Tennessee Senate

Senate of Tennessee
Tennessee General Assembly

Type
Type	Upper house
Term limits	None
History
New session started	January 2015
Leadership
Speaker of the Senate	Ron Ramsey (R) Since January 9, 2007
Speaker pro Tempore	Bo Watson (R) Since January 10, 2012
Majority Leader	Mark Norris (R) Since January 9, 2007
Minority Leader	Lee Harris (D) Since January 2015
Structure
Seats	33

Political groups	Governing party Republican (28) Opposition party Democratic (5)
Length of term	4 years
Authority	Article III, Tennessee Constitution
Salary	$19,009/year + per diem
Elections
Last election	November 4, 2014 (17 seats)
Next election	November 1, 2016 (16 seats)
Redistricting	Legislative Control
Meeting place

State Senate Chamber Tennessee State Capitol Nashville, Tennessee
Website
www.capitol.tn.gov/senate

The Tennessee Senate is the upper house of the U.S. state of Tennessee's state legislature, which is known formally as the Tennessee General Assembly.

The Tennessee Senate, according to the state constitution of 1870, is composed of 33 members, one-third the size of the Tennessee House of Representatives. Senators are to be elected from districts of substantially equal population. According to the constitution, a county is not to be joined to a portion of another county for purposes of creating a district; this provision has been overridden by the rulings of the Supreme Court of the United States in Baker v. Carr (369 U.S. 182, 1962) and Reynolds v. Sims (337 U.S. 356, 1964). The Tennessee constitution has been amended to allow that if these rulings are ever changed or reversed, a referendum may be held to allow the senate districts to be drawn on a basis other than substantially equal population.

In 1921, Anna Lee Keys Worley became the first women to serve in the Tennessee Senate.^[1]

Until 1966, Tennessee state senators served two-year terms. That year the system was changed, by constitutional amendment, to allow four-year terms. In that year, senators in even-numbered districts were elected to two-year terms and those in odd-numbered districts were elected to four-year terms. This created a staggered system in which only half of the senate is up for election at any one time. Districts are to be sequentially and consecutively numbered; the scheme basically runs from east to west and north to south.

Republicans attained an elected majority in the Senate in the 104th General Assembly (2005-2007) for the first time since Reconstruction; a brief majority in the 1990s was the result of two outgoing senators switching parties.

Senate Speaker

The Senate elects one of its own members as Speaker; the Speaker automatically becomes Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee. The current Speaker of the Senate and Lieutenant Governor is Ron Ramsey, who was elected to the position in 2007. One of the main duties of the Speaker is to preside over the Senate and make Senate committee appointments. The Speaker also controls staffing and office space with Senate staff. The Speaker serves as an ex-officio member of all standing committees.

Composition of the 109th General Assembly 2015–2017

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)		Total

	Republican	Democratic		Vacant
End of previous legislature	26	7	33	0

Begin	28	5	33	0
Latest voting share	84.8%	15.2%

Senate Leadership and Members

Senate Leaders

Speaker of the Senate/ Lieutenant Governor: Ron Ramsey
Speaker Pro Tempore: Bo Watson
Deputy Speaker: Steve Southerland

Majority Leadership (R)

Floor Leader: Mark Norris
Caucus Chairman: Bill Ketron
Caucus Secretary: Becky Duncan Massey
Caucus Treasurer: Ferrell Haile

Minority Leadership (D)

Floor Leader: Lee Harris
Caucus Chairman: Jeff Yarbro

Senate Members

District	Name	Party	Residence
1	Steve Southerland	Republican	Morristown
2	Doug Overbey	Republican	Maryville
3	Rusty Crowe	Republican	Johnson City
4	Ron Ramsey, Speaker	Republican	Blountville
5	Randy McNally	Republican	Oak Ridge
6	Becky Duncan Massey	Republican	Knoxville
7	Richard Briggs	Republican	Knoxville
8	Frank Niceley	Republican	Strawberry Plains
9	Mike Bell	Republican	Riceville
10	Todd Gardenhire	Republican	Chattanooga
11	Bo Watson	Republican	Hixson
12	Ken Yager	Republican	Harriman
13	Bill Ketron	Republican	Murfreesboro
14	Jim Tracy	Republican	Shelbyville
15	Paul Bailey	Republican	Sparta
16	Janice Bowling	Republican	Tullahoma
17	Mae Beavers	Republican	Mt. Juliet
18	Ferrell Haile	Republican	Gallatin
19	Thelma Harper	Democratic	Nashville
20	Steven Dickerson	Republican	Nashville
21	Jeff Yarbro	Democratic	Nashville
22	Mark Green	Republican	Clarksville
23	Jack Johnson	Republican	Franklin
24	John Stevens	Republican	Huntingdon
25	Kerry Roberts	Republican	Springfield
26	Dolores Gresham	Republican	Somerville
27	Ed Jackson	Republican	Jackson
28	Joey Hensley	Republican	Hohenwald
29	Lee Harris	Democratic	Memphis
30	Sara Kyle	Democratic	Memphis
31	Brian Kelsey	Republican	Germantown
32	Mark Norris	Republican	Collierville
33	Reginald Tate	Democratic	Memphis

References

↑ "Anna Lee Keys Worley". National Women's History Museum. Retrieved March 2016. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)

External links

Official website

Members of the Tennessee State Senate

109th General Assembly (2015–2017) Speaker of the Senate: Ron Ramsey (R) Speaker pro Tempore: Bo Watson (R) Majority Leader: Mark Norris (R) Minority Leader: Lee Harris (D)

Steve Southerland (R) Doug Overbey (R) Rusty Crowe (R) Ron Ramsey (R) Randy McNally (R) Becky Duncan Massey (R) Richard Briggs (R) Frank S. Niceley (R) Mike Bell (R) Todd Gardenhire (R) Bo Watson (R) Ken Yager (R) Bill Ketron (R) Jim Tracy (R) Paul Bailey (R) Janice Bowling (R) Mae Beavers (R) Ferrell Haile (R) Thelma Harper (D) Steven Dickerson (R) Jeff Yarbro (D) Mark Green (R) Jack Johnson (R) John Stevens (R) Kerry Roberts (R) Dolores Gresham (R) Ed Jackson (R) Joey Hensley (R) Lee Harris (D) Sara Kyle (D) Brian Kelsey (R) Mark Norris (R) Reginald Tate (D)

Republican (28) Democratic (5) Tennessee General Assembly Tennessee House of Representatives Tennessee State Senate

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Officers of the State of Tennessee

Executive offices	Governor Lieutenant Governor

Legislative offices	Speaker of the Senate Speaker of the House of Representatives Secretary of State State Treasurer State Comptroller

Judicial offices	Tennessee Supreme Court Attorney General

State of Tennessee

Nashville (capital)

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Authority control	WorldCat Identities VIAF: 266906412 LCCN: n80147663 GND: 131798-2

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