Louisiana State Senate
General Information
Party control:	Republican
Session start:	March 9, 2026
Session end:	June 1, 2026
Term length:	4 years
Term limits:	3 terms (12 years)
Redistricting:	Legislature-dominant
Salary:	$16,800/year; plus an additional $6,000/year as an unvouchered expense + per diem
Members
Total:	39
Democrats:	10
Republicans:	28
Other:	0
Vacancies:	1
Leadership
President:	Cameron Henry (R)
Maj. Leader:	Blake Miguez (R)
Min. Leader:	Gerald Boudreaux (D)
Elections
Last election:	November 18, 2023
Next election:	November 20, 2027

TheLouisiana State Senate is theupper chamber of theLouisiana State Legislature. Alongside theLouisiana House of Representatives, it forms the legislative branch of the Louisiana state government and works alongside thegovernor of Louisiana to create laws and establish a state budget. Legislative authority and responsibilities of the Louisiana State Senate include passing bills on public policy matters, setting levels for state spending, raising and lowering taxes, and voting to uphold or override gubernatorial vetoes.

The Louisiana State Senate meets in the state capitol building inBaton Rouge, Louisiana.

This page contains the following information on the Louisiana State Senate.

• Which partycontrols the chamber
• The chamber'scurrent membership
• Partisan control of the chamberover time
• Elections in the chamber and how vacancies are filled
• Adistrict map
• Howredistricting works in the state
• Legislation under consideration
• Legislative session dates
• Legislative procedures, such as veto overrides and the state budget process
• A list ofcommittees

Party control

Current partisan control

The table below shows the partisan breakdown of the Louisiana State Senate as of February 2026:

Members

Leadership

The president and president pro tempore of the Senate are elected by the full body, needing at least 20 votes for confirmation. The president is the presiding officer of the body. Duties of the president include preserving order, calling votes, appointing and removing members of each Senate and conference committee, and approving all expenditures of the Senate. In the absence of the president, the president pro tempore assumes all duties of the position.^[1]

Leadership and members

• Senate president:Cameron Henry (R)

Salaries

See also:Comparison of state legislative salaries

Swearing in dates

See also:When state legislators assume office after a general election

Louisiana legislators assume office at noon on the second Monday in January after their election.^[3][4]

Membership qualifications

See also:State legislature candidate requirements by state

According toArticle III,Section 4, of theLouisiana Constitution, candidates must meet the following qualifications in order to run for the state legislature:^[5]

Historical party control

Republicans won control of the Louisiana State Senate in 2011. In2023, they won a 28-11 majority.

The table below shows the partisan history of the Louisiana Senate following every general election from 1991 to 2023. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin'sParty Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

Trifecta history

Astate government trifecta is a term that describes single party government, when one political party holds the governor's office and has majorities in both chambers of the legislature in a state government. Between 1992 and 2023, Louisiana was under the following types of trifecta control:

• Democratic trifecta: 1992-1995, 2004-2007
• Republican trifecta: 2011-2015
• Divided government: 1996-2003, 2008-2010, 2016-2023

Elections

Elections by year

Louisiana state senators servefour-year terms, with all seats up for election every four years. Louisiana holds elections for its legislature in odd years.

Louisiana holds October primaries in which candidates of all party affiliations face off, rather than deciding party nominees through separate primaries. Should a candidate finish with a majority of the primary vote, he or she is considered elected; otherwise, a runoff between the top two finishers is held in November. Louisiana is also one of only four states that hold state elections in odd-numbered years. Former Clerk of the Louisiana House Alfred "Butch" Speer was quoted as explaining:

2027

See also:Louisiana State Senate elections, 2027

Elections for theLouisiana State Senate will take place in 2027. The general election is onNovember 20, 2027.

2023

See also:Louisiana State Senate elections, 2023

Elections for theLouisiana State Senate took place in 2023. The general election was November 18, 2023. A primary was October 14, 2023. The filing deadline was August 10, 2023.

Heading into the election, Republicans held a 27-12 majority. Republicans gained one seat in the election, giving them a 28-11 majority.

2019

See also:Louisiana State Senate elections, 2019

Elections for theLouisiana State Senate took place in 2019. Theprimary was on October 12, 2019, and the general election was on November 16. The filing deadline for candidates was August 8, 2019.

2015

See also:Louisiana State Senate elections, 2015

Elections for theLouisiana State Senate took place in 2015. A primary election was held on October 24, 2015, with a general election held in districts where necessary onNovember 21, 2015. Thesignature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was September 10, 2015, at 4:30 p.m. CDT.^[8]
Louisiana elections use theLouisiana majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50% of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation.

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, seethis article.

Heading into the election, Republicans held a 26-13 majority. Republicans lost one seat in the election, giving them a 25-14 majority.

