The Florida Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. State of Florida. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber,the Senate,and a lower chamber,the House of Representatives. Article III,Section 1 of the Florida Constitution,adopted in 1968,defines the role of the legislature and how it is to be constituted. The legislature is composed of 160 state legislators. The primary purpose of the legislature is to enact new laws and amend or repeal existing laws. It meets in the Florida State Capitol building in Tallahassee.
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. The Senate is composed of 40 members,each elected from a single-member district with a population of approximately 540,000 residents. Legislative districts are drawn on the basis of population figures,provided by the federal decennial census. Senators' terms begin immediately upon their election. The Senate Chamber is located in the State Capitol building.
The government of Florida is established and operated according to the Constitution of Florida and is composed of three branches of government:the executive branch consisting of the governor of Florida and the other elected and appointed constitutional officers;the legislative branch,the Florida Legislature,consisting of the Senate and House;and the judicial branch consisting of the Supreme Court of Florida and lower courts. The state also allows direct participation of the electorate by initiative,referendum,and ratification.
Geraldine Fortenberry Thompson is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party,who currently serves as a member of the Florida State Senate from the 15th district. She served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives,representing the 44th District from 2018 to 2022. The district included Windermere,Winter Garden,Gotha,Lake Buena Vista,Oakland,parts of Ocoee,and the Dr. Phillips,Horizon West,and Williamsburg communities in Southwest Orange County,FL. The district contains Walt Disney World,Universal Studios Florida,SeaWorld,International Drive,and the Orange County Convention Center.
Scott Lawrence Fitzgerald is an American politician and former newspaper publisher. A Republican,he represents Wisconsin's 5th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. The district includes many of Milwaukee's northern and western suburbs,such as Waukesha,West Bend,Brookfield,and Mequon. He represented the 13th district in the Wisconsin State Senate from 1995 to 2021.
Andy Gardiner is a Republican politician who served as a member of the Florida Senate,representing the 9th District from 2008 to 2012,and the 13th District,which stretches from Orlando to Titusville,from 2012 to 2016. From 2014 to 2016,Gardiner served as the President of the Florida Senate. Prior to Gardiner's election to the Senate,he served in the Florida House of Representatives,representing the 40th District from 2000 to 2008.
William Claiborne Ferguson IV is an American politician,attorney,and former schoolteacher. He is a Democratic member of the Maryland Senate,representing the 46th legislative district since 2011,and serving as the President of the Maryland Senate since January 8,2020. The district is composed of parts of Baltimore City.
David H. Simmons is a Republican politician from Florida. He represented parts of Greater Orlando in the Florida Senate from 2010 to 2020,and in the Florida House of Representatives from 2000 to 2008.
Bruce Hadley Antone is an American politician from Florida. A Democrat,he served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2002 to 2006,from 2012 to 2020,and again from 2022,representing parts of Orlando in Orange County.
Valdez Venita Demings is an American politician and former police officer who served as the U.S. representative from Florida's 10th congressional district from 2017 to 2023. The district covers most of the western half of Orlando and includes much of the area around Orlando's resort parks. It includes many of Orlando's western suburbs,including Apopka and Winter Garden. From 2007 to 2011,Demings was chief of the Orlando Police Department,its first female chief,capping a 27-year career with the department. She has also been first lady of Orange County,Florida,since December 4,2018,when her husband Jerry Demings was sworn in as the mayor.
Lori Berman is a Democratic member of the Florida Senate,representing parts of central Palm Beach County since being elected in an April 2018 special election. She previously served four terms in the Florida House of Representatives from 2010 until her election to the Senate.
Jeff Irwin is an American activist,progressive and politician serving as a member of the Michigan Senate. A member of the Democratic Party,he served on the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners from 1999 to 2010,and in the Michigan House of Representatives from 2011 to 2017.
The 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Florida were held on Tuesday,November 8,2016 to elect the 27 U.S. representatives from the state of Florida,one from each of the state's 27 congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices,including President of the United States.
Carlos Guillermo Smith is an American community activist,lobbyist,and politician. A Democrat,he served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from District 49,which covered the University of Central Florida area.
Robert B. "Bob" Sindler is a Democratic politician who served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1988 to 1998,and who served on the Orange County Commission from 1998 to 2006. He is currently a candidate for the Florida Senate in 2016.
Jim Runestad is an American politician. A Republican,he has been a member of the Michigan State Senate,representing the 23rd district,since 2023. He was previously a member of the Michigan House of Representatives from 2015 to 2018. In 2020,Runestad was one of 11 Republican state senators in Michigan who supported Donald Trump's effort to overturn the result of the presidential election and remain in power.
Anna Vishkaee Eskamani is an American politician who is the member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 42nd district,encompassing parts of Orlando along with Maitland,Winter Park,Eatonville,Edgewood,and Belle Isle. She is the first Iranian American elected to any public office in Florida. Eskamani is a member of the Democratic Party and supports abortion rights,increased gun control,increasing expenditures on public education,and strengthening environmental regulations.
The 2022 Florida gubernatorial election was held on November 8,2022,to elect the governor of Florida,alongside other state and local elections. Incumbent Republican Party governor Ron DeSantis won re-election in a landslide and defeated the Democratic Party nominee,former U.S. representative Charlie Crist,who previously served as governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011 as a Republican and later as an Independent. No Democrat has been elected governor of Florida since 1994.
The 191st Massachusetts General Court was the meeting of the legislative branch of the state government of Massachusetts,composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It convened in Boston at the Massachusetts State House,on January 2,2019,and ended on January 6,2021,during the fifth and sixth years of the governorship of Charlie Baker. Senate and House districts were drawn based on the 2010 Census.
The One Hundred Fifth Wisconsin Legislature convened from January 4,2021, to January 3,2023, in regular session. The Legislature also held two extraordinary sessions and six special sessions during the term.
