Mississippi State Senate

According to the current Mississippi Constitution, the Senate is to be composed of no more than 52 members elected for four-year terms with no term limits.{{Cite constitution|article=12|section=254|polity=Mississippi|date=1890}} Districts are reapportioned to reflect population changes, and per the 2020 census, each district has about 56,947 people.{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Mississippi's Population Declined 0.2% |url=https://www.census.gov/library/stories/state-by-state/mississippi-population-change-between-census-decade.html |access-date=2024-02-10 |website=Census.gov}} To qualify for election, candidates must be at least 25 years old, a qualified elector of the state for the past four years, and be a resident of the district or county they are running to represent for the past two years.{{Cite book |last=Watson |first=Michael |title=2020-2024 Mississippi Blue Book |publisher=Mississippi Secretary of State |year=2021 |chapter=Elections |chapter-url=https://www.sos.ms.gov/content/documents/ed_pubs/pubs/BlueBook20-24/6%20Elections.pdf}} All candidates must pay either a $250 fee to their state party executive committee or to the Mississippi Secretary of State if they are running as an independent. Independent candidates must collect 50 signatures to run. Elections to the Senate are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November during the state general elections.{{Cite constitution|article=4|section=102|polity=Mississippi|date=1890}}

If a vacancy occurs in the Senate before June 1, the governor must order an election within 30 days after the vacancy and give a 40-day notice to the appropriate counties where the seat is located. No special election occurs if the vacancy happens after June 1.MS Code § 23-15-851 (2013)

The state legislature is constitutionally-mandated to meet for 125 days every four years at the start of a new term and 90 days in other years.{{Cite book |last=Watson |first=Michael |title=Mississippi Blue Book 2020-2024 |publisher=Mississippi Secretary of State |year=2021 |chapter=Legislature |chapter-url=https://www.sos.ms.gov/content/documents/ed_pubs/pubs/BlueBook20-24/8%20Legislature%20Section.pdf}}{{Cite constitution|article=4|section=36|polity=Mississippi|date=1890}} The Senate reconvenes on a yearly basis on the Tuesday after the first Monday in January. While the Mississippi House of Representatives can extend its sessions, the Senate cannot.

The Senate has the authority to determine rules of its own proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and expel a member with a two-thirds vote of its membership.{{Cite constitution|article=4|section=55|polity=Mississippi|date=1890}} A majority in the Senate establishes a quorum, though less members can adjourn,{{Cite constitution|article=4|section=54|polity=Mississippi|date=Constitution}} though not for more than 3 days without the House's consent.{{Cite constitution|article=4|section=57|polity=Mississippi|date=1890}} Bills can originate in the Senate and must undergo three readings in each house, unless two-thirds of the house dispenses with the rules.{{Cite constitution|article=4|section=59|polity=Mississippi|date=1890}} Amendments to bills must be approved by both houses.{{Cite constitution|article=4|section=60|polity=Mississippi|date=1890}} The Senate, in conjunction with the Mississippi House of Representatives, draws and approves both congressional and district boundaries. The congressional boundaries can be vetoed by the governor, while the district boundaries, created by a joint resolution between both houses, cannot be vetoed by the governor.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2020-06-18|title=Mississippi - All About Redistricting|url=https://redistricting.lls.edu/state/mississippi/|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-01-20|website=All About Redistricting|publisher=Loyola Law School|language=en}}

The governor has the power to veto legislation, but legislators can override the veto with a two-thirds decision.{{Cite constitution|article=4|section=72|polity=Mississippi|date=1890}} The Senate tries all impeachments referred to it by the House of Representatives.{{Cite constitution|article=4|section=49|polity=Mississippi|date=Constitution}} All gubernatorial appointments are subject to approval of the Senate.Mississippi Code § 7-1-35

The President of the Senate is Mississippi Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann, who is Republican. The President pro tempore is Republican Dean Kirby.{{cite news |date=January 7, 2020 |title=Dean Kirby elected Senate president pro tempore |url=https://www.wjtv.com/news/dean-kirby-elected-senate-president-pro-tempore/ |access-date=2020-01-18 |newspaper=WJTV |location=Jackson}} The Minority Leader is Democrat Derrick Simmons.{{Cite web |last=Criss |first=Jack |date=2022-10-10 |title=Senator Derrick Simmons |url=https://deltabusinessjournal.com/senator-derrick-simmons/ |access-date=2024-02-10 |website=Delta Business Journal |language=en-US}}

The Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi serves as the President of the Senate{{Cite constitution|article=5|section=129|polity=Mississippi|date=1890}} and has the sole ability to appoint the chairmanships or vice chairmanships of various Senate committees, regardless of party size.{{Cite web |last=Harrison |first=Bobby |date=2019-04-07 |title=Lieutenant governor's power derives from senators; lawmaker says chamber must take back its authority |url=http://mississippitoday.org/2019/04/07/lieutenant-governors-power-derives-from-senators-lawmaker-says-chamber-must-take-back-its-authority/ |access-date=2024-02-10 |website=Mississippi Today |language=en-US}} They can only cast a legislative vote if required to break a tie. In the absence of the lieutenant governor, the President Pro Tempore presides over the Senate.{{Cite constitution|article=4|section=39|polity=Mississippi|date=1890}} The President Pro Tempore is elected by a majority of senators present, with following elections for the senate secretary, seargent-at-arms, and a doorkeeper.MS Code § 5-1-15 (2013) The President Pro Tempore chairs the Senate Rules Committee, oversees the day-to-day operations of the Senate staff, and assumes the responsibilities of the president in their absence.{{Cite web |last=Harrison |first=Bobby |date=2024-01-02 |title=Dean Kirby elected to second term as Senate's second-in-command |url=http://mississippitoday.org/2024/01/02/dean-kirby-elected-pro-tem/ |access-date=2024-02-10 |website=Mississippi Today |language=en-US}}

Although the Democratic Party retained their majority in the Senate after the 2003 general election, a party switch by Democratic Senator James Shannon Walley of Leakesville in January 2007 threw control of the chamber to the Republicans.{{Cite web |date=January 15, 2007 |title=Leakesville state rep switches parties |url=https://www.wdam.com/story/5927175/leakesville-state-rep-switches-parties |access-date=2024-02-10 |website=WDAM |language=en}} Because the Lieutenant Governor Amy Tuck was a Republican, this gave Republicans control of the Senate for the first time since Reconstruction and a de facto majority only on a tie vote.{{Cite news |last=Pender |first=Geoff |date=January 12, 2007 |title=State Senate numbers are equal: GOP, Dems even after Walley switch |work=The Sun Herald |pages=2}} In the November 6, 2007 statewide elections, Democrats won back control of the chamber,{{Cite news |last1=Taggart |first1=Andy |last2=Nash |first2=Jere |date=November 11, 2007 |title=The 2008 Mississippi Legislature: Is it 'back to the future?' |work=Clarion-Ledger |pages=59}} however party switches from Senators Nolan Mettetal in February 2008 and Cindy Hyde-Smith in December 2010 gave the Republicans a de facto majority, with Lieutenant Governor Phil Bryant holding the tiebreaker vote.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2008-01-30 |title=State Sen. Mettetal joins Republican Party |url=https://www.natchezdemocrat.com/2008/01/30/state-sen-mettetal-joins-republican-party/ |access-date=2024-02-10 |website=The Natchez Democrat |language=en}}{{Cite web |last= |date=2010-12-29 |title=Sen. Hyde-Smith joins Republicans |url=https://www.dailyleader.com/2010/12/28/sen-hyde-smith-joins-republicans/ |access-date=2024-02-10 |website=Daily Leader |language=en}} After another party switch in February 2011, the Republicans expanded their majority to 27–24, with one vacancy.{{Cite news |last=Farrell |first=David A. |date=February 25, 2011 |title=Lee switches parties |work=The Picayune Item |pages=1, 3}}

As of 2024, the Mississippi Senate has 36 Republican members and 16 Democratic members.{{Cite news |date=2023-11-07 |title=Mississippi Election Results |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/11/07/us/elections/results-mississippi.html |access-date=2024-02-10 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

{{wide image|Panoramic photograph of the Mississippi State Senate, 1924 (18704666133).jpg|1000px}}

{{Main|Mississippi Legislature#See also}}

Since 1833 the Senate has had 55 Presidents pro tempore:{{Cite book |last=Watson |first=Michael |url=https://sos.ms.gov/communications-publications/2020-2024-mississippi-blue-book |title=2020-2024 Statistical Register |publisher=Mississippi Secretary of State |year=2021 |chapter=Historical and Statistical Information |chapter-url=https://www.sos.ms.gov/content/documents/ed_pubs/pubs/BlueBook20-24/14%20Historical%20and%20Statistical%20Info.pdf}}

• Mississippi State Capitol
• Mississippi Legislature
• Mississippi House of Representatives
• List of former members of the Mississippi State Senate
• List of Mississippi state legislatures

{{Reflist|30em}}

• [http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/ Mississippi Legislature]
• [http://www.vote-smart.org/official_state_legislator.php?type=office&state_id=MS&criteria=upper State Senate of Mississippi] at Project Vote Smart
• {{Ballotpedia|Mississippi_State_Senate}}

{{Mississippi State Senate}}

{{United States legislatures}}{{MS Senate presidents pro tempore}}{{Authority control}}

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Category:State upper houses in the United States