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Louisiana State Senate
Louisiana State Legislature
Type
Type	Upper house
Term limits	3 terms (12 years)
History
New session started	January 8, 2024
Leadership
President	Cameron Henry (R) since January 8, 2024
President pro tempore	Regina Barrow (D) since January 8, 2024
Majority Leader	Jeremy Stine (R) since January 8, 2024
Minority Leader	Gerald Boudreaux (D) since May 10, 2021
Structure
Seats	39
Seat display Map display
Political groups	Majority   Republican (28) Minority   Democratic (11)
Length of term	4 years
Authority	Article III, Section 3,Louisiana Constitution
Salary	$16,800/year plus per diem.
Elections
Last election	October 14 and November 18, 2023 (39 seats)
Next election	October 16 and November 20, 2027 (39 seats)
Redistricting	Legislative Control
Meeting place
State Senate Chamber Louisiana State Capitol Baton Rouge,Louisiana
Website
Louisiana State Senate
Rules
Senate Rules

Politics of Louisiana
Constitution and law United States Constitution Louisiana Constitution Louisiana law
Executive GovernorJeff Landry (R) State Cabinet Lieutenant GovernorBilly Nungesser (R) Secretary of StateNancy Landry (R) Attorney GeneralLiz Murrill (R) State TreasurerJohn Fleming (R) Commissioner of Agriculture and ForestryMike Strain (R) Commissioner of InsuranceTimothy Temple (R) Public Service Commission Board of Elementary and Secondary Education
Legislature State Senate PresidentCameron Henry (R) President pro temporeRegina Barrow (R) Majority LeaderJeremy Stine (R) Minority LeaderGerald Boudreaux (D) House of Representatives SpeakerPhillip DeVillier (R) Speaker pro temporeMichael T. Johnson (R) Majority LeaderMark Wright (Louisiana politician) (R) Minority LeaderMatthew Willard (D)
Judiciary Supreme Court Chief JusticeJohn L. Weimer (I) JusticeWilliam J. Crain (R) JusticeScott Crichton (R) JusticeJames T. Genovese (R) JusticeJay McCallum (R) JusticeJefferson D. Hughes III (R) JusticePiper D. Griffin (D) Louisiana Circuit Courts of Appeal Louisiana District Courts Parish and City Courts Mayor's Courts Justice of the Peace Courts
Elections Nonpartisan primary Political parties Qualified Louisiana parties Democratic Party Republican Party Green Party Reform Party Libertarian Party National minor parties Political party strength
Administrative divisions Parishes (64) Municipalities (303) School districts
Federal representation U.S. Senate (list) Bill Cassidy (R) John Kennedy (R) U.S. House of Representatives (list) 1:Steve Scalise (R) 2:Troy Carter (D) 3:Clay Higgins (R) 4:Mike Johnson (R) 5:Julia Letlow (R) 6:Garret Graves (R)
Politics of the United States Politics portal United States portal
v t e

TheLouisiana State Senate (French:Sénat d'État de Louisiane;Spanish:Senado del Estado de Luisiana) is the upper house of Louisiana’s legislature. Senators serve four-year terms and participate in various committees.

The Louisiana State Senate has 39 members elected from single-member districts. Candidates must be registered voters, at least 18 years old, residents of their district for one year, and Louisiana residents for two years. Senate elections use anonpartisan primary system with runoffs if needed. Elections to the Senate occur every four years and senators are limited to three four-year terms (12 years). If a seat is vacated early during a term, it will be filled in a special election. The Senate meets yearly alongside the House of Representatives. General sessions last 60 days in even years, and appropriations sessions last 45 days in odd years.

The Senate is the Upper Legislative Chamber of theLouisiana State Legislature and, along with theLouisiana House of Representatives, is the legislative power of the state ofLouisiana. In addition, it tries officials impeached by the House of Representatives and confirms or rejects officials nominated by thegovernor of Louisiana.

The Louisiana State Senate currently has over fifteen different committees in which the senators sit. These committees address a wide range of issues such as environmental quality, education, labor relations and more . A full list of the committees can be found at the senate committees page.^[1] Likewise, a full list of committee assignments (by member) can be found at the committee assignments page.^[2]

The Senate president, elected by its members, serves as its highest-ranking official. While not required, the governor typically nominates the president, who is then elected by the Senate. The president is usually chosen from the majority party, even if it is not the governor's party, although this is not always the case. One example of this is when Republican GovernorMike Foster chose Republican State SenatorJohn J. Hainkel Jr. to serve as senate president even though the Democrats had a large majority. One factor that allows for this is that the Governor usually has support on both sides of the aisle when he first enters office so his appointees, including the senate president, are usually confirmed easily.

The president is fifth in the line of succession to the governorship after the lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general,and state treasurer.

