The Kentucky Senate is the

upper house An upper house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smalle ...

of the

Kentucky General Assembly The Kentucky General Assembly, also called the Kentucky Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It comprises the Kentucky Senate and the Kentucky House of Representatives. The General Assembly meets annually in the ...

. The Kentucky Senate is composed of 38 members elected from single-member districts throughout

the Commonwealth The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the ...

. There are no

term limits A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...

for Kentucky Senators. The Kentucky Senate meets at the

Kentucky State Capitol The Kentucky State Capitol is located in Frankfort and is the house of the three branches (executive, legislative, judicial) of the state government of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic P ...

in Frankfort annually beginning in January. Sessions last for 60 legislative days in even-numbered years and 30 legislative days in odd-numbered years. Republicans have had control of the Senate since 2000. They currently hold 30 seats to Democrats' 8.

Terms and qualifications

According to Section 32 of the

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

Constitution, a

state senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

must: *be at least 30 years old; *be a citizen of Kentucky; *have resided in the state at least six years and the district at least one year prior to election. Per section 30 of the Kentucky Constitution, senators are elected to four year staggered terms, with half the Senate elected every two years.

Leadership

Prior to a 1992

constitutional amendment A constitutional amendment is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly altering the text. Conversely, t ...

, the

Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky The lieutenant governor of Kentucky was created under the state's second constitution, which was ratified in 1799. The inaugural officeholder was Alexander Scott Bullitt, who took office in 1800 following his election to serve under James Garrard ...

presided over the Senate; the 1992 amendment created a new office of

President of the Senate President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's succession for its top executive office: for e ...

to be held by one of the 38 senators.

Leaders

*President (elected by full body): Robert Stivers (R-25) *

President pro tempore A president pro tempore or speaker pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer. The phrase ''pro tempore'' is Latin "for the time being". ...

(elected by full body): David P. Givens (R-9) Additionally, each political party elects a floor leader, whip, and

caucus A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to a meeting ...

chairman. Current party leadership of the Kentucky Senate: * Republican Party **Leader: Damon Thayer (R-17) **Whip: Mike Wilson (R-32) **Caucus chair: Julie Raque Adams (R-36)) *

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

**Leader:

Morgan McGarvey John Morgan McGarvey (born December 23, 1979) is an American attorney and politician serving as a Democratic member of the Kentucky Senate, where he represents the 19th district. In December 2018, he was elected as minority leader, becoming one ...

(D-19) **Whip: Dennis Parrett (D-10) **Caucus chair: Reggie Thomas (D-13)

Members

List of current senators

History

Carolyn Conn Moore Carolyn Conn Moore (January 7, 1904 – January 14, 1986) was an American politician from Franklin, Kentucky who became the first woman to serve in the Kentucky Senate when in November 1949 she won a special election to replace her husband, J. L ...

became the first woman to serve in the Kentucky Senate when in November 1949 she won a special election to replace her husband, J. Lee Moore, in the legislature after his death.

Gerald Neal Gerald Anthony Neal (born September 22, 1945) is an American politician and attorney. He is a Democratic Party member of the Kentucky Senate, representing District 33 since January 1989. Life and career Born September 22, 1945, Gerald Anthony N ...

became the first African-American to be elected to the Kentucky Senate in 1988.

also became the first African-American ever to be elected to a leadership position in the

in 2014.

Standing Committees

Past composition of the Senate

References

External links

Kentucky Legislature Senate Members
''official government website''
State Senate of Kentucky
at

Project Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected officials in si ...

* {{Coord, 38, 11, 12.4, N, 84, 52, 33.5, W, type:landmark_region:US-KY, display=title Kentucky General Assembly State upper houses in the United States