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New Hampshire State Senate

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New Hampshire State Senate


General Information
Type:   Upper house
Term limits:   None
2012 session start:   January 4, 2012
Website:   Official Senate Page
Leadership
Senate President:   Peter Bragdon (R)
Majority Leader:   Jeb Bradley (R)
Minority leader:   Sylvia Larsen (D)
Structure
Members:  24
   Democratic Party (5)
Republican Party (19)
Length of term:   2 years
Authority:   General Court, Art 3, Sec. 3, New Hampshire Constitution
Salary:   $100/year
Elections
Last Election:  November 2, 2010 (24 seats)
Next election:  November 6, 2012 (24 seats)
Redistricting:  New Hampshire Legislature has control
Meeting place:

Contents

The New Hampshire State Senate is the upper body of the New Hampshire State Legislature. The Senate meets at the State Capitol in Concord.

The Senate is made up of 24 members who are elected every two years. They are not subject to term limits.

Generally, sessions are held annually from early January to the end of June.

Senators are paid $100 a year, as stipulated by the New Hampshire Constitution. Senators also receive mileage reimbursement for officially related travel. The 2009-2010 Senate consists of 14 Democrats and 10 Republicans -- 13 of whom are women and 11 of whom are men. The 2008 election made New Hampshire the first state in the nation to have a legislative body with a majority of women.

In New Hampshire, all 24 Senate districts are based on population. The most recent redistricting occurred in 2004.[1] Each member represents an average of 54,853 residents, as of the 2010 Census.[2] After the 2000 Census, each member represented 51,491 residents.[3]

Sessions

The Second Part of the New Hampshire Constitution establishes when the New Hampshire General Court, of which the Senate is a part, is to be in session. Article 3 of the Second Part states that the General Court is to convene annually on the first Wednesday after the first Tuesday in January. Additionally, in even-numbered years, the General Court is to meet on the first Wednesday of December for organizational purposes.

2012

See also: Dates of 2012 state legislative sessions

In 2012, the Senate will be in session from January 4 through July 1.

Major issues

Major issues on the agenda include economic development, job creation, same-sex marriage, and gambling.[4]

2011

In 2011, the Senate was in session from January 5 through July 1. [5]

2010

In 2010, the Senate was in session from January 6 to July 1.[6]

Elections

2012

Se also: New Hampshire State Senate elections, 2012

Elections for the office of New Hampshire State Senate will be held in New Hampshire on November 6, 2012. A total of 24 seats will be up for election. The signature filing deadline is June 15, 2012.


2010

See also: New Hampshire State Senate elections, 2010

Elections for the office of New Hampshire's State Senate were held in New Hampshire on November 2, 2010.

The signature-filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in these elections was June 11, 2010. The primary election day was September 14, 2010.

In 2010, the candidates for state senate raised a total of $2,461,574 in campaign contributions. The top 10 donors were: [7]

Donor Amount
New Hampshire Association of Realtors $36,300
Sanborn, Andy $35,623
Angerhofer, Peter $34,734
Professional Fire Fighters of New Hampshire $32,800
Forrester, Jeanie $30,150
New Hampshire Auto Dealers Association $25,850
Gallagher Callahan & Gartrell $24,200
Electrical Workers Local 2320 $22,500
Wendelboe, Fran $21,050
Tausch, Frederick W $20,000

Qualifications

To be eligible to serve in the New Hampshire Senate, a candidate must be:[8]

  • At least thirty years of age
  • A resident of the state for seven years immediately preceding the election
  • An inhabitant of the district for which they are chosen

See also

How vacancies are filled in state legislatures

If there is a vacancy in the Senate, a special election must be held to fill the vacant seat. It's up to the Governor to call for an election and to set an election date as soon as possible. There are no deadlines set by the state constitution on special elections[9] [10].

History

  • The New Hampshire State Senate was established in 1784. At that time, it included twelve members, who were each elected for one-year terms. The twelve senators were elected from the five counties New Hampshire then had:
One senator from Grafton
Two from Strafford, Hillsborough, and Cheshire
  • Five from Rockingham

The number of senators each county was entitled to elect was based on how the amount of taxes it raised, not on population. This system changed in 1794 when senate districts took the place of county-wide representation, with one senator per district.

The number of senators was doubled to 24 in 1878 with a constitutional amendment. The term of office was expanded to two years in office and twenty-four districts were creates. However, senate districts were not based on population until 1964. Up through 1968, senators voted to fill vacancies; in 1968 the constitution was amended so that special elections were held to fill vacancies.