Term limits

See also:State legislatures with term limits

TheLouisiana legislature is one of16 state legislatures with term limits. It has been a term-limited state legislature since Louisiana voters approvedAmendment 2 in 1995, as alegislatively referred constitutional amendment. The first year that theterm limits enacted in 1995 impacted the ability of incumbents to run for office was 2007. Under Louisiana's term limits, state senators can serve no more than three four-year terms.^[13]

Vacancies

See also:How vacancies are filled in state legislatures

If there is a vacancy in theLouisiana State Legislature, the vacant seat must be filled by a special election. An election is required if there are six months or more left in the unexpired term. The presiding officer in the house where the vacancy happened must call for an election no later than 10 days after the vacancy occurred. The presiding officer must determine the dates for the election along with all filing deadlines. The person elected to the seat serves for the remainder of the unexpired term.^[14]

See sources:Louisiana Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:601

District map

See also:Louisiana state legislative districts

The state of Louisiana has 144 legislative districts. Each district elects one representative. The state Senate has 39 districts and the state House has 105 districts.

Use the interactive map below to find your district.

Redistricting

See also:Redistricting in Louisiana

In Louisiana, both congressional and state legislative districts are drawn by thestate legislature. These lines are subject to veto by thegovernor. In the event that the legislature is unable to approve state legislative district boundaries, thestate supreme court must draw the lines. There is no such practice that applies to congressional districts.^[15]

The state legislature has adopted guidelines for redistricting. These guidelines suggest that both congressional and state legislative districts be contiguous and "respect recognized political boundaries and the natural geography of the state to the extent practicable." These guidelines are non-binding; as such, the legislature may alter them at its discretion.^[15]

2020

See also:Redistricting in Louisiana after the 2020 census

On February 19, 2024, the state appealed aU.S. District Court for Middle Louisiana decision that struck down the state's legislative maps.^[16]

The lower court's February 8, 2024, ruling found the state's legislative maps to be in violation of the Voting Rights Act.^[17][18] According to the ruling, the court found the following:

The legislative maps that both chambers passed during a special legislative session in February 2022 became law 20 days after their passage as Gov.John Bel Edwards (D) neither signed not vetoed the redistricting plans. The legislative redistricting plan passed the state Senate, 25-11, with all votes in favor by Republicans and 10 Democrats and one Republican voting against. The state House of Representatives approved it by a 82-21 vote with 68 Republicans, 12 Democrats, and two independents voting in favor and 20 Democrats and one independent voting against.^[19][20] After the legislature voted on the maps, Tyler Bridges wrote inThe Advocate, "Without much fuss, the Republican-controlled Legislature...approved new district boundaries for the state House and Senate that would maintain GOP legislative dominance for the next decade."^[21]

Edwards announced on March 9, 2022, that he would not act on the legislative boundaries, releasing a statement that said, in part, "While neither the congressional or legislative maps passed by Louisiana’s Legislature do anything to increase the number of districts where minority voters can elect candidates of their choosing, I do not believe the Legislature has the ability to draw new state House and Senate maps during this upcoming legislative session without the process halting the important work of the state of Louisiana. At a time when we face unprecedented challenges, but have unprecedented opportunities to make historic investments in our future, the Legislature should be focused on the issues in the upcoming session and not concerned about what their own districts will look like in the 2023 elections."^[22]

District map after 2020 redistricting

This map took effect for Louisiana’s 2023 legislative elections.

2010

See also:Redistricting in Louisiana after the 2010 census

Redistricting work took place in a special session which began March 20, 2011.^[23] House SpeakerJim Tucker (R) released his first draft of a House map, HB1, on Friday, March 18, 2011.^[24] The House and Senate passed their respective redistricting bills on March 29, 2011.^[25] The Department of Justice granted approval to the new House map on June 20, 2011, and approved the Senate map June 29, 2011.

Sessions

Legislation

The legislation tracker below displays all legislation that the Louisiana State Senate has approved in its most recent legislative session—this includes legislation that has been sent from the Senate to the House and legislation that has already been approved by the House and signed by the governor after its passage in the Senate. The table below includes the bill number, its name, progress, most recent action date, and sponsor. Scroll up and down and side to side to see more. Click the bill number to read the bill text and see its voting history. Click the headings to sort the content. Rearrange the order of the headings by clicking and dragging them. Click the magnifying glass in the bottom left corner to search for specific terms. The legislation tracker is maintained and updated byBillTrack50.

Dates of legislative sessions in Louisiana by year

2025

See also:2025 Louisiana legislative session andDates of 2025 state legislative sessions

In 2025, the legislature was scheduled to convene on April 14, 2025, and adjourn on June 12, 2025.

Click [show] for past years' session dates.

