Connecticut Senate
Connecticut State Senate | |
---|---|
Type | |
Type | Upper house |
Term limits | None |
History | |
New session started | January 5, 2017 |
Leadership | |
Lieutenant Governor | Nancy Wyman (D) Since January 5, 2011 |
President Pro Tempore | Martin M. Looney (D) Since January 7, 2015 |
Republican President Pro Tempore | Len Fasano (R) Since January 4, 2017 |
Majority Leader | Bob Duff (D) Since January 7, 2015 |
Structure | |
Seats | 36 |
Political groups | Majority
Minority
|
Length of term | 2 years |
Authority | Article III, Section 1, Connecticut Constitution |
Salary | $28,000/year |
Elections | |
Last election | November 8, 2016 (36 seats) |
Next election | November 6, 2018 (36 seats) |
Redistricting | Legislative Control |
Meeting place | |
State Senate Chamber Connecticut State Capitol Hartford, Connecticut | |
Website | |
Official Senate Page |
The Connecticut State Senate is the upper house of the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Connecticut. The state senate comprises 36 members, each representing a district with around 99,280 inhabitants. Senators are elected to two-year terms without term limits. The Connecticut State Senate is one of 14 state legislative upper houses whose members serve two-year terms; four-year terms are more common.
As in other upper houses of state and territorial legislatures and the federal U.S. Senate, the Senate is reserved with special functions such as confirming or rejecting gubernatorial appointments to the state's executive departments, the state cabinet, commissions and boards. Unlike a majority of U.S. state legislatures, both the Connecticut House of Representatives and the State Senate vote on the composition to the Connecticut Supreme Court.
The Senate meets within the State Capitol in Hartford.
Contents
1 History
2 Leadership of the Senate
2.1 Current leadership
3 Make-up of the Senate
3.1 Members of the Senate
4 Past composition of the Senate
5 See also
6 References
7 External links
History
The Senate has its basis in the earliest incarnation of the General Assembly, the "General Corte" established in 1636 whose membership was divided between at least six generally elected magistrates (the predecessor of the Senate) and three-member "committees" representing each of the towns of the Connecticut Colony (the predecessors of the House of Representatives). The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, adopted in 1639, renamed the committees to "deputies", the Corte to the Court, and established that the magistrates were generally elected for yearlong terms; the magistrate who received the highest number of votes would serve as governor for the year, so long as he had previously served as a magistrate and had not been governor the previous year. Other magistrates were elected deputy governor, secretary, and treasurer. Although the magistrates and deputies sat together, they voted separately and in 1645 it was decreed that a measure had to have the approval of both groups in order to pass. The Charter of 1662 replaced the six magistrates with twelve assistants, not including the governor and deputy governor, and renamed the legislature to the General Assembly. In 1698, the General Assembly split into a bicameral body, divided between the Council and the House of Representatives. The Council contained the twelve assistants, deputy governor, and governor, who led the body, while the House was led by a Speaker elected from among its members. Because the governor led it and other notables sat in it, the Council took precedence to the House and when the two chambers were at odds, the House deferred to the Council. The 1818 constitution renamed the Council to the Senate, removed the governor and deputy governor from its membership, and removed all remaining judicial and executive authority from it, but it remained largely the same in that it still consisted of twelve generally elected members. It was in 1828 that senatorial districts were established and the number of senators revised to between eight and twenty-four; the number was altered to between twenty-four and thirty-six in 1901, with the General Assembly setting it at thirty-six immediately. Senatorial terms were raised to two years in 1875.[1]
In 1814–15, the Hartford Convention met in the Connecticut Senate chamber of what is now the Old State House.
Leadership of the Senate
The Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut serves as the President of the Senate, but only casts a vote if required to break a tie. In his or her absence, the President Pro Tempore of the Connecticut Senate presides. The President pro tempore is elected by the majority party caucus followed by confirmation of the entire Senate through a Senate Resolution. The President pro tempore is the chief leadership position in the Senate. The Senate majority and minority leaders are elected by their respective party caucuses.
The President of the Senate is Nancy Wyman of the Democratic Party. The President pro tempore is Democrat Martin M. Looney (D-New Haven). The Majority Leader is Bob Duff (D-Norwalk) and the Minority Leader is Len Fasano (R-North Haven).
