Florida Senate

Last updated

Florida Senate
Florida Legislature
Seal of the Florida Senate.png
Type
Type
Term limits
2–3 terms (8 years) [a]
History
FoundedMay 26, 1845;180 years ago (1845-05-26)
Preceded by Legislative Council of the Territory of Florida
New session started
November 19, 2024;9 months ago (2024-11-19)
Leadership
Ben Albritton (R)
since November 19, 2024
President pro tempore
Jason Brodeur (R)
since November 19, 2024
Jim Boyd (R)
since November 19, 2024
Minority Leader
Lori Berman (D)
since April 24, 2025
Structure
Seats40
Florida Senate Diagram.svg
FL Senate September 2025.svg
Political groups
Majority
  •   Republican (26)

Minority

Vacancies

  •   Vacant (2)
Length of term
4 years [a]
AuthorityArticle III, Constitution of Florida
Salary$29,697.00/year + per diem (Subsistence & Travel) [1]
Elections
Last election
 November 5, 2024
(20 seats)
Next election
November 3, 2026
(20 seats)
RedistrictingLegislative control
Motto
In God We Trust
Meeting place
Florida Senate Chamber.jpg
Senate Chamber
Florida Capitol
Tallahassee, Florida
Website
The Florida Senate
Constitution
Constitution of Florida
Rules
The Florida Senate Rules
Footnotes
  1. 1 2 Every 10 years after redistricting, 20 senators are elected to 2 year terms.

The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted in 1968, defines the role of the Legislature and how it is to be constituted. [2] The Senate is composed of 40 members, each elected from a single-member district with a population of approximately 540,000 residents. The Senate Chamber is located in the State Capitol building.

Contents

The Republicans hold a supermajority in the chamber with 26 seats; Democrats are in the minority with 10 seats. [3] One seat is held by an independent, and three seats are vacant.

Terms

Article III of the Florida Constitution defines the terms for state legislators. The Constitution requires state senators from odd-numbered districts to be elected in the years that end in numbers that are multiples of four. Senators from even-numbered districts must be elected in even-numbered years, the numbers of which are not multiples of four. [4]

To reflect the results of the U.S. census and the redrawing of district boundaries, all seats are up for election in redistricting years, with some terms truncated as a result. Thus, senators in odd-numbered districts were elected to two-year terms in 2022 (following the 2020 census), and senators in even-numbered districts will be elected to two-year terms in 2032 (following the 2030 census).

Term limits

Candidates for re-election to the Florida Senate cannot appear on the ballot after serving for eight consecutive years. This was established by Amendment No. 9 (1992) affecting Article 6, Section 4 of the state Constitution. [4] [5]

Qualifications

Florida legislators must be at least twenty-one years old, an elector and resident of their district, and must have resided in Florida for at least two years prior to election. [2]

Legislative session

Coat of arms of the Florida Senate, adopted by the Florida Senate in 1972 Coat of arms of the Florida Senate.jpg
Coat of arms of the Florida Senate, adopted by the Florida Senate in 1972

Each year during which the Legislature meets constitutes a new legislative session.

Regular legislative session

The Florida Legislature meets in a 60-day regular legislative session each year. Regular sessions in odd-numbered years must begin on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March. Under the State Constitution, the Legislature can begin even-numbered year regular sessions at a time of its choosing. [4]

Special session

Special legislative sessions may be called by the governor, by a joint proclamation of the Senate president and House speaker, or by a three-fifths vote of all legislators. During a special session, the Legislature may only address legislative business that is within the purpose or purposes stated in the proclamation calling the session. [4]

Powers and process

The Florida Statutes are the codified statutory laws of the state. [6]

Leadership

The Senate is headed by the Senate President, who controls the agenda along with the Speaker of the House and Governor.[ citation needed ]

Composition

AffiliationParty
(Shading indicates majority caucus)
Total
Republican Democratic Independent Vacant
End of 2020–22 legislature23160391
Start of previous (2022–24) legislature28120400
End of previous legislature
Start of current (2024–26) legislature28120400
February 13, 2025 [a] 11391
March 31, 2025 [b] 27382
April 24, 2025 [c] 101
June 10, 2025 [d] 28391
July 21, 2025 [e] 27382
August 12, 2025 [f] 26373
September 2, 2025 [g] 11382
Latest voting share