The Louisiana Constitution of 1812 did not provide for a lieutenant governor to succeed to the governorship in case of the governor's death, resignation or removal from office, neither would there be a lieutenant governor to preside over the state senate, instead it provided that the President would serve as the state senate's presiding officer and become acting governor until the seating of an elected governor. The first senate president to succeed to the governorship wasHenry S. Thibodaux, who succeeded to the position in 1824 after the resignation of GovernorThomas B. Robertson. Thibodaux served for one month before the Governor-elect,Henry Johnson, took office. In 1829, GovernorPierre Derbigny died in a carriage accident, allowing for Senate PresidentArmand Beauvais to become acting governor. Beauvais resigned after only three months in 1830 to run in the special election to fill the post. The new senate president,Jacques Dupré, became the new acting governor until he resigned in 1831 and was replaced by governor-electAndré B. Roman.

In theLouisiana Constitution of 1846, thelieutenant governor of Louisiana assumed the functions of the senate presidency. This arrangement lasted until 1976. The first lieutenant governor to preside over the Senate wasTrasimond Landry who served from 1846 until 1850. During the Civil War there were two lieutenant governors, one union, and one confederate, as there were two separate state governments. During the Reconstruction the post was held by Republicans, thereafter the chair was held by Democrats for over a hundred years.

From the end of the Reconstruction in 1877 until the appointment ofJohn Hainkel in 2000, the senate chair was held by Democrats. During this time most lieutenant governors were allies of the Governor, with notable exceptions. During this time several senate presidents pro tempore became acting lieutenant governor due to the premature vacating of the office of lieutenant governor. On at least two occasions it was due to the ascension of the lieutenant governor to the governorship, in the case of the others it was because of the death, resignation or removal of the lieutenant governor. When the seat was vacated the president pro tempore became acting lieutenant governor in accordance with the constitution, and on two occasions the president pro tempore became governor. In 1976, with the implementation of theLouisiana Constitution of 1974, the lieutenant governor assumed executive duties and the gavel once again passed to a senate-elected president. 1976 also sawVirginia Shehee become the first woman elected to the Louisiana State Senate.^[3]

The reinstatement of the elected senate presidency and the installation of a new constitution brought with it something Louisiana had not seen since the 1850s: atwo-party system. Also new to the presidency the practicing of appointing of the president by the governor. This practice had been applied to the state House Speakership for years. The first elected Senate President under the new constitution wasMichael H. O'Keefe Sr., an ally ofEdwin Edwards, who was elected to his second term as governor in 1975. In 1980 something that had not happened since the Reconstruction became a reality; a Republican governor was in office.David Treen was elected in 1979, and with him came more Republican legislators, although only an enlarged minority. O'Keefe retained the senate presidency under Treen until he was forced to resign the presidency after convictions in federal court.

In 2000, although still in the minority, RepublicanJohn Hainkel, who served as speaker of the House as a Democrat under Treen, was appointed by Republican GovernorMurphy J. Foster, Jr. to be senate president, the first Republican in over a century. In 2011 the Republicans obtained a majority in the senate, a RepublicanJohn Alario, a Democratic speaker of the House under Edwin Edwards from 1984 to 1988 and again from 1992 to 1996, was appointed senate president by Republican GovernorBobby Jindal, joining Hainkel as the only men to be elected as Speaker of the House and Senate President in Louisiana's history. Alario retained the position when DemocratJohn Bel Edwards was elected in 2015.

In 2020, RepublicanPatrick Page Cortez was elected senate president when Alario retired due to term limits.

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The Senate president assigns members to committees, often based on recommendations from the governor. The president plays a key role in advancing or blocking legislation during sessions. If a senator supports the governor's agenda the president may promote them to more powerful committees, or even appoint them chairman or vice chairmanships. The president usually maintains a strong hold on the senate and legislation through his appointment of committee memberships and committee chairmen. The president has the power to rule on points of order recognize senators so they may speak and control the flow of legislation through the senate. The senate president is almost always an ally of the Governor, this allows the administration to pass their legislative agenda through easier and it allows them to kill opposition legislation easier too. The senate president is usually a powerful and influential senator before he is appointed senate president. If a senate seat falls vacant before the expiration f its term the senate president calls for an election, he sets the date, times, and places of voting. Upon the petition of a majority of the members of the legislature the President along with the Speakers calls a special session. The senate president is fifth in the gubernatorial line of succession. If the president is ever absent the senate president pro tempore, who is also appointed by the governor, presides. Should the senate chair ever fall permanently vacant the senate president pro tempore presides until the election of a new president.

• President of the Louisiana State Senate
• Louisiana Legislature
• Louisiana House of Representatives

• The Louisiana State Senateofficial government website
• State Senate of Louisiana atProject Vote Smart
• Louisiana State Senate atBallotpedia

• Louisiana State Legislature
• State upper houses in the United States

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