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North Carolina Senate

North Carolina State Senate
North Carolina General Assembly
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
Term limits
None
History
New session started
January 9, 2013
Leadership
Dan Forest (R)
Since January 7, 2013
Phil Berger (R)
Since January 26, 2011
Harry Brown (R)
Since January 26, 2011
Daniel T. Blue, Jr. (D)
Since March 5, 2014
Structure
Seats 50
Senate diagram 2014 State of NC.svg
Political groups

Governing party

Opposition party

Length of term
2 years
Authority Article II, North Carolina Constitution
Salary $13,951/year + per diem
Elections
Last election
November 8, 2016
(50 seats)
Next election
November 6, 2018
(50 seats)
Redistricting Legislative Control, No Gubernatorial Veto
Meeting place
State Senate Chamber
North Carolina State Legislative Building
Raleigh, North Carolina
Website
www.ncga.state.nc.us/senate/Senate.html

Governing party

Opposition party

The North Carolina Senate is the upper house of the bicameral North Carolina General Assembly. It has 50 members.

The Senate's prerogatives and powers are similar to those of the other house, the House of Representatives. Its members do, however, represent districts that are larger than those of their colleagues in the House. The President of the Senate is the Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina, but the Lt. Governor has very limited powers and only votes to break a tie. Before the office of Lt. Governor was created in 1868, the Senate was presided over by a "Speaker." After the 1988 election of James Carson Gardner, the first Republican Lt. Governor since Reconstruction, Democrats in control of the Senate shifted most of the power held by the Lt. Governor to the senator who is elected President Pro Tempore (or Pro-Tem). The President Pro Tempore appoints members to standing committees of the Senate, and holds great sway over bills.

According to the state constitution, the Senate is also the "Court for the Trial of Impeachments". The House of Representatives has the power to impeach state officials, after which the Senate holds a trial, as in the federal system. If the Governor or Lt. Governor is the official who has been impeached, the Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court presides.

The qualifications to be a senator are found in the state Constitution: "Each Senator, at the time of his election, shall be not less than 25 years of age, shall be a qualified voter of the State, and shall have resided in the State as a citizen for two years and in the district for which he is chosen for one year immediately preceding his election."


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Wikipedia

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