowers	R
20th	Lee Yancey	R
21st	Kenny Wayne Jones	D
22nd	Eugene S. Clarke	R
23rd	Briggs Hopson	R
24th	David Lee Jordan	D
25th	J. Walter Michel	R
26th	John A. Horhn	D
27th	Hillman Terome Frazier	D
28th	Alice Harden	D
29th	David Blount	D
30th	Dean Kirby	R
31st	Terry Clark Burton	R
32nd	Sampson Jackson II	D
33rd	Videt Carmichael	R
34th	Haskins Montgomery	D
35th	Perry Lee	R
36th	Vincent Davis	D
37th	Bob Dearing	D
38th	Kelvin Butler	D
39th	Cindy Hyde-Smith	D
40th	Sidney Albritton	R
41st	Joey Fillingane	R
42nd	Chris McDaniel	R
43rd	Tommy Dickerson	D
44th	Thomas E. King, Jr.	R
45th	Billy Hudson	R
46th	David Baria	D
47th	Ezell Lee	D
48th	Deborah Jeanne Dawkins	D
49th	Billy Hewes III	R
50th	Thomas Arlin Gollot	R
51st	Michael Watson	R
52nd	Tommy O. Moffatt	R

[edit] See also

• Mississippi State Capitol
• Mississippi Legislature
• Mississippi House of Representatives

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Mississippi Legislature
• Project Vote Smart - State Senate of Mississippi

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