Arizona State Legislature | |
---|---|
Type | |
Type | |
Houses |
Senate House of Representatives |
Leadership | |
Steven B. Yarbrough (R)
Since January 3, 2017 |
|
Structure | |
Seats | 90 |
Senate political groups
|
Republican (17) Democratic (13) |
House political groups
|
Republican (35) Democratic (25) |
Elections | |
Senate last election
|
November 8, 2016 |
Senate next election
|
November 6, 2018 |
Meeting place | |
Arizona State Capitol, Phoenix | |
Website | |
http://www.azleg.gov/ |
Republican (17)
Republican (35)
The Arizona State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Senate. Composed of 90 legislators, the state legislature meets in the Capitol Complex in the state capital of Phoenix, Arizona. Created by the Arizona Constitution upon statehood in 1912, the Arizona State Legislature met biennially until 1950. Today, they meet annually.
Arizona's electoral districts are different from the majority of U.S. states. Two representatives and one senator share each of the state's 30 electoral districts. Legislators are term limited to eight consecutive years in office, but can run again after two years or run for the opposite house than the one in which they serve.
Congress formed the New Mexico Territory in 1850 consisting of the land that is now Arizona north of the Gila River, along with what is now New Mexico, parts of Colorado and Nevada. In 1853, the territory expanded under the Gadsden Purchase agreement by nearly 30,000 square miles of land south of the Gila River in Arizona, forming the state’s current boundary with Mexico. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Arizona Organic Act creating the Territory of Arizona. In 1864, the First Territorial Legislature convened in Prescott, the territory’s first capital. The capital moved from Prescott to Tucson and back to Prescott before being permanently established in Phoenix in 1889.