Current leadership
Position | Senator | District | |
---|---|---|---|
Lieutenant Governor | Nancy Wyman | N/A | |
President Pro Tempore | Martin M. Looney | 11 | |
Co-President Pro Tempore | Len Fasano | 34 | |
Majority Leader | Bob Duff | 25 | |
Co-Majority Leader | Toni Boucher | 26 |
Make-up of the Senate
The current makeup of the Connecticut Senate is evenly split between Democrats and Republicans at 18 seats for each caucus. However, Democrats hold the working majority in the Senate, with Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman casting the deciding vote in the event of a tie.
18 | 18 |
Democratic | Republican |
Affiliation | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Total | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Republican | Vacant | ||
End of previous legislature | 22 | 14 | 36 | 0 |
Begin | 22 | 14 | 36 | 0 |
End of previous legislature | ||||
Begin | 20 | 15 | 35 | 1 |
End of previous legislature | 21 | 36 | 0 | |
Begin[2] | 17 | 17 | 34 | 2 |
February 28, 2017[3] | 18 | 18 | 36 | 0 |
Latest voting share | 7001500000000000000♠50%[4] | 7001500000000000000♠50% |
Members of the Senate
Current members of the Connecticut Senate, as of February 28, 2017[update].
District | Name[5] | Party | Hometown | First elected | Towns represented | Occupation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | John Fonfara | Dem | Hartford | 1996 | Hartford (part), Wethersfield (part) | Marketing Consultant |
2 | Douglas McCrory | Dem | Bloomfield | 2017↑ | Bloomfield (part), Hartford (part), Windsor (part) | |
3 | Tim Larson | Dem | East Hartford | 2014 | East Hartford, East Windsor, Ellington (part), South Windsor | Insurance Executive |
4 | Steve Cassano | Dem | Manchester | 2010 | Andover, Bolton, Glastonbury, Manchester | Daycare Owner |
5 | Beth Bye | Dem | West Hartford | 2010 | Bloomfield (part), Burlington, Farmington (part), West Hartford | Educator |
6 | Theresa "Terry" Gerratana | Dem | New Britain | 2011 | Berlin, Farmington (part), New Britain | Teacher |
7 | John A. Kissel | Rep | Enfield | 1992 | East Granby, Enfield, Granby (part), Somers, Suffield, Windsor (part), Windsor Locks | Corporate Attorney |
8 | Kevin Witkos | Rep | Canton | 2008 | Avon, Barkhamsted, Canton, Colebrook, Granby (part), Hartland, Harwinton (part), New Hartford, Norfolk, Simsbury, Torrington (part) | Utility Executive |
9 | Paul R. Doyle | Dem | Wethersfield | 2006 | Cromwell, Middletown (part), Newington, Rocky Hill, Wethersfield (part) | Attorney |
10 | Gary Holder-Winfield | Dem | New Haven | 2014 | New Haven (part), West Haven (part) | Photographer, Business Owner |
11 | Martin M. Looney | Dem | New Haven | 1993 | Hamden (part), New Haven (part), North Haven (part) | Attorney |
12 | Ted Kennedy, Jr. | Dem | Guilford | 2014 | Branford, Durham (part), Guilford, Killingworth, Madison, North Branford | Attorney |
13 | Len Suzio | Rep | Meriden | 2016 | Cheshire (part), Meriden, Middlefield, Middletown (part) | |
14 | Gayle Slossberg | Dem | Milford | 2004 | Milford, Orange, West Haven (part), Woodbridge (part) | Retired Attorney |
15 | Joan V. Hartley | Dem | Waterbury | 2000 | Middlebury (part), Naugatuck (part), Waterbury (part) | Teacher |
16 | Joe Markley | Rep | Southington | 2010 | Cheshire (part), Prospect, Southington, Waterbury (part), Wolcott | Teacher |
17 | George Logan | Rep | Ansonia | 2016 | Ansonia, Beacon Falls, Bethany, Derby, Hamden (part), Naugatuck (part), Woodbridge (part) | |
18 | Heather Somers | Rep | Groton | 2016 | Griswold, Groton, North Stonington, Plainfield, Preston, Sterling, Stonington, Voluntown | |
19 | Catherine A. Osten | Dem | Columbia | 2012 | Columbia, Franklin, Hebron, Lebanon, Ledyard, Lisbon, Marlborough, Montville (part), Norwich, Sprague | Corrections officer First Selectman |