Protestant property-owners

In the early years of the senate, a candidate had to be at least 30 years old, have lived in the state for at least seven years, and be a property owner and a Protestant. The property-ownership requirement was removed in 1852. The Protestant requirement was removed in 1877.

First female senator

The first woman elected to the New Hampshire Senate was Maude Ferguson, a Republican from Bristol. Ferguson served from 1931-1933.

  • The state senator who has served the longest in office is referred to as the "Dean of the Senate."

Senators

Salaries

See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries

As of 2010, members of the New Hampshire Senate are paid $200/two-year term. There is no per diem.[11]

The $200/two-year term that New Hampshire senators are paid as of 2010 is the same as they were paid during legislative sessions in 2007. Per diem is also the same.[12]

When sworn in

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

New Hampshire legislators assume office the month after elections (December).

Partisan composition

See also: Partisan composition of state senates
Party As of May 2012
     Democratic Party 5
     Republican Party 19
Total 24


Leadership

After November elections, the entire Senate meets in early December to elect a president, who is traditionally from the majority party. New Hampshire does not have a lieutenant governor, and so when the governor is away or unable to perform the duties of the office, the Senate president serves as acting governor. The Senate president assigns the other leadership positions within their party, and the minority party appoints its own leaders.[13][14]

Current leadership

Position Representative Party
President of the Senate Peter Bragdon Republican
President Pro Tempore of the Senate John Barnes Republican
Senate Majority Leader Jeb Bradley Republican
Senate Minority Leader Sylvia Larsen Democratic

2010 Leadership

Position Representative Party
President of the Senate Sylvia Larsen Democratic
President Pro Tempore of the Senate Martha Clark Democratic
Senate Majority Leader Maggie Hassan Democratic
Senate Deputy Majority Leader Kathleen Sgambati Democratic
Senate Majority Whip Deborah Reynolds Democratic
Senate Minority Leader Peter Bragdon Republican
Senate Deputy Minority Leader Bob Odell Republican
Senate Deputy Minority Leader Michael Downing Republican

List of current members

District Representative Party Residence First elected
1 John Gallus Republican Berlin, New Hampshire 2002
2 Jeanie Forrester Republican 2010
3 Jeb Bradley Republican Wakefield 2009
4 Jim Forsythe Republican 2010
5 Matthew Houde Democratic Plainfield 2008
6 Fenton Groen Republican 2010
7 Andy Sanborn Republican 2010
8 Bob Odell Republican Lempster 2002
9 Raymond White Republican 2010
10 Molly Kelly Democratic Keene 2006
11 Peter Bragdon Republican Milford 2004
12 Jim Luther Republican 2010
13 Gary Lambert Republican 2010
14 Sharon Carson Republican Londonderry 2008
15 Sylvia Larsen Democratic Concord 1994
16 David Boutin Republican 2010
17 John Barnes Republican Raymond 2000
18 Tom DeBlois Republican 2010
19 Jim Rausch Republican 2010
20 Lou D'Allesandro Democratic Manchester 1998
21 Amanda Merrill Democratic Durham 2008
22 Chuck Morse Republican 2010
23 Russell Prescott Republican 2010
24 Nancy Stiles Republican 2010

Senate Standing Committees

New Hampshire Senate has 12 standing committees:

External links

References

  1. ↑ "New Hampshire General Court" March 2, 2009
  2. ↑ Population in 2010 of the American states
  3. ↑ Population in 2000 of the American states
  4. ↑ Concord Monitor, "House GOP: Jobs the focus," January 4, 2012
  5. ↑ 2011 Legislative Sessions Calendar, NCSL
  6. ↑ 2010 session dates for New Hampshire legislature
  7. ↑ Follow the Money: "New Hampshire Senate 2010 Campaign Contributions"
  8. ↑ Qualifications to serve in the New Hampshire Senate (Pg. 18)
  9. ↑ State of New Hampshire "State Constitution-House of Representatives"(Referenced Sections, Sections 12 and 16)
  10. ↑ State of New Hampshire "State Constitution-Senate"(Referenced Sections, Section 34)
  11. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2010 Legislator Compensation Data"
  12. ↑ Empire Center, "Legislative Salaries Per State as of 2007"
  13. ↑ NH Senate - How the Senate Operates
  14. ↑ 2009-2010 New Hampshire Senate leadership
v • d • e
Republican majority Current members of the New Hampshire State Senate
President: Peter Bragdon (R) • Senate Majority Leader: Jeb Bradley (R) • Senate Minority Leader: Sylvia Larsen (D)
Democratic (5) • Republican (19) • New Hampshire State Senate • New Hampshire House of Representatives
v • d • e
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