2024 See also:2024 Louisiana legislative session andDates of 2024 state legislative sessions In 2024, the legislature was scheduled to convene on March 11, 2024, and adjourn on June 3, 2024. 2023 See also:2023 Louisiana legislative session andDates of 2023 state legislative sessions In 2023, the legislature was scheduled to convene on April 10, 2023, and adjourn on June 8, 2023. 2022 See also:2022 Louisiana legislative session andDates of 2022 state legislative sessions In 2022, the legislature was scheduled to convene on March 14, 2022, and adjourn on June 6, 2022. 2021 See also:2021 Louisiana legislative session andDates of 2021 state legislative sessions In 2021, the legislature was scheduled to convene on April 12, 2021, and adjourn on June 10, 2021. 2020 See also:2020 Louisiana legislative session andDates of 2020 state legislative sessions In 2020, the legislature was scheduled to convene on March 9, 2020, and adjourn on June 1, 2020. Effect of coronavirus pandemic See also:Changes to state legislative session dates in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020 Coronavirus pandemic Select a topic from the dropdown below to learn more. Political responses overviewState reopening plansDocumenting America's Path to RecoveryElection changesChanges to vote-by-mail and absentee voting proceduresFederal responsesState responsesState executive ordersStay-at-home ordersMultistate agreementsNon-governmental reopening plansEvictions and foreclosures policiesTravel restrictionsEnacted state legislationState legislative session changesSchool closuresState court closuresInmate releasesLocal government responsesDiagnosed or quarantined politiciansBallot measure changesArguments about government responsesThe 1918 influenza pandemicPandemic Response Accountability CommitteeUnemployment filingsLawsuitsBallotpedia's polling on the coronavirus pandemicSubmit Several state legislatures had their sessions impacted as a result of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. TheLouisiana State Legislature initially suspended its session from March 16, 2020, through March 31, 2020.[26] After reconvening on March 31, 2020, the legislature suspended its session indefinitely. The legislature resumed its session on May 4, 2020. It adjourned on June 30, 2020.[27][28] 2019 See also:2019 Louisiana legislative session andDates of 2019 state legislative sessions In 2019, the legislature was in session from April 8, 2019, through June 6, 2019. 2018 See also:2018 Louisiana legislative session andDates of 2018 state legislative sessions In 2018, the legislature was in session from March 12, 2018, through May 18, 2018. To read about notable events and legislation from this session, clickhere. 2017 See also:Dates of 2017 state legislative sessions In 2017, the legislature was in session from April 10, 2017, through June 8, 2017. The legislature held its first special session from February 13, 2017, to February 22, 2017. The legislature held its second special session from June 8, 2017, to June 16, 2017. 2016 See also:Dates of 2016 state legislative sessions In 2016, the legislature was in session from March 14 through June 6. A special session was held from February 14 to March 9 to address the state's budget gap.[29] A second special session was held from June 6 to June 23. 2015 See also:Dates of 2015 state legislative sessions In 2015, the legislature was in session from April 13 through June 11. Major issues in 2015 Major issues in the 2015 legislative session included a $1.6 billion deficit, increases in the cigarette and gasoline taxes, the Common Core education standards, marijuana legislation, and religious freedom legislation.[30][31][32][33] 2014 See also:Dates of 2014 state legislative sessions In 2014, the legislature was in session from March 10 through June 3. Major issues in 2014 Major issues in the 2014 legislative session includedCommon Core, education funding, Medicaid expansion, the coastal erosion lawsuit filed by the South Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East, and legalization of medical marijuana.[34][35] 2013 See also:Dates of 2013 state legislative sessions In 2013, the legislature was in session from April 8 to June 6. Major issues in 2013 Major issues during the 2013 legislative session included the state budget, an overhaul of public education, increasing the retirement age of public workers, gun control, and abortion.[36] 2012 See also:Dates of 2012 state legislative sessions In 2012, the legislature was in session from March 12 through June 4. 2011 See also:Dates of 2011 state legislative sessions In 2011, the Legislature was in regular session from April 25 through June 23. The Legislature undertook a special session from March 20 to April 13, focusing onredistricting following the 2010 census.[37][38] 2010 See also:Dates of 2010 state legislative sessions In 2010, the Legislature wasin session from March 29 to June 21.[39]

About legislative sessions in Louisiana

TheTenth Amendment of theU.S. Constitution declares that any power not already given to the federal government is reserved to the states and the people.^[40] State governments across the country use this authority to hold legislative sessions where a state's elected representatives meet for a period of time to draft and vote on legislation and set state policies on issues such as taxation, education, and government spending. The different types of legislation passed by a legislature may include resolutions,legislatively referred constitutional amendments, and bills that become law.