Members, 2024–2026

DistrictNamePartyResidenceCounties representedFirst elected [14] Term up
1 Don Gaetz Rep Crestview Escambia, Santa Rosa, part of Okaloosa 20242028
2 Jay Trumbull Rep Panama City Bay, Calhoun, Holmes, Jackson, Walton Washington, part of Okaloosa 20222026
3 Corey Simon Rep Tallahassee Dixie, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lafayette, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Suwannee, Taylor, Wakulla 20222028
4 Clay Yarborough Rep Jacksonville Nassau, part of Duval 20222026
5 Tracie Davis Dem Jacksonville Part of Duval 20222028
6 Jennifer Bradley Rep Fleming Island Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Gilchrist, Union, part of Alachua 20202026
7 Tom Leek Rep Ormond Beach Flagler, Putnam, St. Johns, part of Volusia 20242028
8 Tom A. Wright Rep New Smyrna Beach Parts of Brevard and Volusia 20182026
9 Stan McClain Rep Summerfield Marion, parts of Alachua and Levy 20242028
10 Jason Brodeur Rep Sanford Seminole, part of Orange 20202026
11 Vacant Citrus, Hernando, Sumter, part of Pasco 2028
12 Colleen Burton Rep Lakeland Part of Polk 20222026
13 Keith Truenow Rep Tavares Lake, part of Orange 20242028
14 VacantPart of Hillsborough 2026
15 LaVon Bracy Davis Dem Ocoee Part of Orange 2025*2028
16 Darryl Rouson Dem St. Petersburg Parts of Hillsborough and Pinellas 20162026
17 Carlos Smith Dem Orlando Part of Orange 20242028
18 Nick DiCeglie Rep Indian Rocks Beach Part of Pinellas 20222026
19 Debbie Mayfield Rep Indialantic Part of Brevard 2025*2028
20 Jim Boyd Rep Bradenton Parts of Hillsborough and Manatee 20202026
21 Ed Hooper Rep Clearwater Parts of Pasco and Pinellas 20182028
22 Joe Gruters Rep Sarasota Sarasota, part of Manatee 20182026
23 Danny Burgess Rep Zephyrhills Parts of Hillsborough and Pasco 20202028
24 Mack Bernard Dem West Palm Beach Part of Palm Beach 2024*2026
25 Kristen Arrington Dem Orlando Osceola, part of Orange 20242028
26 Lori Berman Dem Lantana Part of Palm Beach 2018*2026
27 Ben Albritton Rep Wauchula Charlotte, DeSoto, Hardee, parts of Lee and Polk 20182028
28 Kathleen Passidomo Rep Naples Collier, Hendry, part of Lee 20162026
29 Erin Grall Rep Vero Beach Glades, Highlands, Indian River, Okeechobee, part of St. Lucie 20222028
30 Tina Polsky Dem Boca Raton Parts of Broward and Palm Beach 20202026
31 Gayle Harrell Rep Stuart Martin, parts of Palm Beach and St. Lucie 20182028
32 Rosalind Osgood Dem Fort Lauderdale Part of Broward 2022*2026
33 Jonathan Martin Rep Fort Myers Part of Lee 20222028
34 Shevrin Jones Dem West Park Part of Miami-Dade 20202026
35 Barbara Sharief Dem Plantation Part of Broward 20242028
36 Ileana Garcia Rep Miami Part of Miami-Dade 20202026
37 Jason Pizzo Ind. North Miami Beach Parts of Broward and Miami-Dade 20182028
38 Alexis Calatayud Rep Miami Part of Miami-Dade 20222026
39 Bryan Avila Rep Hialeah Part of Miami-Dade 20222028
40 Ana Maria Rodriguez Rep Doral Monroe, part of Miami-Dade 20202026

*Elected in a special election.

District map

Districts and party composition of the Florida Senate after the 2024 elections Democratic Party Republican Party Florida Senate.png
Districts and party composition of the Florida Senate after the 2024 elections
  Democratic Party
  Republican Party

Past composition of the Senate

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Democrat Geraldine Thompson (District 15) died. [7]
  2. ↑ Republican Randy Fine (District 19) resigned effective this date to run for Congress. [8]
  3. ↑ Jason Pizzo (District 37) changed party affiliation from Democrat to no party affiliation. [9]
  4. ↑ Republican Debbie Mayfield elected to replace Randy Fine (District 19). [10]
  5. ↑ Republican Blaise Ingoglia (District 11) resigned after being appointed state Chief Financial Officer. [11]
  6. ↑ Republican Jay Collins (District 14) resigned after being appointed Lieutenant Governor. [12]
  7. ↑ Democrat LaVon Bracy Davis elected to replace Geraldine Thompson (District 15). [13]

References

  1. ↑ "The 2017 Florida Statutes F.S. 11.13 Compensation of members". Florida Legislature.
  2. 1 2 "Florida Statutes". Florida Legislature. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Senators". Florida Senate.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "The Florida Constitution". Florida Legislature.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  5. ↑ "Vote Yes On Amendment No. 9 To Begin Limiting Political Terms". Sun-Sentinel. October 27, 1992. Archived from the original on July 18, 2018. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Statutes & Constitution: Online Sunshine". Florida Legislature. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
  7. ↑ Petro, Allison (February 13, 2025). "Florida State Senator Geraldine Thompson dies at 76, family says". WESH . Retrieved February 13, 2025.
  8. ↑ Berman, David (November 27, 2024). "Fine to run for Congress in Daytona Beach area; Mayfield seeks return to Florida Senate". Florida Today . Retrieved April 1, 2025.
  9. ↑ Ellenbogen, Romy (April 24, 2024). "Florida Senate Democratic leader drops party, switches to no-party affiliation". Tampa Bay Times . Retrieved April 24, 2025.
  10. ↑ Costeines, Michael (June 11, 2025). "Florida Republicans Earn Clean Sweep in Special Elections". The Floridian. Retrieved June 11, 2025.
  11. ↑ Swisher, Skyler (July 16, 2025). "DeSantis names Sen. Blaise Ingoglia Florida's next CFO". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  12. ↑ Rohrer, Gray; Bridges, C.A. (August 12, 2025). "Gov. Ron DeSantis taps Jay Collins to be lieutenant governor of Florida". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved August 12, 2025.
  13. ↑ Ogles, Jacob (September 2, 2025). "LaVon Bracy Davis will succeed Geraldine Thompson in SD 15 following Special Election win". Florida Politics. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
  14. ↑ And previous terms of service, if any.
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