20 | Paul Formica | Rep | East Lyme | 2014 | Bozrah, East Lyme, Montville (part), New London, Old Lyme, Old Saybrook (part), Salem, Waterford | |
21 | Kevin C. Kelly | Rep | Stratford | 2010 | Monroe (part), Seymour (part), Shelton, Stratford (part) | |
22 | Marilyn Moore | Dem | Bridgeport | 2014 | Bridgeport (part), Monroe (part), Trumbull | |
23 | Ed Gomes | Dem[6] | Bridgeport | 2015↑ (2005–2013) | Bridgeport (part), Stratford (part) | |
24 | Michael McLachlan | Rep | Danbury | 2008 | Bethel (part), Danbury, New Fairfield, Sherman | |
25 | Bob Duff | Dem | Norwalk | 2000 | Darien (part), Norwalk | Realtor |
26 | Toni Boucher | Rep | Wilton | 2008 | Bethel (part), New Canaan (part), Redding, Ridgefield, Weston (part), Westport (part), Wilton | Teacher |
27 | Carlo Leone | Dem | Stamford | 2011 | Darien (part), Stamford (part) | Financial Analyst |
28 | Tony Hwang | Rep | Fairfield | 2014 | Easton, Fairfield, Newtown, Weston (part), Westport (part) | |
29 | Mae Flexer | Dem | Danielson | 2014 | Brooklyn, Canterbury, Killingly, Mansfield, Putnam, Scotland, Thompson, Windham | |
30 | Craig Miner | Rep | Litchfield | 2016 | Brookfield, Canaan, Cornwall, Goshen, Kent, Litchfield, Morris, New Milford, North Canaan, Salisbury, Sharon, Torrington (part), Warren, Winchester | |
31 | Henri Martin | Rep | Bristol | 2014 | Bristol, Harwinton (part), Plainville, Plymouth, Thomaston | Real Estate Business Owner |
32 | Eric Berthel | Rep | Watertown | 2017↑ | Bethlehem, Bridgewater, Middlebury (part), Oxford, Roxbury, Seymour (part), Southbury, Washington, Watertown, Woodbury | Strategic Outreach |
33 | Art Linares | Rep | Westbrook | 2012 | Chester, Clinton, Colchester, Deep River, East Haddam, East Hampton, Essex, Haddam, Lyme, Old Saybrook (part), Portland, Westbrook | Entrepreneur |
34 | Len Fasano | Rep | North Haven | 2002 | Durham (part), East Haven, North Haven (part), Wallingford | Attorney |
35 | Tony Guglielmo | Rep | Stafford | 1992 | Ashford, Chaplin, Coventry, Eastford, Ellington (part), Hampton, Pomfret, Stafford, Tolland, Union, Vernon, Willington, Woodstock | |
36 | Scott Frantz | Rep | Greenwich | 2008 | Greenwich, New Canaan (part), Stamford (part) |
- ↑Senator was first elected in a special election.
Past composition of the Senate
See also
- Connecticut State Capitol
- Connecticut General Assembly
- Connecticut House of Representatives
- Historic Members of the Connecticut Senate
References
^ Under the Gold Dome: An Insider's Look at the Connecticut Legislature, by Judge Robert Satter. New Haven: Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, 2004, pp. 16–27.
^ Democrat Eric D. Coleman (District 2) and Republican Rob Kane (District 32) resigned prior to the legislative session. [1]
^ Democrat Douglas McCrory and Republican Eric C. Berthel elected to succeed Coleman and Kane, respectively.
^ A power-sharing agreement was reached dividing control of the chamber, splitting the committees 50–50 and giving power to the Republicans to call procedural votes to bring legislation to the chamber floor, while Lt. Gov. Wyman retains the ability to break tied votes. [2]
^ "Senate Members (listed alphabetically)". Connecticut General Assembly. Retrieved February 14, 2013..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ Though Sen. Gomes was elected on the Working Families Party line, he remains a registered Democrat.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Connecticut Senate. |
- Connecticut State Senate
- Connecticut Senate Districts Map
State Senate of Connecticut[permanent dead link] at Project Vote Smart
Connecticut Senate at Ballotpedia