Article III of the Louisiana Constitution establishes when theLouisiana State Legislature, of which the Senate is a part, is to be in session. Section 2 of Article III states that, in even-numbered years, the Legislature shall convene on the last Monday in March and meet for no more than sixty legislative days during a period of eighty-five calendar days. In odd-numbered years, the Legislature is to convene on the last Monday in April and meet for no more than forty-five legislative days during a period of sixty calendar days. During regular sessions in odd-numbered years, the Legislature can only consider measures regarding the state budget, revenues, and appropriations.

Section 2 of Article III also allows the Legislature to be called into a special session by theGovernor of Louisiana or by a majority of the members of each legislative house. During special sessions, the Legislature can only legislate on matters related to the proclaimed purposes of the session. Section 2 of Article III also authorizes theGovernor of Louisiana to call an emergency session without prior notice in the event of a public emergency.^[41]

Legislative roles and procedures

Every state legislature throughout the country features its own internal procedures that it uses to govern itself and how it interacts with other parts of state government. Ballotpedia's coverage of internal state legislative procedures includesveto overrides,the role of the legislature in the state budget,term limits,procedures for filling membership vacancies, andredistricting.

Veto overrides

See also:Veto overrides in state legislatures

State legislatures can override governors' vetoes. Depending on the state, this can be done during the regular legislative session, in a special session following the adjournment of the regular session, or during the next legislative session. The rules for legislative overrides of gubernatorial vetoes in Louisiana are listed below.

How many legislators are required to vote for an override? Two-thirds of members in both chambers.

How can vetoes be overridden after the legislature has adjourned?

Authority:Article III, Section 18 of theLouisiana Constitution.

Role in state budget

See also:Louisiana state budget and finances

Louisianaon

Check outBallotpedia articles about policy in your state on:

Budgets •Civil liberties •Education •Elections •Energy •Environment •Healthcare •Pensions

The state operates on an annual budget cycle. The sequence of key events in the budget process is:^[42]

1. Budget instructions are sent to state agencies bySeptember 20.
2. State agencies submit their budget requests byNovember 15.
3. Thegovernor submits his or her proposed budget to thestate legislature45 days before the legislature convenes. (Newly elected governors have until 30 days before the legislature convenes.)
4. The legislature typically adopts a budget inJune. A simple majority is required to pass a budget.^[43] The fiscal year beginsJuly 1.

Louisiana is one of 44 states in which the governor hasline item veto authority.^[42][44]

The governor is constitutionally required to submit a balanced budget proposal. Likewise, the legislature must pass a balanced budget.^[42]

Committees

See also:List of committees in Louisiana state government

Every state legislature and state legislative chamber in the country contains several legislative committees. These committees are responsible for studying, amending, and voting on legislation before it reaches the floor of a chamber for a full vote. The different types of committees include standing committees, select or special, and joint.

• Standing committees are generally permanent committees, the names of which sometimes change from session to session.
• Select or special committees are temporary committees formed to deal with specific issues such as recent legislation, major public policy or proposals, or investigations.
• Joint committees are committees that feature members of both chambers of a legislature.

Ballotpedia covers standing and joint committees. The Louisiana State Senate has 17 standing committees:

Constitutional amendments

In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process forreferring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states,initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are alsomany other types of statewide measures.

The methods in which the Louisiana Constitution can be amended:

See also:Article XIII of the Louisiana Constitution andLaws governing ballot measures in Louisiana

TheLouisiana Constitution provides two mechanisms for amending the state's constitution— a legislative process and a state constitutional convention. Louisiana requires a simple majority vote (50% plus 1) for voters to approve constitutional amendments.

Legislature

See also:Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

According toArticle XII, the state Legislature can refer constitutional amendments to the ballot for voters to decide.Atwo-thirds (66.67%) vote is required during one session of theLouisiana State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 70 votes in theLouisiana House of Representatives and 26 votes in theLouisiana State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot. Amendments can be referred to the ballot in odd-numbered years and even-numbered years in Louisiana.

Convention

See also:Convention-referred constitutional amendment

According toArticle XII, the state legislature can provide for the calling of a constitutional convention by law enacted by two-thirds of the members of each chamber of the legislature.

See also

Elections	Louisiana State Government	State Legislatures	State Politics
Louisiana State Senate elections, 2023 Louisiana State Senate elections, 2019 Louisiana State Senate special elections, 2017 Louisiana State Senate elections, 2015	Louisiana State Legislature Louisiana House of Representatives Governor of Louisiana Louisiana Supreme Court	State legislative elections:2024,2023,2022,2021,2020,2019, and2018	State government trifectas State government triplexes State executives State courts Ballot measures The State Legislative Decade

External links

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

Footnotes

	v • e State ofLouisiana Baton Rouge (capital)
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